In my efforts to bring you the best, most useful information about retirement, I came across this annual survey conducted by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.  This is a great survey that contains a treasure trove of information that can help anyone in or near retirement prepare for the future.  If you’re interested in reading the full survey, you can find it by clicking here.  I’m sure no matter who you are and what your retirement savings situation, you will find something in this survey that’s relevant to you.

This report also contains a special section about women in retirement, a topic which is near and dear to me and my Crash Proof Retirement Show® co-host, Joann Small.  Over her career, Joann Small has done so much for women to help them prepare for retirement, and she knows that many women, especially in the Baby Boomer generation, depend on their husbands to handle the family finances.  The Transamerica report confirms that, and provides other valuable information that can help women realize the importance of being included in retirement planning discussions.  If you’re a women in or near retirement, I encourage you to read the report.

Transamerica also provides a new definition of retirement in these difficult economic times.  In a press release, Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies President Catherine Collinson stated the following:

“American workers are adjusting their expectations of retirement, including working past age 65 and planning to work part‐time in retirement.  American workers have reshaped their vision of retirement, now it’s time to provide an updated road map to help them achieve retirement income to last throughout their lifetime.”

It’s an unfortunate fact that more and more retirees are being forced to work after retirement, but it’s a reality that we all need to be prepared for. By reading the report, you’ll be educating yourself on that possibility, and you’ll learn to incorporate that into your future plans.

Phil Cannella is the founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

In a story that has become all too common these days, ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s settled a lawsuit accusing them of manipulating their ratings before the financial crisis of 2008.  Specifically, the two agencies are accused of giving good ratings to risky subprime mortgage products in order to make them more appealing to investors.

The products in question were more of the complex derivative products made up of subprime mortgages that are credited with causing a great deal of the damage the U.S. economy suffered in 2008.  Financial companies bought up mortgages and divided them into categories based on how likely homeowners were to default on those mortgages.  The ones deemed likely to bring a return were labeled “Prime.”  The ones that were likely to go into default were labeled “subprime.”  These companies saw their opportunity to make some money off these subprime mortgage products, and they took it.

The subprime mortgages got bundled together and were given fancy names like “Abacus” and “Timberwolf” to make them more attractive to unsuspecting investors.  But they also needed the support of ratings agencies to make their plan a success.  Although it is unknown why they did it, S&P and Moody’s were both willing to rate subprime mortgage products very highly.  With the strength of these endorsements, financial companies were able to sell subprimes like hotcakes, while simultaneously betting against those very same products.  Internal e-mails revealed that these firms knew the products would perform less than admirably, and of course they turned out to be right.  Because the firms took a short position against their own products, they made bank when subprimes crashed in 2008, taking the housing market and the U.S. economy with them.

So why did ratings agencies rate subprimes so highly when the people selling them knew they would crash?  Regulators, Economists, and Investors alike smelled something fishy.  That’s why S&P is now facing a barrage of lawsuits from the U.S. Department of Justice, 18 State Attorneys General, banks all over the world, and even individual investors.

Unfortunately, ratings agencies and financial firms alike have proved to be quite good at evading these charges by settling out of court.  And the settlement between S&P, Moody’s and the Plaintiff in this case represents another in a long line of these types of settlements.  The best part?  These settlements allow firms and ratings agencies to “neither admit nor deny wrongdoing.”

That’s how these firms get away with murder, and it happens all the time.  It’s nearly five years after the economy collapse, and very few people have faced any kind of real justice for the widespread fraud that went on.

Unfortunately, regulators in the U.S. seem more interested in collecting the big paychecks they get in these settlements than they do in enforcing the law.

Read more about this story in The Wall Street Journal

Phil Cannella is the founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

by Phil Cannella

If anyone out there is still not convinced that the stock market is too volatile for people in or near retirement, I give you this story:

Tuesday afternoon, hackers took over the Twitter account of the Associated Press, an account that nearly one million followers count on to deliver the news in brief. The hackers then sent out a false tweet indicating that the White House had been attacked by bombers (it hadn’t) and that President Barack Obama was injured (he wasn’t).

It’s bad enough that hackers would attempt pass off a fake story like this one, especially while unlawfully controlling the account of a highly respected news agency. But the hack attack caused some other consequences for the U.S. economy.

After the fake tweet was posted, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 150 points almost instantly as traders became concerned about the future of the American economy. With the Boston Bombings still fresh in the public’s mind, news of yet another attack in less than two weeks shook the confidence of American investors.

Luckily, the tweet was revealed to have been faked and the AP’s Twitter account was suspended before the hackers could do any more damage. While the stock market quickly recovered, the damage to investor confidence had already been done.

Incidents like this go to show you just how volatile the stock market can be. If the actions of a random hacker can cause the stock market to crash so easily, imagine the kind of havoc real world events can wreak on the fragile market indices. We saw how a less-than-stellar economic growth report coming out of China caused market crashes in The U.S., Europe and Japan and quickly eroded the value of Oil and precious metals worldwide. The Boston Bombing caused the markets to drop, as have countless other incidents in the past. The truth is, events like this cannot be predicted, and cumulatively, they add up to a large drop in consumer confidence.

