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Articles by Marlene Y. Satter
Credit Union Times
A close look at whether people are saving more today than in previous years, and if so, why. Lots of people are saving more these days, although the reasons aren’t necessarily ones to cheer about. And the people doing the most saving aren’t necessarily those you might expect to be doing so, either. Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership. Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
12 brain-smart places to retire
Heather Turner | June 16, 2020 Hagerty's list of classic car-friendly states considered factors such as weather, road conditions, sales taxes and more.
12 brain-smart places to retire
Benefits industry newsmakers: Alegeus, BPAS, ClariVest Asset Management, Sharecare C.J. Marwitz | June 05, 2020 News from HealthPoint Plus, The Carlyle Group, CFP Board, Cariloop, Salary Finance, T&D Holdings, Vantage Leadership Consulting
10 financial mistakes your clients may make | BenefitsPRO
News You might be able to head off some of these blunders people have admitted to making when dealing with their finances. (Photo: Shutterstock) Advisors, beware—as if your job weren’t complicated enough in the midst of a crashing economy and a pandemic, you’ll have to keep an eye on your clients lest they panic and do something stupid in what may seem like the end of the economy. Marlene Satter Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
10 steps to take after a layoff or furlough
News How to be prepared in case you end up in the next wave of the millions of people who have already joined the ranks of the unemployed.
Latest Sticking Point in Covid-19 Relief Legislation: Indemnity for Employers
As both sides gear up for another fight over coronavirus relief measures, Republicans and the Trump White House are digging in their heels over the desire to indemnify employers against being held responsible for liability over potential employee illnesses and deaths from the virus.
Latest sticking point in COVID-19 relief legislation: Indemnity for employers
It’s not just workers who could bring charges; customers could hold businesses liable as well and bring their own lawsuits. (Photo: Shutterstock) As both sides gear up for another fight over coronavirus relief measures, Republicans and the Trump White House are digging in their heels over the desire to indemnify employers against being held responsible for liability over potential employee illnesses and deaths from the virus.
MetLife survey done pre-COVID-19 and during pandemic, shows workers' lives upended
News Employees' stress levels in April top earlier high stress levels in January. (Photo: Shutterstock) Even before the coronavirus descended on the world, workers were battling plenty of stressors. Many were trying to find a balance between work and home life when the office seemed to be “always on.” Additionally, they were struggling to achieve (or keep) a degree of financial wellness. Marlene Satter Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
HR honchos a need recession plan to get through pandemic
Keeping a finger on the pulse of cost and cash flow is essential, as is the need to review job functions to see if anything can be streamlined. (Image Shutterstock) It’s not just individuals who should be putting together a plan to get through a recession, according to a report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic—HR chiefs should also be working diligently on such a plan lest their businesses be left in the dust.
Health care industry leaders ask Congress for coverage reforms
News Suggestions include offering subsidies to employers and covering the cost of COBRA benefits for people who have lost their jobs. Rick Pollack, president of AHA, noted that that a spike in the number of uninsureds could lead to long-term issues as people defer potentially necessary care.
4 factors affecting Social Security's future
News Despite these factors, Center for Retirement Research analysis shows financing shortfall over the next 75 years can be managed. A 1936 poster issued by the Social Security Board to promote the application for Social Security cards for Americans.
Majority of CEOs say COVID-19 poses a large or even severe risk to their business
News While many executives expect a "u-shaped" recovery, over 20 percent expect a "w-shaped" recovery, that is, with several ups and downs. (Photo: Shutterstock) Not only do the majority of CEOs say that the coronavirus pandemic poses a large or severe risk to their businesses, but 11 percent say it threatens those businesses’ very survival. That’s among the results of a YPO survey of chief executives globally.
RIA channel burgeoning as advisors move
News Is there the potential to lose clients while transitioning? (Photo: Shutterstock) The registered investment advisor channel is seeing growth thanks in part to the movement of advisors from the broker-dealer channel, who are looking for more autonomy as well as what they see as economic advantages in the RIA model. Marlene Satter Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades. More from this author
Is it bad that clients don't understand how financial services providers earn money?
