Have you ever seen an investment firm message that our retirements are on track and we should just head to the beach? Me neither. Up to a point, a certain amount of "sky is falling" rhetoric is not surprising. However, one critic of standard investment advice thinks there is more going on here.

[In Pictures: The Best Places to Retire in 2012.]

Austin Nichols is a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank that does a lot of research on economic issues. In a recent paper, Nichols takes aim at the notion that people should try to achieve retirement incomes that are roughly 80 percent of their pre-retirement incomes.

This is a common goal in retirement planning, and it makes a lot of sense at first. The thinking is that people have developed some balance in their income-spending needs through the years, and that their incomes near retirement are thus sufficient to meet their needs. After they stop working, their income needs will decline. They will need to set aside less money for retirement savings, for one. Also, their tax rates are likely to fall, and so will their work-related expenses.

That, at least, is the common wisdom. But Nichols says it's just flat wrong. To achieve a retirement income goal of 80 percent of pre-retirement income would require a large amount of savings, he says, even for people who begin when they're young. And if people wait until their 40s, say, to get serious about funding their retirement needs, there is no way they can achieve an 80 percent target.

[See How to Calculate Your Retirement Number.]

"To hit a target of 80 percent of pre-retirement income," his paper says, "workers retiring at 62 ... who began to save in 2010 at age 45 might need to save 65 percent of their income." Besides being impossible on a practical basis, saving that much money would mean that a person was spending only 35 percent of their income. When they retire, by contrast, they would find themselves with 80 percent of their income to spend--an enormous and probably unneeded boost in their living standard.

"They should be saving less today and consuming less when they retire," Nichols says. "But one cannot optimize by targeting a percentage of gross pre-retirement income. Instead, one must target spending."

Looking at spending capabilities, a lot of the fear about retirement readiness disappears. Yes, some people will have tough retirements. But the odds are that they have had a tough time making ends meet all their lives. Being retired won't magically change their financial situation. The story for most people, however, is different and more positive.

Research by University of Wisconsin economist John Karl Scholz, among others, finds that roughly 75 percent of Americans were adequately prepared for retirement several years ago. In other words, they had accumulated enough assets to maintain their pre-retirement living standards after they retired.

Originally posted here:
Is Retirement Advice Biased Against You?

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Nationwide Retirement Solutions announced today that it has redesigned and enhanced its website to better serve public sector plan sponsors and participants, and make planning for retirement easier.

We strive to deliver a truly exceptional customer experience to our plan sponsors and participants through our comprehensive service model, and the web is a key component of that, said Anne Arvia, president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions. "Weve reworked every page of the website and the content to ensure were providing our clients with the information they need.

The newly redesigned and updated site is a result of extensive research and testing with both plan sponsors and participants. From that research Nationwide identified what plan participants value most with their web experience: that they want to be able to quickly determine if they are on track for retirement, what they can do to help improve their situation and the flexibility to engage with the site based on their personal preference. Plan sponsors, on the other hand, are looking for ways to help their employees prepare for retirement, to understand how their plan is performing and a way to easily report plan performance to key stakeholders.

Enhancements to the participant site include:

The new plan sponsor site:

Our research-based approach gives us confidence that were delivering a user-centric site thats more intuitive, easier to navigate, and packed with helpful tools and information presented in a clear, concise manner, added Arvia. Our goal is to help our plan sponsor clients complete many of their day-to-day tasks more efficiently, and to help simplify retirement planning for our participants.

The sites also include the Nationwide On Your Side Interactive Retirement PlannerSM. The Planner was launched in 2010 and can help users set retirement goals, track progress, and find suggestions to improve their unique retirement outlook all in about 10 minutes.

For more information about the new website for public-sector retirement plans, plan sponsors should visit http://www.nrsforu.com or contact a Nationwide representative at 877-496-1630.

About Nationwide

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Nationwide Retirement Solutions Redesigns Website

I'm 28 and on track to save 40% of my salary in retirement and other accounts this year. I wonder, though, whether I'm focusing too much on stashing away money rather than enjoying it more at my age. Am I overdoing it? -- Adam, Minneapolis

There's no question that you're socking away money at a much higher rate than most people are able to manage financially or would chose to do.

A 2010 Aon Hewitt survey of contribution rates to 401(k) plans shows participants in their 20s contribute 5% of salary on a pre-tax basis compared to a rate of about 7% for participants of all ages.

