Retirement Trends

Most people are not equipped to invest their funds or withdraw them in a way that allows them to maintain their lifestyle while preserving principal.

State pension funds more than doubled their allocations to alternative investments between 2006 and 2012, about a $600 billion increase.

According to data from the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index, the pension deficit is below $100 billion for the first time in five years as the funded status increased by $34 billion during November.

The economic capital of Illinois and the Midwest, Chicago holds the dubious distinction of having the worst-funded public pension system of any major U.S. city.

The Nasdaq Composite is up 35 percent this year.

Statistics paint a picture of millions of senior citizens forced to live in poverty after their working years end. Congressional gridlock, however, prevents any action that would allow Social Security benefits to remain at promised levels.