News Whether it's service, access points, or value, one gender has higher expectations of professionals than the other. (Photo: Shutterstock) Even before the lockdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, consumers were hankering for more ways to gain access to their financial services providers and accounts via mobile apps, online tools, telephone and branch access. Marlene Satter Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades. More from this author
Advisors turning toward zero-commission trading, other changes
News Advisors expected to allocate more to ETFs for exposure to niche asset classes. (Photo: Shutterstock) As commissions hit zero for exchange-traded funds, advisors are using ETFs more for investors and making other changes in their practices.
How did the ACA affect the small-business health insurance market?
Analysis Rather than placing a significant burden on small businesses, as many feared, the ACA has actually helped to stabilize premiums. As a result of the ACA, small business employees actually experienced a large increase in coverage because many were able to enroll in subsidized individual market or in expanded Medicaid plans.
Eli Lilly sees 2020 profit rising from drug stockups during pandemic
Market Insights The company did warn that the phenomenon would likely reverse, given the toll coronavirus is taking on the economy. In the midst of a pandemic, the drug industry is likely at least in the short term to see a boost to its bottom lines.
Pandemic sinks Americans' personal financial satisfaction
News AICPA's quarterly economic gauge finds a big drop in how we view our financial situations in the U.S. -- but how bad is it?
Student loans still worry borrowers in coronavirus crisis
(Photo: Shutterstock) The government could do a lot more for student loan borrowers than it already has—and there are plenty of other actions it could take to relieve the burden of some $1.6 trillion in debt owed by 42 million Americans. That’s according to a blog post from the Brookings Institution, which says that the CARES Act’s student loan relief only applies to borrowers whose loans are held by the Dept. of Education — Direct Loans.
10 actions to take on emergency funds in the pandemic
Household finances are taking a beating during this turbulent time. Still, there are some things you can do to help yourself. We’ve found 10 suggestions you might want to have a look at. 10. Start the emergency fund NOW. According to The New York Times, even if you’re in the middle of a crisis, there are things you can do to try to improve the situation. One way is to start to build an emergency fund right this minute. The first step?
States ease health plan eligibility requirements for furloughed workers
State directives allow–but don’t require–employers to continue to carry newly ineligible workers on their plans. They may be out of a job, but that doesn’t mean workers have necessarily lost their health coverage—that is, in the states that have ordered insurers to allow companies to keep those workers on their insured rolls.
Private insurers on track to pay out $2.7 billion in MLR rebates
Analysis For comparison, last year they paid out $1.3 billion in medical-loss ratio rebates--a record at the time. Individual market insurers are the ones on the hook for the bulk of the refunds—a total of nearly $2 billion, according to preliminary estimates. Consumers are expected to reap the rewards of excessive premiums over the last few years, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation that said premium rebates should hit a record $2.7 billion this fall.
Taking pulse of Americans' COVID-19 sentiment
The more the coronavirus consumes everyone’s attention, between fears of the disease itself and worries about its upending of the economy, some groups are—as might be expected—more worried than others about various aspects of the situation. A recent study from the Pew Research Center delved into the specifics of how Americans are responding differently to the treat of the virus.
Fear and Worry: Gauging American COVID-19 Sentiment
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, not social distancing but prepared with coronavirus masks. The more the coronavirus consumes everyone’s attention, between fears of the disease itself and worries about its upending of the economy, some groups are—as might be expected—more worried than others about various aspects of the situation. A recent study from the Pew Research Center delved into the specifics of how Americans are responding differently to the treat of the virus.
IRS website glitches hold up coronavirus relief deposits; some apparently sent to wrong accounts
(Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL.) The IRS website designed to help Americans track the progress of their coronavirus relief funds went live on Wednesday, but all is not well in the world of relief benefits.
Website Glitches Scramble, Delay IRS Coronavirus Relief Payments
(Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL.) The IRS website designed to help Americans track the progress of their coronavirus relief funds went live on Wednesday, but all is not well in the world of relief benefits.
10 ways to plan for retirement should we face another “lost decade”
(Photo: Shutterstock) Two months ago—hey, probably a month ago—nobody would have believed the current behavior of the stock market. Biggest one-day drop in history? Multi-thousand-point gyrations? Trading halted multiple times in a single week? Nah, never happen. Until it did.