Clearly, you're a champion saver. Does the fact that you're saving so much more than your peers mean you're overdoing it?

If overdoing it means saving more than is necessary to fund a comfortable retirement, then sure, it's possible you're going overboard in that sense.

Say you want to retire at age 65 on 80% of your pre-retirement salary. If you go to our What You Need to Save calculator and plug in your age and an annual salary of, say, $40,000, you'll see that the recommended savings rate is just over 9% -- and that's if we assume you haven't saved a dime to date.

Of course, you'll have to save considerably more if you want to retire early or live large after you call it a career. You can try different retirement ages and target retirement incomes using T. Rowe Price's calculator. But it's hard to imagine you'll fall short of a secure retirement at any reasonable age if you consistently save 40% of your salary a year.

Investing for retirement when you're just starting out

Ah, but is it really likely you'll be able to continue this pace throughout your career? My guess is that as you get older and take on more financial obligations like maintaining a house and raising kids, you'll find that it gets tougher to save.

There may also be periods where saving is a challenge. At some point over the next few decades, you could find yourself out of work due to a layoff or health issues or some other reason, for example.

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Retirement Savings: Is It Possible to Save Too Much?

At age 60, Kathy Frederick routinely put in 50 hours a week as a hospital administrator for Scripps Health Systems in San Diego. She managed a 15-person staff, and regularly took work home on week-ends -- until one day five years ago she decided enough was enough. "I wasn't ready to retire," says Frederick, "but after 18 years at that pace, I wanted a different challenge and more time for myself."

So Frederick worked with her boss to create a new role for herself at Scripps as a special-projects manager, which allowed her to gradually downshift her hours to her current two-day-a-week schedule. Frederick is thrilled with the change, which she's found reenergizing. "I'm still valued," she says, "but I get to work on my own terms."

Frederick is one of a growing number of fifty- and sixtysomethings who aren't ready to quit work but would like to cut back -- in fact, four out of 10 people 50 and older say they'd like to gradually reduce their work hours as they age, according to an AARP survey.

Some love what they do but are tired of the hectic pace and long hours. Others would be happy to bid the job adios but can't afford to give up a regular salary, benefits, or the chance to build a bigger nest egg. Employers are warming to the idea of workers phasing in retirement, too, since it allows them to save money on some of their longest-tenure (read: most expensive) staffers without losing that expertise entirely.

Sound appealing? Whether easing up at work makes sense for you depends on your finances -- Can you afford to live on less now? Will it hurt your retirement lifestyle later? -- and also on the nature of your work.

To decide, start with a clear-eyed assessment of your prospects. The challenge, if you opt to move ahead, will be to craft a new role that lightens your load without damaging your long-term security.

Know what works

Is your current job doable on a reduced schedule, or can you reinvent your role in a way that will allow you to work at a less pressured pace? And do you work for the kind of employer that will be receptive to the idea?

Those are the first questions to ask yourself. The answers will depend in part on your company's culture and on your standing within the organization -- as well as on your ability to think critically and creatively about your role.

Build on precedent. Your employer probably doesn't have a formal phased-retirement program; few do. But if the company already has other kinds of flexible work options in place -- part-time schedules, say, or telecommuting arrangements -- you can model your proposal on them. A variation on a working arrangement that managers are familiar with and know can succeed will get a better reception than a concept they've never heard of.

Originally posted here:
Retirement plan - Retire on your terms

SINGAPORE--06/03/2012, UNITED STATES--(Marketwire -03/06/12)- STATS ChipPAC Ltd. ("STATS ChipPAC" or the "Company") (SGX-ST: STATSChP), a leading semiconductor test and advanced packaging service provider, today announced its next-generation three dimensional (3D) embedded Wafer Level Ball Grid Array (eWLB) Package-on-Package (PoP) solutions. This innovative new 3D technology provides an ultra thin package profile height below 1.0mm, a 30% height reduction over the industry standard 1.4mm total stacked package height.

Market demand for advanced, multi-functional portable electronic devices is driving the need for semiconductor packages with higher thermal and electrical performance, increased bandwidth and speed in an ultra thin package profile. PoP has been a successful 3D packaging approach by virtue of the flexibility it offers in combining individual memory and logic packages vertically into a single solution in the industry standard 1.4mm total stacked package height. While current PoP technologies are effective in integrating multiple functions in a small form factor, reaching the next level of packaging bandwidth and performance in more advanced mobile devices drive advancements in the stacked package profile height below 1.0mm as well as tighter substrate line/space capability.

