Retirement Advisor

Net sales of variable annuities surged in the third quarter of 2011, reaching their highest level since the comparable period in 2007, according to a new study.

Americans' confidence in the economy in November bounced back to its highest level since July, the latest sign that consumers are beginning to feel more cheerful about spending during the holiday shopping season.

Last week we looked at the variance in the adoption of 401(k) plans by industry. Keep in mind that this study only looked at the large plan market. I wanted to see if the pattern holds true when we look at smaller plans (2-99 participants):

Transamerica Retirement Services will expand its core investment platform by adding 38 new stock and bond investment choices.

Although it has become much easier for individual investors to adjust their retirement accounts as often as they wish, human nature is such that most people are still inclined toward just leaving their allocations be, even if they know its probably not in their best interest to do so.

Seventy-five percent of small business owners polled in a recent survey said they agree that most American workers are financially unprepared for retirement, but only one in five small businesses offer their employees a 401(k) or other employee self-funded retirement plan.

Gen Y workers in higher education retirement plans tend to be as conservative as their older counterparts a Fidelity survey released Monday found.

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts announced his retirement Monday effective at the end of next year, closing out a congressional career of more than three decades capped by passage of legislation imposing new regulations on Wall Street.