Self-funded insurers forecast higher premiums if they don’t get coronavirus funding
Workers who are covered by self-funded plans, in which their employers pay the health care costs instead of buying outside insurance, are at highest risk for premium hikes. (Photo: Shutterstock) Employers that self-fund their employee health coverage, as well as insurance companies, are asking Congress to kick in funding for future coronavirus bills as insurers are predicting that premiums could increase by a lot next year.
Financial advisors see little disruption to client support from coronavirus
News While they don’t expect to emerge completely unscathed, many advisors see a silver lining. (Photo: Shutterstock) As financial markets and the economy at large are roiled by the effects of COVID-19, financial advisors are being proactive with clients and don’t see panic in their ranks, although they do report clients showing heightened concern. Marlene Satter Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades. More from this author
More than half of workers over age 50 have no employee benefits
News The toll that nontraditional jobs will take on older workers’ retirement is heavy. (Photo: Shutterstock) When a study revealed that three quarters of workers ages 50–62 are working in jobs that have neither retirement plans nor health insurance, retirement expert Dr. Alicia H. Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, thought at first there was something wrong with the data. Marlene Satter Marlene Y.
CMS issues guidance on COVID-19 diagnostic services coverage
The inclusion of antibody testing could provide a more accurate means of determining how many people have been infected with COVID-19, including those who showed no symptoms. (Image: Shutterstock) Guidance on expanded coverage for diagnostic services for the coronavirus has been issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Retirement planning timetables chucked out the window
News Most Americans' retirement plans are based on reaching certain milestones, which COVID-19 has erased.
No 'surprise' bills for COVID-19, White House says
Republicans are also planning to add language to the next coronavirus bill that would ban hospitals from billing patients for costs that insurers refuse to pick up. (Photo: Shutterstock) Hospitals that get funds from the $2 trillion relief bill will have to forgo any “surprise” bills, at the command of the White House.
5 states most, least vulnerable to COVID-19's financial effects
Most vulnerable state economies 5. New Hampshire Overall Rank: 5 │ Total Score: 55.98 │ “High-Impact Industries & Workforce” Rank: 1│ “Resources for Businesses to Cope Better with the Crisis” Rank: 4 (Photo: ALM archives) Most vulnerable state economies 4. Maine Overall Rank: 4│ Total Score: 57.58 │ “High-Impact Industries & Workforce” Rank: 4│ “Resources for Businesses to Cope Better with the Crisis” Rank: 31 (Photo: ALM archives) Most vulnerable state economies 3.
COVID-19 hitting communities of color harder
One factor that could account for the high toll the coronavirus is taking on communities of color is overall health aside from the pandemic. It’s not just the elderly and those with health impairments that are getting hammered by the coronavirus. Communities of color are likely to be among those suffering the most, as both health and finances are threatened by the crisis.
11 ways to avoid economic catastrophe, according to economists
(Photo: Shutterstock) When in doubt about a financial crisis, ask financial experts. That’s what NPR did about the current state of monetary affairs because of the coronavirus pandemic. No one piece of advice can with total certainty help us to survive the simultaneously occurring catastrophic events of pandemic and economic meltdown. However, economists do have a number of ideas about what to do not only in combating Covid-19 but also in keeping the financial ship of state from sinking.
Most people would opt to work after age 65 — if they’re capable | PropertyCasualty360
Research Researchers found that the more occupations people can do, the more likely they were to say they would work past 65. Health was the chief barrier to people working longer, says a new study. (Photo: Shutterstock) A new study has found that the majority of people think it’s more likely than not that they’ll still be working after age 65. And it doesn’t necessarily have to do with money.
COVID-19 will make gender pay inequities worse
(Photo: Shutterstock) Still waiting for equal pay? Don’t hold your breath. That’s the message behind a report from PayScale, Inc., which finds that there hasn’t been a whole lot of progress in achieving gender pay equity despite a lot of lip service to the concept. In its annual report ”The 2020 State of the Gender Pay Gap,” women have managed to make a whole two cents more than last year compared to men—coming out at $.81 for every $1 their male colleagues make.
