The Wall Street Journal Podcast Interview with Pamela Yellen: The Biggest 401(k) Mistake People Make

I was just interviewed again by the Wall Street Journal for an episode of their “Your Money Briefing” podcast.

The episode is described as, “Financial security expert Pamela Yellen explains why employees should take control of their 401(k) retirement investments and not rely on their employer to invest for them.”

In this eye-opening interview I discuss:

  • Why it’s very likely that your 401(k) money is in a Target Date Fund (TDF) – even if you didn’t authorize it or request it – and three reasons that should concern you
  • 98% of all employers use TDFs, and 90% have it as the “default option,” which means they automatically put your money there unless you specifically direct them to do otherwise – and almost no one does
  • Near retirement? You’re not protected! TDFs are supposed to dial back risk as you near retirement, but in practice, that hasn’t happened. In 2008, some TDFs designed for participants expecting to retire in two years lost as much as 40%!
  • How the shockingly high fees of TDFs devour your hard-earned savings
  • The dangers of having your retirement savings in a one-size-fits-all financial vehicle
  • How to quickly and easily do your own research to compare the mutual fund options your 401(k) offers
  • How to protect your retirement savings from market volatility and ensure a guaranteed income for life

[Read more…] “The Wall Street Journal Podcast Interview with Pamela Yellen: The Biggest 401(k) Mistake People Make”

Your Money Revolution Video Clip: How Mutual Fund Fees are Devouring Your Savings

For the past year, I’ve been working full-time on creating a comprehensive go-at-your-own-pace coaching program designed to eliminate your biggest money worries – and let you take back control of your financial destiny.

I call it “Your Money Revolution,” and initial response to the program has been terrific.

Today I’m excited to share a 5-minute excerpt from this new program with my loyal subscribers.

I want you to be able to see for yourself how truly life changing the information, tools and strategies that I’ve packed into this program can be.

This 5-minute video excerpt deals with how the fees you’re paying in the mutual funds or ETF’s you own in a retirement or investment account may be draining far more of your account value than you realize. [Read more…] “Your Money Revolution Video Clip: How Mutual Fund Fees are Devouring Your Savings”

Two New 401k Revelations

If you’ve been a subscriber for a while or you’ve read my new best-selling book, The Bank On Yourself Revolution, it’s no secret that at the end of the day, I’m not a big fan of the 401(k).

Or the IRA, 403(b), or any other government “blessed” and controlled retirement account. There are many reasons for that. This recent blog post I wrote reveals one big problem – mutual fund fees, which are likely devouring far more of your savings than you realize.

Broken 401k nest egg

But in the last couple of weeks, there have been new studies revealing just how devastating to your financial health a 401(k) can be:

Broken 401k nest egg

Recent 401(k) Wealth-Killing Revelation #1:

A new academic study by two Yale and University of Virginia professors argues that millions of workers have been ripped off by excessive fees charged by plan sponsors and financial representatives to these plans.

The study concluded that…

[Read more…] “Two New 401k Revelations”