FINRA Investor News

July 9, 2008
 

Investor Alert

 

Weathering Tough Financial Times—The Long-Term Costs of Quick Cash

Rising costs of food and fuel, declines and volatility in the housing and financial markets, and an ever-tightening credit crunch have gathered to form a perfect storm that could lead some Americans to make poor financial choices.

In tough financial times, many investors feel pinched for cash—and some may search for different, often risky, ways to make ends meet. Troubling trends include investors leveraging or prematurely depleting their retirement savings, trading in their insurance policies in transactions known as "life settlements," and tapping their home equity through reverse mortgages.

Read more


401(k) Debit Cards—Think Before You Swipe

Many Americans tap their retirement savings before they retire, potentially harming their efforts to provide for a financially secure future. With the advent of a recent product—the 401(k) debit card—borrowing from a retirement savings account is as easy as swiping and spending.

Although they may seem to be an attractive feature of some 401(k) plans, taking money out of your retirement savings with 401(k) debit cards, even for a short period of time, can have enormous repercussions for your retirement security—particularly if you never put the money back.

Read more

    

Investor Information

 

Smart 401(k) Investing

Employer-sponsored retirement plans can make the difference between a financially secure retirement and the specter of running out of money. FINRA's "Smart 401(k) Investing" takes you through the process of enrolling and managing your account and provides answers on everything from eligibility to rollovers, and more. It also includes a "Special Features" section, with information on the pros and cons of taking out 401(k) loans, the true cost of hardship withdrawals and information on the extent to which your 401(k) assets may be protected from creditors.


Avoid Early Retirement Scams

FINRA has two new publications to help companies and their older workers protect themselves from early retirement scams.

The resource for companies offers tips on how to evaluate the financial professionals involved in early retirement seminars and the seminar materials such as invitations, slides, handouts and scripts. Read Help Your Employees Achieve Their Retirement Dream: Tips for Spotting Early Retirement Scams

A second resource alerts employees to the pitfalls of early retirement schemes. Read Early Retirement Seminars 101: Smart Tips for Spotting Retirement Scams



Tools You Can Use


 

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Is Your Company Thinking About Automating Its 401(k)?

 

A joint effort of AARP, FINRA and the Retirement Security Project (RSP) is aimed at helping Americans save for a secure financial future. The Retirement Made Simpler (RMS) initiative provides employers tools, research and tips to help them automate their 401(k) plans.



Questions? Search our FAQ database.


FINRA's Web site delivers relevant answers to plain English questions 24/7. Once on the FINRA FAQ home page, you can:

 

  • view our top ten most popular frequently asked questions;

  • perform natural language and key word search of our database; and

  • browse frequently asked questions by topic or category.

 

If you don't find an answer, use the "Ask an Expert" link within any FAQ and the system automatically routes new questions to the right subject matter expert, who will provide responses via email.

    

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Past Issues of Investor News Available


In response to numerous requests, previous issues of Investor News are now available on our Web site.



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