FDR-style programs could curb coronavirus, provide jobs
Identifying those who could be passing along the virus to others in their communities could be key to containing the spread of the disease. (Image: Shutterstock) What we’re doing just doesn’t cut it, but FDR-style programs of contact trace teams, at the community level but on a federal scale, could help the U.S. beat the coronavirus.
COVID-19 economic woes: 5 states most, least vulnerable to pandemic's financial effects
Recommended Stories Resource Center Copyright © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
What would-be retirees need to know about the current financial turmoil
(Photo: Shutterstock) Anyone who has been contemplating retirement within the next year (and probably at least a couple of years beyond that) has no doubt been watching the global economy’s coronavirus-caused gyrations in absolute horror, wondering when—or even if—they’ll ever be able to retire. One piece of advice from a recent Marketwatch report is short and to the point: “There’s typically only one shot to retire correctly.
Will COVID-19 lead to greater employer empathy?
(Photo: Shutterstock) Employers will need to “win with empathy” as the uncertainty wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath not only change how people work now, but will work in the future. That’s according to a Mercer study, 2020 Global Talent Trends. It points out that the accelerating changes in the workplace forced by the coronavirus are causing employers to focus on employee health and financial wellness, and on providing training for future workforce disruptions such as AI.
How to figure amount of coronavirus stimulus check
(Photo: Shutterstock) How big a slice of that stimulus cash are you going to get? Kiplinger offers a very helpful calculator, along with additional information on some of the logistics of the process. For instance, while the amount being bandied about in the news is $1,200, that’s not necessarily what everyone will get. It depends on your income, your marital status and the number (if any) of children you have, so it could be more or less.
Public pensions taking big hit from COVID-19
(Photo: Shutterstock) U.S. state and local government public pensions are taking big hits as financial markets globally melt down, and it’s not as if they were doing all that well to begin with. A MarketWatch report says that that could play into a hit for those local governments, which are on the hook for future benefit payments to firefighters, police and civil service employees.
Health care industry saw 43,000 layoffs in March
An estimated 60,000 family medical practices will close or cut back on their services by June, affecting some 800,000 employees. (Photo: Shutterstock) As with the number of cases of COVID-19, the number of those expected to die from the disease and the number of those who have lost their jobs or saw pay and hours cut back because of the coronavirus, the number of doctors, nurses and other medical staff who are losing their jobs in the thick of the pandemic is just the tip of the iceberg.
Most people would opt to work after age 65 -- if they’re capable
(Photo: Shutterstock) A new study has found that the majority of people think it’s more likely than not that they’ll still be working after age 65. And it doesn’t necessarily have to do with money.
9 ways the coronavirus could affect ESG investments
(Photo: Shutterstock) Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has been on the rise, and while some doomsayers declare that the coronavirus pandemic could put an end to it as people are preoccupied with survival, it could instead turn out to be a trigger for a far greater interest in, and demand for, ESG options. In fact, according to a MarketWatch report, one thing the pandemic is doing is highlighting all the ways in which our current method of doing things is failing.
Trump’s move to cut payroll taxes would gut Social Security, say critics
News Trump has also proclaimed a desire to see it cut permanently. (Photo: Shutterstock) As if seniors didn’t already have enough to worry about as the coronavirus shuts down the economy and threatens their very survival, now comes a new worry. The Trump White House is chasing after another payroll tax cut, in the form of employer contributions to Social Security, that critics say would gut the system. Marlene Satter Marlene Y.
Boomers, retirement at financial risk in coronavirus downturn
News Younger boomers already had the deck stacked against them because of too little retirement savings. (Photo: Shutterstock) It’s not just Covid-19 that boomers have to worry about—it’s their retirement, too. Not only are the older members of this generation more at risk from the coronavirus, but the accompanying market panic may also have robbed the younger boomers of their chance to retire. Marlene Satter Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
Unemployment hits all-time record; claims go up 3,000% in one week
For every report that of Walmart, Target and Kroger hiring tens of thousands of new workers, there seems to be a report of an iconic firm such as Macy’s shutting most or all of its stores. (Photo: Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg) Nightmare upon nightmare cascaded through the American economy as CNN reported that Thursday’s job losses rose 3,000 percent from those reported last week, with an astonishing 6.6 million first-time claims coming in.
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