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private-sector workers
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- 1With Pensions Nearly Gone, Retirees Turn to Annuities●Only 14% of Private Workers Still Have a Pension. He Bought an Annuity Instead, and Social Security Treats Those Checks Two Different Ways
Only about 14% of private-sector workers still have a traditional pension, and one retiree's decision to buy an annuity instead is drawing attention to a quirk in the rules: Social Security can treat annuity payments in two different ways depending on how the income is characterized. As more Americans self-fund retirement, understanding how these payments affect benefits is becoming a pressing practical question.
- 2Five Years of Federal Work Buys a 57-Year-Old Lifetime Health Insurance▼Five Years at a Federal Desk Will Give a 57-Year-Old With $310,000 Saved What His Nest Egg Can't: Health Insurance for Life
A personal finance analysis argues that a 57-year-old with $310,000 in savings could secure lifetime health insurance by working just five years in a federal job. Federal employees who meet minimum service requirements can carry government-subsidised health coverage into retirement, a benefit the writer says his savings alone could not replicate. The case highlights how federal benefits can outweigh higher private-sector pay for older workers nearing retirement.