Savings Accounts

For the first time since the New Deal, a majority of Americans are headed toward a retirement in which they will be financially worse off than their parents, jeopardizing a long era of improved living standards for the nation's elderly, according to a growing consensus of new research. The Great Recession and the weak recovery darkened the retirement picture for significant numbers of Americans. And the full extent of the damage is only now being grasped by experts and policymakers.

BABY BOOM BILLS: A 65-year-old couple retiring this year would need $220,000 on average to cover medical expenses not covered by Medicare, according to an estimate by Fidelity Investments. SILVER LINING: This year's figure represents an 8 percent decrease from last year's number of $240,000. Fidelity attributes the slowdown to several factors, including a slowdown in health care spending that hasn't rebounded with the economy. PLANNING AHEAD: Experts recommend talking to a...

Federal employees who lose income by being furloughed also could end up with smaller retirement savings accounts. Updated guidance from the 401(k)-style Thrift Savings Plan says that special investment, loan and other policies apply to investors who are put on unpaid leave. The investment policies could result in less money going into accounts from both personal and employer contributions. Employees invest in the TSP based on a dollar amount per pay period or based on a percentage of salary.

At first glance, Neha Pai thought working at a bank would be boring. "But once I started being a teller, I realized it's really fun," the fourth-grader said. Over the past few months, Pai has gotten a first-hand look at the inner workings of a financial institution, thanks to a program hosted by Sandy Spring Bank at her Fairfax public school. Every Wednesday, the Olney-based bank sets up a mini-branch in the school's cafeteria. Between 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m., students can stop by to deposit money...

A large and growing share of American workers are tapping their retirement savings accounts for non-retirement needs, raising broad questions about the effectiveness of one of the most important savings vehicles for old age. More than one in four American workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts use them to pay current expenses, new data show. The withdrawals, cash-outs and loans drain nearly a quarter of the $293 billion that workers and employers deposit into the accounts each year, undermining...

Americans have poured record amounts of money into savings accounts even though interest rates are at historic lows, new federal data show, a sign that average people may be missing out on a booming stock market and recovering real estate sector. The total amount in those accounts climbed nearly 5 percent to $6.9 trillion in the spring, the highest level recorded since the Federal Reserve launched its regular reports on the flow of money in the economy in 1945. At the same time,...

Lake Arbor Elementary School fifth-grader Khalifa Ndir, 10, of Bowie eagerly waited to open his first bank account at the Mitchellville school with a $5 deposit, standing with other students clutching their bank applications and cash. "I think it's going to be fun watching the money grow," he said. "I'm saving up for something; when the time comes, I will know" what that is. On Sept. 23, Lake Arbor celebrated the grand opening of the school's student credit union, part of a Prince George's County...

At first glance, Neha Pai thought working at a bank would be boring. "But once I started being a teller, I realized it's really fun," the fourth-grader said. Over the past few months, Pai has gotten a first-hand look at the inner workings of a financial institution, thanks to a program hosted by Sandy Spring Bank at her Fairfax public school. Every Wednesday, the Olney-based bank sets up a mini-branch in the school's cafeteria. Between 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m., students can stop by to...

BABY BOOM BILLS: A 65-year-old couple retiring this year would need $220,000 on average to cover medical expenses not covered by Medicare, according to an estimate by Fidelity Investments. SILVER LINING: This year's figure represents an 8 percent decrease from last year's number of $240,000. Fidelity attributes the slowdown to several factors, including a slowdown in health care spending that hasn't rebounded with the economy. PLANNING AHEAD: Experts recommend...

I asked Richard Barrington, the primary spokesman and personal finance expert for MoneyRates.com, for his views on saving money. Besides working for the Web site, which examines bank account rates, he is a freelance writer and novelist who spent over 20 years as an investment industry executive. Here's what he had to say: "Yes, the recession is dragging on, the stock market is sputtering again, and interest rates are low. It's an era of diminished expectations, one where we have to return to the basics like saving...

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Major depositors in Cyprus' biggest bank will lose around 60 percent of their savings over 100,000 euros, the central bank confirmed Saturday, sharpening the terms of a bailout that has shaken Europe but saved the island from bankruptcy. Initial signs that big depositors in the Bank of Cyprus would take a hit of 30 to 40 percent — the first time the euro zone has made bank customers contribute to a bailout — had already unnerved investors in European lenders last week.

Federal employees who lose income by being furloughed also could end up with smaller retirement savings accounts. Updated guidance from the 401(k)-style Thrift Savings Plan says that special investment, loan and other policies apply to investors who are put on unpaid leave. The investment policies could result in less money going into accounts from both personal and employer contributions. Employees invest in the TSP based on a dollar amount per pay period or based on a...

For the first time since the New Deal, a majority of Americans are headed toward a retirement in which they will be financially worse off than their parents, jeopardizing a long era of improved living standards for the nation's elderly, according to a growing consensus of new research. The Great Recession and the weak recovery darkened the retirement picture for significant numbers of Americans. And the full extent of the damage is only now being grasped by experts and policymakers.

A large and growing share of American workers are tapping their retirement savings accounts for non-retirement needs, raising broad questions about the effectiveness of one of the most important savings vehicles for old age. More than one in four American workers with 401(k) and other retirement savings accounts use them to pay current expenses, new data show. The withdrawals, cash-outs and loans drain nearly a quarter of the $293 billion that workers and employers deposit into the accounts...

Hi, Carolyn: My wife is hunting for a new job and has been for two-plus years. She keeps getting close and then getting turned down after two or three rounds of interviews. She has a graduate degree in her field and is doing everything "right," from networking with alumni to talking to a career coach to asking for feedback from rejections. Somehow, though, she keeps losing out, and it is beginning to put a major stress on our marriage. A promotion for her would allow us to move on in our lives...

There was a time when the American savings rate was pitifully low. Then the recession hit. People realized they needed a cushion, and they started saving again, pouring $6.9 trillion into savings accounts even though interest rates are at historic lows, according to recent Federal Reserve data. As The Washington Post's Danielle Douglas reported this week : "The savings rate, which was at 1 percent in 2005, generally fluctuated between 5 percent and 6 percent during the recent recession.

One-quarter of American households -- about 60 million people -- have limited or no access to banks or other traditional financial services, with low-income and black families among the hardest hit, according to a government report released Wednesday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. survey of so-called unbanked and underbanked consumers marks the government's most comprehensive effort to quantify a population that has existed largely below the radar of federal regulations and financial institutions.

Financial info site BankRate is expanding its financial product listings, as it's acquiring Bankaholic , which provides info on deposits, savings accounts, and money market accounts. The company will pay $12.4 million up front, with another $2.5 million possible earnout over the next 12 months. Bankaholic's sole employee John Wu will assist in the transition and remain for an unspecified period of time. BankRate, of course, is exposed to some of the nastier aspects of the economy,...

Americans have poured record amounts of money into savings accounts even though interest rates are at historic lows, new federal data show, a sign that average people may be missing out on a booming stock market and recovering real estate sector. The total amount in those accounts climbed nearly 5 percent to $6.9 trillion in the spring, the highest level recorded since the Federal Reserve launched its regular reports on the flow of money in the economy in 1945. At the same time, other data show that...

At H.D. Woodson Senior High School in Northeast Washington, students help run an on-site branch of HEW Federal Credit Union. Over in Fairfax County, eighth-graders learn how to budget money and create stock portfolios using simulations at Junior Achievement Finance Park. Throughout the region, schools are ramping up efforts to teach personal finance and economic literacy as the broader economy continues to sputter back from a downturn. "As the recent financial crisis illustrates, consumers who can...