Published:
04/17/2013 12:15pm
National Financial Literacy Month: If Not Now, When? Calculate Your Retirement Readiness
Holyoke, MA, April 16, 2013 – Charlie Epstein, CLU, ChFC, AIF®, founder and creator of The 401k Coach® Program and Paychecks for Life® urges American workers to use National Financial Literacy Month this April as a springboard to evaluate their savings and investing goals. “Healthy financial habits are important in many of life’s events but planning for retirement, specifically, is a daunting process affecting the morale, motivation and momentum of this country,” says Mr. Epstein.
The Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), sponsored by Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that worker confidence in having enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement declined again in 2013. Retirement planning is often put on the back burner because of more urgent present-day financial responsibilities. Another major reason for hesitation is the lack of a proper savings strategy. “The average employee does not have the aptitude or tenacity to take the measures needed now to secure their financial future,” says Mr. Epstein, “and that’s why I have created the Desirement Mortgage® Calculator.”
“Desirement” is a term coined by Epstein as an alternative to “retirement.” The Desirement Mortgage model is taught in his clarifying book, Paychecks for Life. The book offers nine principles for reducing financial anxiety by taking a practical and systematic approach with the retirement planning process.
The days of expecting a stable replacement income through a company pension and Social Security are over. For better or worse, the responsibility for ensuring adequate retirement income has shifted to the individual worker. The 401(k) and other employer-sponsored retirement savings plans have become the primary vehicle enabling this to be possible. However, without education and awareness on their usefulness, they will go under-used or as a completely missed opportunity.
With over 70% of employers in the private industry sponsoring a defined contribution plan for their employees, it makes sense that education on retirement readiness would be most effective if delivered to employees at significant junctures during their employment. Employers, along with the advisory firm to the plan, should have an Education Policy in place and be operating under these best practices. “More needs to be done at the plan level to encourage a higher rate of savings for plan participants,” states Epstein.
Mr. Epstein has been teaching his Paychecks for Life concepts to financial professionals through the nationally recognized 401k Coach® Program. “My goal is to influence the confidence, clarity and capabilities for Americans to grow and protect an investment for their future,” continues Mr. Epstein, “my book takes complicated investment and saving concepts and breaks them down into easy to understand methods that all employees can relate to.”
Let’s exploit National Financial Literacy Month as the platform to spread the Paychecks for Life message. Start by visiting www.paychecksforlife.org to learn more about Charlie Epstein’s innovative philosophy and demo the Desirement Mortgage Calculator. “I urge employers and financial intermediaries to start looking at the employee success rate of retirement plans as one of the main focus points of their due diligence efforts,” concludes Epstein.
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Contact:
Amanda Walker
awalker@the401kcoach.com
(413) 539-2373
www.The401kCoach.com
https://twitter.com/The401kCoach
www.PaychecksforLife.org
https://twitter.com/Paychecks_4Life