STATS ChipPAC's eWLB PoP technology offers customers significant performance, cost and height advantages over traditional substrate-based PoP technology. By utilizing eWLB's fan-out wafer level packaging approach, STATS ChipPAC has been able to reduce the bottom PoP package height to less than 0.5mm. eWLB PoP is available in either a single or double-sided configuration and provides a flexible integration platform for stacking a wide range of memory packages on top with a final stacked package height below 1.0mm.

"With eWLB we are able to offer a next-generation 3D PoP technology that achieves heterogeneous die integration and higher input/output (IO) density in a significantly smaller footprint than is possible today with standard PoP and flip chip technology. The maximum benefits of eWLB PoP can be achieved through a co-design process with our customers to optimize the functional performance of this ultra thin 3D package," said Dr. Han Byung Joon, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, STATS ChipPAC. "This is the thinnest 3D PoP solution available in the industry today and it delivers significant cost and performance advantages for our customers."

With high-performance and power-efficient capabilities in an inherently small, ultra-thin package profile, eWLB has been a technology enabler for advanced mobile applications such as smartphones, media tablets and cloud computing. STATS ChipPAC has shipped over 200 million eWLB units at a rapidly increasing run rate and is in volume production with a large number of eWLB package architectures including small die, large die, multi-die and multi-layer designs.

"eWLB has proven to be a scalable advanced technology that opens up a number of opportunities for our customers in terms of product design. In addition to mobile applications, there has been a growing interest from customers in computing applications where fanning out the device interconnection using eWLB technology can reduce substrate complexity and costs. eWLB is also well-suited for the microcontroller market where reducing cost and form factor are a priority," said Hal Lasky, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, STATS ChipPAC.

STATS ChipPAC will be presenting the latest information on innovative 3D packaging solutions including eWLB, low cost copper column flip chip PoP technology and stacked die integration of RF packages at the IMAPS International Conference and Exhibition on Device Packaging that is being held March 5th - 8th, 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements in this release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the timing and impact of the expected closure of our Thailand facility as well as the estimated associated cost for the closure; the amount of the property damage and business interruption insurance claim due to flooding of our Thailand facility; the ability to shift production to other manufacturing locations, shortages in supply of key components and disruption in supply chain; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; prevailing market conditions; demand for end-use applications products such as communications equipment, consumer and multi-applications and personal computers; decisions by customers to discontinue outsourcing of test and packaging services; level of competition; our reliance on a small group of principal customers; our continued success in technological innovations; pricing pressures, including declines in average selling prices; intellectual property rights disputes and litigation; our ability to control operating expenses; our substantial level of indebtedness and access to credit markets; potential impairment charges; availability of financing; changes in our product mix; our capacity utilisation; delays in acquiring or installing new equipment; limitations imposed by our financing arrangements which may limit our ability to maintain and grow our business; returns from research and development investments; changes in customer order patterns; customer credit risks; disruption of our operations; loss of key management or other personnel; defects or malfunctions in our testing equipment or packages; rescheduling or cancelling of customer orders; adverse tax and other financial consequences if the taxing authorities do not agree with our interpretation of the applicable tax laws; classification of our Company as a passive foreign investment company; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; changes in environmental laws and regulations; exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; majority ownership by Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited ("Temasek") that may result in conflicting interests with Temasek and our affiliates; unsuccessful acquisitions and investments in other companies and businesses; labour union problems in South Korea; uncertainties of conducting business in China and changes in laws, currency policy and political instability in other countries in Asia; natural calamities and disasters, including outbreaks of epidemics and communicable diseases; the continued trading and listing of our ordinary shares on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST"). You should not unduly rely on such statements. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

About STATS ChipPAC Ltd. STATS ChipPAC Ltd. is a leading service provider of semiconductor packaging design, assembly, test and distribution solutions in diverse end market applications including communications, digital consumer and computing. With global headquarters in Singapore, STATS ChipPAC has design, research and development, manufacturing or customer support offices in 10 different countries. STATS ChipPAC is listed on the SGX-ST. Further information is available at http://www.statschippac.com. Information contained in this website does not constitute a part of this release.

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STATS ChipPAC's Scalable 3D eWLB Solutions Deliver Performance, Height and Cost Advantages Over Substrate-Based ...

HANOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

CeBIT

Actian Corporation today announced that Deutsche Familienversicherung AG (DFV AG), a leading insurance company based in Germany, has selected Actians proven analytical database, Vectorwise as its long-term data warehousing solution. By using Vectorwise, the insurance company can aggregate its data and optimize analytics in order to perform complex analysis, some of them in real-time.

With the growth of data in the insurance sector, the speed and stability of a database have become major factors, especially when it comes to analyzing and reporting on corporate figures and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. As its master data had grown considerably over the years and also increased in complexity, DFV AG was looking for a stable and future-proof database that would also easily accommodate further growth.

As a young, dynamic organization we prefer innovative, cost-efficient software solutions which we can also combine with solutions from established vendors. Therefore, we were not only looking for a long-term relationship with a good partner who understands and meets our requirements but also for ways to meet our financial needs, says Dr. Stefan M. Knoll, Executive Director of DFV AG, explaining the companys current IT strategy.

As part of its strategy, DFV AG uses commercial Open Source solutions for Business Intelligence (BI) and ETL. Representing the third technology layer in the IT stack, DFV sought to find a reliable database software solution that would then fit in with the existing IT infrastructure and hardware environment.

Following a comprehensive proof-of-concept phase during which we evaluated a number of options, Vectorwise emerged as the best solution with respect to our IT needs, continues Dr. Knoll. During a three-month test phase, which included continuous support by the German Actian team, Vectorwise was also tested for its integration capability with the existing BI and ETL tools.

A strict optimization of the database tables is not an absolute necessity with Vectorwise because the Actian solution provides ample performance even for ad hoc analyses of huge amounts of data. We have already seen a significant performance benefit over our existing, non column-oriented database under the same conditions. As a result, we expect to see a marked improvement in the area of customer service and, ultimately, a competitive advantage, adds Dr. Knoll.

Master data is a valuable asset especially in the insurance sector, and the speed of data analytics plays a major role, explains Olaf Laber, Director Business Development, Central Europe at Actian. We are delighted that DFV AG has made Vectorwise its solution of choice and relies on our high-speed database technology.

Vectorwise is a high-performance database for interactive reporting and analysis that leverages the power of advanced mainstream CPUs. Vectorwise includes a database engine that uses vector-based processing and on-chip memory to achieve significant performance improvements for real-time inquiries and analyses compared to other databases.

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Deutsche Familienversicherung Boosts Customer Service and Operational Performance with Vectorwise

NEW YORK An overwhelming majority of likely Latino voters supports both the DREAM Act and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in general, even as GOP candidates continue to dig their heels in on the immigration issue, an exclusive national poll by Fox News Latino and Latin Insights has found.

Ninety percent of Latino voters surveyed said they supported the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented youths who attend university or serve in the military.

The DREAM Act has long been a consensus issue for Latinos, few of whom view undocumented youth as responsible for the decision to immigrate.

But the poll also found that 85.9 percent of registered Latino voters supported providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in general, indicating broad consensus among Hispanics that people of all ages should be given a chance to normalize their status.

Latino support of a path for citizenship is significantly higher than the general populations, though recent polling data indicates a majority of American voters support a path to citizenship for the undocumented, independent of ethnicity.

A Fox News poll released in December found 66 percent of registered voters supported allowing undocumented immigrants remain in the country and eventually qualify for citizenship, on the condition that they meet requirements including learning English, paying back taxes and pass background checks. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans surveyed in the December poll supported a path to citizenship under those requirements.

GOP Hopefuls Losing Ground Among Latinos: Fox News Latino Exclusive Poll

Consensus among Latino voters on the immigration issue appears clear, though GOP candidates continue to take hardline stances.

At a televised debate last month in Mesa, Arizona, Mitt Romney called Arizonas E-Verify law a model for the nation and said that if elected he would drop Justice Department lawsuits against states that have passed laws mandating local police to enforce federal immigration law.

Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich espouse similar positions emphasizing border security rather than immigration reform, though Gingrich has spoken in favor of creating a path to path to legal residency for some immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years.

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FOX NEWS LATINO POLL: Latinos back 'Dream Act'- Immigration is personal for Latinos, poll says

Even after plotting Square's year-long growth on a "sexy growth curve," Splat F's Dan Frommer is surprised by the company's success -- but he really shouldn't be. "It is easy to be skeptical of Square," he writes. "Which while very cool also feels like it must somehow be overhyped. (Why did my local caf stop using it? Why dont I ever see it in use? Can it really replace most cash registers? Etc.)," he continues. Whenever Square releases some landmark growth numbers, they've been met with a similarbit of surprise from tech bloggers, but the company's success is easy to understand.

RELATED: Larry Summers to Help Build the Future of Money

The company has a real stream ofrevenue. The thing about lots of tech start-ups these days, is that they rely on this idea of "value." Twee social network Pinterest, for example, has generated lots of traffic and interest and can theoretically channel all those page views into money. But, that's just a theory. For now, they only have an abstract notion of who they are valuable to (users, marketers, online retailers, etc.). Square, on the other hand, is makes money right now. Every new person who starts using Square to process payments makes the company money, as the company takes a 2.75 percent cut of every single payment, which Frommer estimates is around $300,000 gross revenue per day. Making real money is the simplest way to demonstrate value to investors (and the rest of the world).

RELATED: Square, Now Worth $1 Billion, Wants to Take On Google

People actually use it. So many thatThe Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal called it "mainstream," giving us this chart below back in August. Frommer might disagree, as he doesn't see the gadget around much, but these bubbles are more proof that Frommer's personal experience. The company processes more payments than PayPal did at the same stage of its growth, adds Fast Company's Ellen McGrit, who placed Square as number five on this month's most innovative company's list. More than 1 million people use Square to process credit cards, she continues.

RELATED: The Fragmented Future of Mobile Payments

RELATED: The Mobile Payment Wars Are Officially Underway

Lots of money from the right people.Last summer square announced a $100 million round of funding, valuing it in the billion dollar range. A few months later, in October serial-entrepreneurbillionaireRichard Branson behind the many branches of Virgin,threw some money at the company. It's one thing for a startup to raise money from celebrity backers, it's quite another to convince celebrity backers to invest after a company is worth a billion dollars.

RELATED: PayPal Sues Google for Stealing Employees, Trade Secrets

Jack Dorsey magic. This is the man that founded Twitter -- he gets the Internet start-up thing. But, unlike Twitter, which has struggled to turn its value into money, Square, as we've already mentioned, is a revenue streams.

Link:
Zero Reasons to Be Surprised by Square's Success

South Australian Health Minister John Hill was swamped by so many callers on his first healthcare hotline that he and his staff couldn't answer them all.

Mr Hill and senior SA Health staff were available to the public on a two-hour HealthChat hotline on Tuesday but they were only able to answer about 110 of the more than 650 calls.

The minister says he is pleased with the result and will do it again.

But opposition health spokesman Martin Hamilton-Smith says it shows Mr Hill's inability to plan, to prepare and to deliver on promises.

"He couldn't organise a chook raffle, let alone take a few phone calls," Mr Hamilton-Smith said.

"Minister Hill's phone-in session was much like the health system he continually mismanages - overwhelmed by demand and improperly resourced.

"I'm sure many nurses, doctors and health workers across the state would agree that minister Hill's experience last night was the tip of the iceberg."

Mr Hill says the calls covered a wide range of subjects, including personal medical issues, access to services, mental health and country health.

"We're really pleased with the response and we will make sure that HealthChat is repeated soon and that it becomes a regular event," he said.

See the original post here:
SA Healthchat a success: minister

(NAPSW)Before Ken Carter became Coach Carter of Hollywood movie fame, he was a successful businessman and basketball coach of the Richmond High School Oilers in Richmond, Calif.one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country.

Coach Carter gained notoriety when he canceled all of his undefeated basketball teams games and practices for eight daysforfeiting two gamesbecause 15 team members had poor academic performances. The story is the basis for the film Coach Carter, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Accountability, overcoming adversity, taking charge of your life and learning to succeed when others expect you to fail are key essentials Coach taught. In his new book, Yes Maam, No Sir, Coach Carter uses his personal experiences and core beliefs to explain his methods for success, including:

Quality of Characterunderstand who you are and what you can do; Self-disciplinemotivate yourself regardless of outside factors; Flexibilitythe ability to change course; Giving to Othersfew can succeed without others.

In addition to this guide for getting ahead, Carter recently started the Coach Carter Impact Academy, a nontraditional boarding school for young men, and a business school for developing entrepreneurs. The book is available where books are sold.

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Steps For Success