Mark J. Warshawsky is Director of Retirement Research at Towers Watson.
Dr. Warshawsky served as assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2004-2006 and he has held senior level economic research positions at the Federal Reserve Board, the Internal Revenue Service and...
In a recent and highly recommended Bloomberg op-ed, Carmen Reinhart discusses the options available to governments and central banks when attempting to deal with the burden of enormous amounts of public and private debt.
Reinhart suggests that the preferred policy option for many governments--including the United States--is a form of stealth taxation that amounts to...
It seemed obvious several years ago that retirees would shoulder much of the burden of the financial crisis and its residual effects.
While events have generally played-out in line with this projection, the backlash from seniors has been surprisingly subdued. The lack of pitchforks seems odd given the fact that the number of retirement age voters is increasing by 10,000 each day in the United States.
That said, the capital versus retirees story has been trending-up lately. This may have something to do with the...
Warren Buffett’s most recent shareholder letter focuses on the merits of productive assets such as equities in light of the current low interest rate environment and the potential for future inflation.
Buffett’s view is that although productive assets are variable and volatile, they are more likely to preserve future purchasing power than the fixed or currency-based alternatives.
Buffett’s advice would seem to provide a key...
In a Fortune article titled “Why Stocks Beat Gold and Bonds,” Warren Buffett provides a glimpse of his upcoming shareholder letter.
While Buffett’s advice is perfect for investors who have a long-term perspective, anyone near or in retirement may want to think twice about acting on the prescription.
The core of Buffett’s advice is as follows:
