Paul Skidmore’s office is shuttered, his job gone, his 18-month job search fruitless and his unemployment benefits exhausted. So at 63, he plans to file this week for Social Security benefits, three years earlier than planned . . . read more

It’s graduation season. That means hordes of newly-minted MBA students and undergraduate business majors will soon be entering the work force.

They’ve spent years studying the intricacies of business and finance. Now, they’re ready to start dispensing that financial wisdom on Wall Street and everywhere else.

What will they say? And what tips do they have for the rest of us? . . . read more

Zions Bank has recently announced a new service called Zions Bank Retirement Resources, which provides customers with information on a variety of retirement considerations, such as wills, trusts, 401(k)s, IRAs and a host of other important topics.

Over the coming months, Zions Bank Retirement Resources along with Zions Direct and Zions Investment Services Group will be hosting a series of seminars on a variety of retirement subjects.

The next seminar will be held June 11 . . . read more

What happens when the government considers tinkering with retirement accounts and asks for citizen input?

It gets plenty.

Government officials began seeking comments in February on a proposal to add an annuity option to retirement plans. Such an option would potentially turn a portion of a retiree’s savings over to an insurance company in exchange for a monthly check.

Annuities reduce the chance retirees will outlive their savings. In addition, the risk of losing money if the stock market drops is minimized . . . read more

The days of counting on a company pension and Social Security to assure financial well-being in retirement are over.

Pensions are vanishing fast, and no one can guarantee that Social Security checks won’t be smaller in decades to come. That’s why it’s more important than ever to take charge of your own retirement planning.

Take this retirement IQ quiz to test your knowledge as part of Financial Literacy Month. . . . read more

Zions Bank has recently announced a new service called Zions Bank Retirement Resources, which provides customers with information on a variety of retirement considerations, such as wills, trusts, 401(k)s, IRAs and a host of other important topics.

Over the coming months, Zions Bank Retirement Resources along with Zions Direct and Zions Investment Services Group will be hosting a series of seminars on a variety of retirement subjects.

The next seminar will be held May 11 . . . read more

Many older Americans are staying put in traditional big cities to hold onto jobs, creating slowdowns in population growth at once-popular retirement destinations in the South and West.

Census estimates for 2009, released Tuesday, capture the impact of the housing downturn and economic recession on the nation’s counties . . . read more

Collective investment trusts are increasingly popular in 401(k) plans. Some 70 percent of plans with more than 1,000 employees offer them either as an option or as their sole investment. Their popularity is growing rapidly. More than 770 collective trusts have been started since 2000. Although exact numbers are hard to come by, estimates are that there are about 2,000 CITs in 401(k) plans.

CITs are similar to mutual funds in their investment goals but are regulated by banking rules not securities regulations. . . . read more

Tom Taormina is 65 and has no retirement savings.

The Virginia City, Nev., business consultant said it’s not for lack of trying. He and his wife, Midge, have tried to save and at one time invested in the stock market, but it’s all been depleted.

“We’re scrambling to make it through the next 20 years,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to set money aside, but every time we do something unforeseen comes up.” . . . read more

RETIRE? ARE YOU KIDDING? A new survey released Tuesday, March 9, by the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows the percentage of workers who say they’ve saved for retirement slid to 69 percent in January, down from 75 percent in 2009.

THE PIGGY BANK’S EMPTY: More than a quarter of those surveyed have less than $1,000 . . . read more

Zions Bank has recently announced a new service called Zions Bank Retirement Resources, which provides customers with information on a variety of retirement considerations, such as wills, trusts, 401(k)s, IRAs and a host of other important topics.

Over the coming months, Zions Bank Retirement Resources along with Zions Direct and Zions Investment Services Group will be hosting a series of seminars on a variety of retirement subjects.

The next seminar will be held March 10 . . . read more

Retirement savings is a central topic in the Obama administration’s proposed initiatives to help struggling middle class families. And one of the concerns to be addressed is improving the ability of workers to determine how much they’re paying for the management of their 401(k) plan.

Making smart spending decisions often means . . . read more

Even if the candles don’t all fit on the cake, there’s extra reason to celebrate some key older birthdays in the post-meltdown economy.

Hitting certain milestones can provide financial and health-related security that those with their eye on retirement long took for granted but don’t any more.

Since the bottom fell out of retirement portfolios in 2008 and early 2009, government entitlements and other protections earned with age have become more essential for the over-50 crowd . . . read more

It’s good to know what your family goals are for the next 10 or 20 years: Buy a home, send children to college, accumulate enough for retirement and many other worthy aims. But good intentions don’t necessarily make good outcomes. To be successful, you need to do some simple arithmetic, and then — and this is the hard part — live according to the calculations.

Many families have discovered that the assets they intended to use for important purposes — paying for the children’s college educations, funding retirement, buying a long-awaited vacation home — have been swallowed up by the financial crisis. They’re now having to make last-minute and often drastic adjustments to their plans.