What's in your 401(k)? Many simply don't know
In this issue we tackle the age-old question, When the heck am I ever going to be able to retire?
There's a lot of data out there showing most Americans don't have the foggiest idea. Some 55 million people don't even have the option of investing in a 401(k) plan because their employers don't offer that option, according to AARP. A good share of those with retirement plans have enough saved to provide an underwhelming monthly stipend of $369. Ouch.
As reported by Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber, Maine's two largest publicly traded companies, IDEXX Laboratories Inc. and WEX Inc., as well as Maine's largest construction company, Cianbro, are educating employees about how to take better advantage of the retirement plans offered.
“This is a national issue,” says Giovani Twigge, chief human resources officer at IDEXX, tells Mainebiz. “People do not save enough for retirement. We think that companies have a responsibility in helping employees prepare for that.”
When it comes to individual retirement plans, millennials are proving to be an attractive target for investment firms. As Senior Writer Renee Cordes reports, many younger professionals jolted by the great recession are now serious about socking away money for the future. “They've grown up with access to so much information at their fingertips, and so they're very savvy,” Amanda Rand, president of Spinnaker Trust, told Mainebiz. Scott Mazuzan, an investment manager at F.L. Putnam Investment Management Co., adds: “They're extremely curious and almost wary of the industry and they just want someone to tell them what they're doing is sound and reasonable.”
Outside of the investment world, tourism season is upon us, and Staff Writer Maureen Milliken reports on efforts by arts-and-cultural attractions and outdoors events to bring in more visitors. “I think of Maine as a place where nature and culture meet,” Suzette McAvoy, director of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, tells Mainebiz. She describes a need for visitors “to experience a sense of place.”
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