So I have to ask again why so many investors are putting their confidence in the fragile stock market. It seems like so many factors can cause market indices to come crashing down, yet investors still feel like they can accurately predict the movement of the markets. The closer you get to retirement, the less you can afford to gamble with your retirement savings. The market has proved to be especially unpredictable late, so maybe the time to get off the markets is now.

Phil Cannella is the founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

I maintain an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Pheed, so if you’re a fan of Phil Cannella, be sure to check out my Social Media Pages, which are updated every day with great new content. I like to post pictures from events, media coverage, videos from my Youtube channel. I also share news stories and other items that relate to retirees and retirement.

I started in this business in the 70s, so it has been amazing to see how rapidly developing computer technology has shaped the industry. I love Social Media because it gives me another platform where I can interact with people in or near retirement from all around the world. So if you’re a retiree taking part in the Social Media revolution, check out my various Social Media pages to stay current on the world according to Phil Cannella. Don’t be afraid to message me, or share information with me that you think would be relevant to other retirees. I love getting feedback from the people I’ve met with and worked with in the past, and I would love to hear from you too!

Phil Cannella on Facebook (PhillipCannella)

Phil Cannella on Twitter (@PhillipCannella)

Phil Cannella on Pinterest

Phil Cannella on Pheed (Pheed.com/retirement)

First Senior Financial Group on Facebook

First Senior Financial Group on Twitter (FirstSeniorGrp)

The Crash Proof Retirement Show® on Facebook

Phil Cannella Online: Your Central Hub for Phil Cannella on Social Media

Phil Cannella is founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

I wanted to let everyone know about this great new blog at RetirementNews.net. By visiting the site, you can stay up to date on the latest news that affects retirees. Here’s a link to the latest post:

RetirementNews.net – New Budget Plan Takes Aim at Retirees

In the future, you will see lots more great posts that will clue you in to the topics that are near and dear to retirees. The blog will cover tax law changes, changes in programs like Social Security and Medicare, and laws that could affect your IRAs and other retirement savings accounts. So if you’re in the market for a blog that keeps you informed with clear, easy to read articles, check out RetirementNews.net.

Phil Cannella is founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

Revolving Door Revelations

Last week we talked about a report released by the Project on Government Oversight which exposed the issue of the Revolving Door, when government regulators leave their jobs to go work for the same private companies they once policed.
 
But were you aware that there is no Revolving Door?
 
At least that’s what former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
 
Schapiro said that, in her case, there was no Revolving Door because she did not plan on returning to work for the U.S. government in the future. But when she made that statement, she failed to acknowledge that the Revolving Door goes both ways – and that her 28 years as one of the nation’s top regulators might allow her to provide some important insights to her new employer, Promontory Financial Group.
 
You heard that right, the former head of the SEC is now going to bat for a private sector financial company, and she claims that it’s not a case of the Revolving Door coming back around again.
 
Well you’ll have to excuse us if we take Schapiro’s assertion with a grain of salt.
 
Schapiro’s new employer has been described as a “Shadow Regulator” by American Banker Magazine, and makes its money consulting for firms who want to learn how to comply with financial regulations coming from the U.S. government.
 
Sure, we’d all like to believe that Promontory is doing right by the American people, but the truth is that we don’t know. It’s possible that the private sector firm is merely teaching the financial industry how to comply with ever-changing government regulations. It’s also possible that Promontory’s roster of former top regulators help it teach the financial industry how to navigate around the regulations they help put in place.
 
And now Promontory has the former SEC Chairman in its bullpen.
 
But don’t worry, Mary Schapiro wants us to trust her when she says, “In my case, there’s no revolving door… I won’t ever be going back to government.”
 
It is also worth noting that this month Mary Schapiro will stand to be elected to the Board of GE, one of the world’s most powerful corporations with a market capital of over 242 billion dollars.
 
Now that Schapiro has gone from the private sector to the government and back again, should we just take her at her word?

by Phil Cannella

My Crash Proof™ Production Crew at Retirement Media, Inc. put together this video for me the other day and I wanted to share it with you. As you may know, I was invited to appear on “Voice of Reason” with Larry Kane, which aired March 17th and 20th on the Comcast Network. On the show, I got the chance to speak to legendary journalist Larry Kane, as well as expert panelists Ryan Sweet, Senior Economist at Moody’s and Dr. Bruce Rader from Temple University’s Fox School of Business. We had a great panel discussion about the economy and where it may be headed in the next few years

In case you missed it, I posted a short clip of the discussion above. In the clip, myself, Larry Kane, Mr. Sweet and Dr. Rader discuss the role that a financial education plays in ensuring you have a secure and comfortable future.

If you’d like to hear more, be sure to tune into the Crash Proof Retirement Show® this Saturday at 11 AM on 1210 WPHT – Philly’s Top Talk Radio Station.

Click here to listen to The Crash Proof Retirement Show Live!

Phil Cannella is founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

One of the dedicated employees at Retirement Media, Inc. passed this link along to me today, and needless to say I was ecstatic to see that myself, Joann Small, and Crash Proof Retirement™ were being recognized in the media once again.

This time, Profile Magazine decided to cover Crash Proof Retirement™, First Senior Financial Group, Retirement Media, Inc. as well as myself and Joann Small. The article starts by talking about my upbringing and the medical emergency that led to me founding First Senior Financial Group. Later, the author talks about how I founded Retirement Media, Inc., and how Joann Small took over at First Senior Financial Group, bringing with her leadership and enthusiasm that has propelled the firm to new heights. I am proud every day to work with Joann Small, and it was great to see her getting the respect she deserves from the media.

You can read the full article by clicking the link below:

A Sound Investment: First Senior Financial Group depends on integrity and transparency to communicate a better way to financially retire.

If you’re a fan of Crash Proof Retirement™, make sure you read this article, as it will give you some great insights into what inspired me to found First Senior Financial Group and start the Crash Proof Retirement Show®. These are the stories I can’t always go into when I speak at our Educational Events, because those are about educating retirees, not about going on and on about myself. So if you want a behind the scenes look at what makes Crash Proof Retirement™ tick, Profile Magazine can fill you in.

Phil Cannella is founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

Our friend Michael Smallberg with the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) is back again with another damning report of the Revolving Door between Washington regulators and Wall Street Financial Firms. It seems that not only is the Revolving Door still spinning, but that private firms are also offering their executives big bonuses for taking high-ranking government jobs, bonuses that would not be available to them if they took jobs at competing private sector firms.

You may remember Mr. Smallberg from his appearance on the Crash Proof Retirement Show® in January 2012, a groundbreaking interview during which he and I discussed the Revolving Door and its impact on government regulations. In his work with POGO, Mr. Smallberg has spent a great deal of time studying the revolving door.

In case you don’t know, the Revolving Door refers to the practice of Wall Street executives leaving their jobs at financial firms and taking jobs within the U.S. government (or vice-versa). This happens more often than you would think; some notable recent examples include Mary Schapiro, who went from being Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the Board of Directors at General Electric, and Jacob “Jack” Lew, who has bounced between government jobs and his position as COO of Citigroup, and who currently serves as Secretary of the Treasury.

Well POGO’s report released last week revealed some disturbing facts about the Revolving Door and showed that private companies actually encourage their executives to leave for high-ranking government jobs in the form of compensation agreements. You see, most of the time if an executive were to take a job at another company, they would forfeit lucrative bonuses, stock options, and other forms of compensation designed to keep them in their current jobs. But the compensation agreements of firms like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and others allow an exception for executives who take jobs within the government.

These types of agreements are actually fairly common, and are created with the mindset that the U.S. government is not a competitor to any company. In practice, these agreements actually seem to give executives an incentive to move to government jobs. The reason behind it could be that having an “inside man” within a government regulator, for example, could provide a firm with a contact to push certain beneficial legislation, or to help navigate around regulations. Of course, we’d all like to believe that these firms have the best of intentions, but recent history shows that may not be the case.

So you can read the POGO report on Revolving Door Bonuses by clicking here. Michael Smallberg and POGO have done a great job providing information about firms that provide these Revolving Door Bonuses, and with each report like this, we get a little bit closer to ending the corruption that spans from financial firms in the private sector all the way to regulators working for the U.S. government.

Phil Cannella is founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.

This Saturday, I have a very special Crash Proof Retirement Show® for my loyal listeners, so make sure to tune in. My guest will be Dr. Bruce Rader, Assistant Professor of Finance from Temple University’s Fox School of Business.

For those of you who have been following me, Dr. Rader was one of the other expert panelists invited to appear on Larry Kane’s “Voice of Reason” along with myself and Ryan Sweet, Senior Economist with Moody’s Analytics. We were all invited onto the show because of our expertise regarding finance and the economy. I was certainly honored to be appearing with two experts like Mr. Sweet and Dr. Rader, and to be invited to speak to such a legendary journalist as Larry Kane. I hope you all got a chance to watch, because the conversation we had was one that could literally save your retirement.

Here we are one week later, and I’m once again honored that Dr. Rader has agreed to appear on The Crash Proof Retirement Show®, where we will continue our conversation about the economy, and the issues that face every person who is in or near retirement.

And as always, Joann Small and Bob Bumbera will be in the studio to provide their take on the issues that affect retirees every single day.

Click the link below to listen live. The show airs this Saturday (March 23rd) from 11 AM to 1 PM on Philly’s Top Talk Radio Station, 1210 WPHT.

Click here to listen to The Crash Proof Retirement Show® LIVE!

Phil Cannella is founder and CEO of Retirement Media, Inc.