In a recent article with the San-Antonio Express News, plans for an informative pamphlet to be released by the Social Security Administration on new financial and retirement planning tools for workers ages 25 to 35 were revealed. With most financial advisors claiming Americans will need 70 percent or more of their pre-retirement earnings, aside from social security and a pension savings, to live comfortably in their retirement years, the pamphlet will educate and raise awareness to young workers to start saving. Today’s Americans can expect to spend 20 to 30 years in retirement and beginning to save at a young age is critical.

According to an article in Kiplinger magazine, the government is looking into new 401(k) rules, with the goal being to protect participant’s investments. These changes could come as soon as the next few months.

Recordkeeping is an important component of a retirement plan. Employers need to keep track of paperwork submitted to the federal government, distributions made to participants, and countless other plan-related items. Doing so over a long period of time can be a challenge, even for employers with the best of intentions. A recent article in “Employee Benefit News” points to an example of how a company can be queried by participants and government agencies, such as the Department of Labor, about a distribution that occurred some 20 years before.

Soon more people will be able to convert from regular IRAs to Roth IRAs. Beginning on January 1, 2010, those individuals whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $100,000 (and who were previously unable to convert their traditional IRA to a Roth IRA) will be able to do the switchover. A recent article by Kimberly Lankford, posted on Kiplinger.com, discusses several topics related to this change such as:

Kiplinger recently listed their top 25 funds of 2009 that are making a remarkable recovery from the 2008 market low. Year to date, nearly all of Kiplinger’s top 25 picks among stock, bond and commodity funds have matched or exceeded their respective indexes. Three of the funds mentioned in the top 25 are funds offered in the NADART Investment Choice lineup.

The number of Americans whose retirement savings have not lasted them the entirety of their retirement has become a growing reality; one that President Obama addressed on Saturday, September 5th. A New York Times article notes President Obama’s initiatives to help America save for their future. Obama’s four proposals are all based off of new behavioral research that encourages people to save systematically.

In October, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will release the contribution limit for 401(k) plans for the 2010 year based on a formula that measures the inflation rate of the 2009 third quarter to the 2008 third quarter. According to a USA Today Money article, most workers in the 2009 year were able to contribute up to $16, 500 to their 401(k) plan. However, according to an analysis by human resource consultant, Mercer, the IRS could be forced to reduce the contribution maximum to $16,000 in the 2010 year if inflation does not pick up for the month of September. This contribution reduction would be marked as a first in IRS history.

Stable Value Funds, a fixed-income investment vehicle often found in 401(k) plans, are fairing better these days, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.