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BOOSTING RETIREMENT SAVINGS - From NEFE: Urging employees to participate in retirement savings plans has always been a challenge. However, the findings of a study by researchers at Dartmouth College, through a grant provided by the National Endowment for Financial Education, show that specific low-cost strategies succeed in boosting employee participation rates. During the 18-month study, a unique methodology was formulated involving surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews and ethnographic studies of low-income, young, short-tenured and female employees. Annamaria Lusardi, Ph.D., and Punam Anand Keller, Ph.D. focused the study on low-income employees and female employees because th...
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NEW FRAUD PROTECTION MEASURES - From SEC: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a series of measures to further strengthen its enforcement program by encouraging greater cooperation from individuals and companies in the agency's investigations and enforcement actions. The new initiative establishes incentives for individuals and companies to fully and truthfully cooperate and assist with SEC investigations and enforcement actions, and provides new tools to help investigators develop first-hand evidence to build the strongest possible cases. The cooperation initiative is expected to result in invaluable and early assistance in identifying the scope, participants, victims and ill-gotten gains associated with fraudulent schemes. These measures are the latest in a series o...
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FRAUD PROTECTION FOR SERVICE MEMBERS - From IPT: Members of the U.S. military and their families in California benefit from investor education and protection from financial fraud through the California's TAP$ (Troops Against Predatory Scams) program, thanks to the sponsorship by the Investor Protection Trust (IPT).  Since 2005, over 40,000 copies of "Protect You and Your Family from Financial Fraud" have been distributed to tens of thousands of servicemembers stationed in California, their families, and veterans at outreach events across the State. Additionally, the TAP$ program serves as a resource for base financial counselors at California military installations. California staff made dozens of TAP$ presentations at Naval and Marine Corps installations in So...
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10 MYTHS OF RETIREMENT PLANNING - From AAII: Think you won't need as much money during retirement as you do now? Or that Social Security or your pension plan will provide enough income for your retirement years? Do you believe you can afford to start planning for your retirement just a few years before your retirement date? Or that your investments are all in safe vehicles for long-term accumulation and don't need to be watched too closely? Do you think Medicare will take care of your health insurance costs? Do you believe your retirement won't last that long? Retirement planning requires a clear-eyed analysis of future needs and income. Yet many individuals view retirement through rose-colored glasses. The American Association of Individual Investors highlights some of the most ...
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INSIDE FINANCIAL MICROSITES - From NEFE:  Although experts say the recession is likely over, consumers are still in the midst of some of the biggest economic challenges of their lives. The downturn's impact on the economy won't reverse overnight, and the effects continue to hurt those who have lost their jobs and homes and suffered damage to their credit. To help, NEFE's SmartAboutMoney.org offers microsites to make sure Americans focus on what they need to do now, and do always, for specific aspects of their financial health. Through interactive technology, the microsites break down actionable information and establish a community where users can share their experiences and learn from one another. Through text and video components,...
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INVESTING AND THE RECESSION - With investors facing new realities, questions and challenges in today's recession, the nonprofit Investor Protection Trust (IPT) has overhauled many of its core investor education materials to reflect the impact of the recession. The Trust partnered with the editors of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine to update seven investor education booklets as part of IPT's investor education and protection programs in communities nationwide. The investor education booklets tackle the basics of several key investor topics such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds.  Now updated to reflect recession-related considerations, the booklets are designed for the beginning and intermediate investor, as well as the long-term investor who never learned the basics. Each booklet includes a glossary of terms used in the booklet and information on the role of State Securities Re...
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THE FINANCIAL REFORM BILL AND YOU - The financial reform bill recently signed into law is an attempt to address some of the problems that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. The legislation, officially known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is considered the most wide-ranging overhaul of the U.S. financial system since the aftermath of the Great Depression. Because the problems it addresses are complex, the legislation itself is complex; much of the real impact will be felt only after regulations are developed to implement the law's provisions. Also, some provisions will have a direct impact on individuals and investors; others will primarily affect the ways in which Wall Street functions. AICPA's 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy offers a brief summary if you want to learn about how you may be affected ...
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SIPC HOSTS ONLINE PUBLIC FORUM - The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund mandated by Congress to protect the customers of insolvent brokerage firms, will hold its first-ever online forum at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT on September 14, 2010 at http://www.SIPCModernization.org. The "listening post" session is the first of two major national public forums focused on soliciting input about the modernization of SIPC. The effort is part of the SIPC Modernization initiative launched on June 17, 2010. The two planned online forums are part of a full-scale review of the operations of SIPC, which has not been the focus of major new legislation in 30 years ...
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KEEPING YOUR RETIREMENT SAVINGS INTACT - A recent report by a major retirement plan provider revealed an uptick in the number of investors dipping into their 401(k)s through either loans or hardship withdrawals. If you really need the money and cannot access credit elsewhere, then borrowing from your 401(k), or taking a withdrawal, might be your best option. FINRA points out several good reasons to keep your retirement savings intact if at all possible. Before tapping your retirement savings, consider these reasons, among others: the money you withdraw will not grow if it isn't invested; repayments are made with after-tax dollars that will be taxed again when you eventually withdraw them from your account; the interest is never deductible even if you use the money to buy or renovate your home ...
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BEWARE FAKE SIPC CHECKS - The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which maintains a special reserve fund mandated by Congress to protect the customers of insolvent brokerage firms, again warned that consumers and job seekers should not accept SIPC checks that are presented online or in person by con artists seeking to buy personal goods or engage individuals for work. SIPC officials said the fake checks include an actual SIPC account number that is used only for deposits. No checks of any kind are issued on the account in question. In over a dozen cases so far, one or more individuals have presented the phony SIPC checks to "pay" for an item on Craigslist or in face-to-face transactions, or to "pay" for services advertised on Craigslist ...
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