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Things That Make One Author ‘Mad as Hell’, Part 2

"[A] list of things ... that those in our industry generate, promote and often share as fact without any application of common sense, and no apparent appreciation for the damage done by their complicity in sharing such nonsense.... [1] Reporting on average -- well, anything ... [2] Surveys that show an average or median account balance -- with no delineation for age or tenure.... [3] A single provider survey that shows an average or median account balance.... [4] Surveys that claim participants want things they can't possibly understand.... [5] Data 'analysis' that takes real stuff, combines it with fake stuff, makes up a new scary-sounding name for it, and then claiming that vast majorities of all the retirement plans in existence are in 'violation.' "

Let's Stop Shaming the Claiming

"[It's] hard to read an article about Social Security these days that doesn't proclaim the financial benefits of waiting till 70.... [M]any in the financial services industry ... are increasingly prone to labeling those who take those well-earned benefits 'on time' as being foolhardy at best ... [T]here's more to these types of decisions than 'the math' ... [S]ome people get so caught up in a slide rule exercise they forget that there are real, rational, personal reasons for the timing of the claiming decision."

Stats on Retirement Plan Coverage Require Careful Assessment

"One of the most commonly cited data points about retirement is that 'only about half of working Americans are covered by a workplace retirement plan.' ... The data point is relatively simple math: the number of workers who say they participated in a workplace retirement plan divided by the total number of workers. But when you take a closer look at the numbers, it's not really that straightforward -- especially since there are various types of workers, and that makes a huge difference in retirement coverage."

Why the Alarm Over 401(k) Withdrawals and Loans?

"[A recent Washington Post] article incorrectly states that 'in 1980, four out of five private-sector workers were covered by traditional pensions;' in fact, only about half that many actually were at that point ... The article notes that the 'most common way Americans tap their retirement funds is through loans, although U.S. Department of Labor data indicate that loan amounts tend to be a negligible portion of plan assets and that very little is converted into deemed distributions in any given year."