By Richard Eisenberg, Forbes – Aug 7, 2014

If you’ll be applying for benefits anytime soon, you’ll likely encounter this problem first-hand should you want to go to a Social Security office or call the agency’s 800-number with a question.

And you may have noticed that, in 2011, Social Security stopped mailing statements telling you how much you could expect to receive in benefits. Instead, you were told to go to the Social Security Administration’s website and sign up for something called my Social Security. The agency’s rationale: a $30 million savings that year and $70 million a year thereafter. (It resumed the mailings for people 60 and older in February 2012.)

MarketWatch – Aug 7 2014

Many U.S. households are not prepared or even planning for retirement, according to a new survey released by the Federal Reserve Thursday.

“When it comes to planning and saving for retirement, the survey results tell a somewhat cautionary tale,” the survey concluded.

Despite the shift from pension plans to 401k plans, which has placed responsibility on the individual to plan for his or her their retirement, only about a quarter of those surveyed appear to be actively doing so.

Here are some stark facts:

• Just under a third of non-retired U.S. households reported having no retirement savings or pension, including just under 20% of households aged 55 to 64.
• A quarter of the respondents said they had done no retirement planning at all.
• Of those who have given some thought to retirement planning and plan to retire at some point, 25% didn’t know how they will pay their expenses in retirement.

Even the concept of retirement seems to be losing its luster. Among those ages 55 to 64 who had not yet retired, more respondents said they expect to keep working “as long as possible” than households who said they plan to follow the traditional retirement model of working full time until a set date and then stopping working altogether.

By Harry Brill, BeyondChron – Aug 6, 2014

Despite running a surplus of $2.8 trillion, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has closed 80 offices, eliminated over 500 temporary mobile offices, and reduced its workforce since 2010 by 11,000. Moreover, it is planning on closing in the near future hundreds of more offices, and eventually, shutting down as many of the 1,245 field offices that it can get away with. Many additional thousands of useful jobs will be discarded. Seniors will be compelled to cope with their questions and concerns via the computer. If things go as planned, SSA’s functions will be outsourced to private contractors.

By Emily Brandon, U.S. News & World Report Aug 5, 2014

Here are the taxes to consider as you select a place to retire. 

By Jeff Brown, TheStreet – Aug 5, 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — What will it take for a satisfying retirement?

Not as much as you think, perhaps.

Financial experts have kicked this question around for decades. The oft-quoted rule of thumb says the average retiree needs 70% of pre-retirement income to maintain the same standard of living after quitting work. That assumes there will be no further need to save and that the mortgage is paid off and expenses such as commuting are a thing of the past.  

By Anne Tergesen, MarketWatch – Aug 5, 2014

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office concludes that while these accounts can deliver higher returns and lower risk to 401(k) participants, they also charge higher fees that can offset some or all of their advantages.

In the wake of a set of 2007 regulatory changes that give employers a green light to automatically enroll 401(k) participants into managed accounts, these investment vehicles have become increasingly popular. About 36% of 401(k) plan sponsors offered managed accounts in 2012, up from 25% in 2005, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America. Cerulli Associates, a research firm that specializes in the asset management industry, recently reported that there were $108 billion in assets in 401(k) managed accounts. Many industry watchers expect demand to grow as the baby boomers get closer to retirement – frequently a time when employees seek out the more customized advice available through a managed account.

By Philip Moeller, Time – Aug 5. 2014

By Editorial Board, Denver Post – Aug 2, 2014

The good news last week from the trustees of Social Security is that the program is still projected to go belly-up in 2033, just as it was last year. The crisis hasn’t deepened.

But that’s also the bad news. Another year has passed without Congress and the administration acting and there is absolutely zero prospect of getting anything done this year, either. And yet the longer Washington waits, the more controversial and difficult the solution will have to be.

If the program is left on automatic pilot, the combined Social Security trust fund reserves will begin to shrink in 2019 — just five years from now — and be depleted altogether in 2033, according to the trustees.