That's according to Fidelity Investments' latest biennial Retirement Savings Assessment study, which - while mostly upbeat - also makes clear that all too many of those surveyed remain "at risk" of not being able to fully cover essential expenses in retirement if they don't turn things around.

Specifically, after totaling up the assets of the 25- to 74-year-old respondents earning at least $20,000 annually - and that included current or expected Social Security benefits - Fidelity estimated that the typical saver is on track to have 80 percent of the income he or she will need to cover retirement costs. That's the highest it's been since the study was first conducted in 2005, when the same figure was 62 percent and people were just beginning to know the joys of watching videos of cats performing weird tricks.

"It's a significant improvement," says Ken Hevert, Fidelity's senior vice president of retirement, who attributed the rise to both a higher median savings rate compared to 2006 (8.8 percent vs. 3.6 percent) and better portfolio asset allocation.

Even more comprehensively, four color-coded categories were used to show where households fell on a retirement preparedness spectrum based on their ability to handle estimated expenses in a down market:

* Dark Green Thirty-two percent were on target to cover more than 95 percent of their freight (up 1 percent from 2016).

* Green. Eighteen percent were looking good as far as essentials go, but not discretionary items like travel and entertainment (down 1 percent from 2016).

* Yellow. Twenty-two percent were off track, with "modest adjustments" likely required to their planned lifestyles (down 1 percent from 2016).

* Red. Twenty-eight percent definitely "need attention," to put it kindly (up 1 percent from 2016).

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the study had to do with Millennials.

For the first time ever, those born between 1981 and 1992 surpassed the older Generation X in Fidelity's unique cross-generations scorecard. The latter are on track to have 78 percent of the retirement income they'll need, while the former lags behind by 1 percent - though that's presumably after many of them dipped into their own savings to pay the college tuitions of their Millennial offspring. "Millennials are clearly putting money aside for retirement and taking more control of their personal situations," says Hevert.

And Baby Boomers? Collectively, they're in the best position of all, especially those Baby Boomers with increasingly rare pensions, and are on course to have set aside 86 percent of the money they'll need.

For those curious where they stand, Fidelity allows anyone to access their retirement score online. And if you really want a cushiony retirement, keep in mind that you could have 108 percent of what you'll need by embracing all three of the following "accelerators": saving at least 15 percent of your income yearly; ensuring an age-appropriate asset mix; and deferring Social Security benefits till at least 66 or 67.

"While these actions taken separately are clearly helpful," says Hevert, "doing all three could help bring you from good to great."

 

It's a catchphrase that's been described as perhaps the first "I do" for newlyweds, and it's especially relevant as we head into wedding season. Because as much as you may think no two people have ever been more in love than you are - hey, look at the size of that engagement ring! - the truth is that it could be less than smooth sailing ahead if you're not on the same page when it comes to financial matters.

"Couples have a very hard time talking about money," Joan Atwood, a Hofstra University professor of marriage and family therapy bemoaned on an NPR "Money Coach" segment on the issue. "I would say it's the last taboo."

Ready to break it? Read on.

* Set common goals. You probably discussed this in a dreamy sort of way while dating. You know, a large house with a swimming pool ... yearly vacations. But turning those reveries into reality requires habitually saving to pay for them and finance your later retirement years - not to mention deciding whether both partners contribute equally or based on salaries.

"The median ages for brides and grooms are 29 and 31, respectively, these days," said Andrew Peterson, a vice president at Fidelity Investments (fidelity.com). "So while people may come into a marriage with their own assets, they need to take some time after the wedding to sit down and start getting organized as a couple."

* Be transparent. There's no law that says you have to put all your cash into a joint savings account - some couples do, some don't - but at the very least you'd be "less than truthful" by not divulging any outstanding debts. And then figuring out, together, how to pay them down.

* Safely store your information. Quick: What's your new spouse's Social Security number? And what other vital information don't you know if a sudden need arises?

Exactly.

To truly mark your financial coupling, you might consider using an online service like FidSafe.com that lets you store, access and share all your new family's important records and documents anywhere via a web browser or iOS app.

Not only is it free and simple to use with handy checklists, but even before it was officially introduced two years ago by Fidelity - Get it? "Fid Safe" - Barron's magazine gave the service five stars for being what it called "the first cloud-based safe deposit box we've seen that's secure enough to organize everything from financial statements, insurance policies, and real estate records to a will, IRA benefits, and even passwords."

"With all the other things on their to-do lists, newlyweds typically don't focus on all the important financial and other documents they need to begin married life on a solid footing," said Peterson. "This makes things easier for them from the start, as well as through the years as they have even more joint documents to retain - including those related to perhaps buying a house and having children."

You get up to 5GB of storage, which leaves plenty of space left over once you download your new marriage license and the receipt for that engagement ring.

* Investigate this option. Do you both get health insurance through your employer? Congrats. You may have just saved yourselves some money if it works out it's less expensive for one of you to be on the other's plan rather than pay for both.

 

A company car? (How Boomer-like of you.) A 401(k) plan? (Pretty common these days.)

With Millennials now comprising the largest share of the workforce, a growing number of companies are betting that offering to help pay off student debt is the next game-changer when it comes to attracting and retaining the best and brightest.

It's not a bad wager. Total education debt stood at a staggering $1.52 trillion at the end of March. And while the perk is by no means reserved only for Millennials - hey, even 4 percent of those 45 and older are still in the hole, according to the Pew Research Center - it's not lost on anyone that the average student loan borrower will have graduated this year saddled with more than $37,000 in debt.

"It stood at about $600 billion 10 years ago," MarketWatch.com reported.

One of the companies facilitating the new benefit is the same one - Fidelity Investments - that already handles millions of workers' 401(k) plans. Businesses enrolled in its Student Debt Employer Contribution program are able to make after-tax contributions on their employees' outstanding student loans, setting their own parameters as to "who" and "how much" with the help of a modeling tool for estimating their potential recruitment and retention cost savings.

"This is a new and relevant benefit that gives companies a competitive advantage to hire top talent," said Asha Srikantiah, vice president of emerging products at Fidelity (fidelity.com), noting that the average contribution for most companies is about $100 a month, although it can be as high as $800 monthly in some cases. "It also enables employees to pay off their debt faster, which in turn allows them to focus on other priorities - including buying a home, raising a family, and saving for retirement."

Among the "early adopters" Fidelity says it's teaming up with to offer the benefit: tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise; the rail industry's New York Air Brake; financial firms Millennium Trust and OCC (The Options Clearing Corporation); and Ariel Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of separable reciprocating gas compressors used in the global natural gas business.

In fact, more than just being a "facilitator" for others, Fidelity helped trail blaze this brave new world by having begun offering its own employees a student debt program back in 2016. To date, more than 8,900 of its workers have received the benefit, paid directly to their loan service provider, with some pretty impressive numbers to show for it: a total of $22.5 million in savings on principal and interest, and 34,625 years of loan payments shaved off.

The company is also taking what it calls "a holistic approach" to the student debt issue by offering open access to its website's Pre-College Planning Resources, which can help avoid the pitfalls of incurring too much debt, and its Student Debt Tool that lets individuals view all their student loans and repayment options in one place.

A deal recently inked with student debt refinancing platform Credible.com now also integrates student debt refinancing into the Student Debt Tool, allowing employees enrolled in the program to receive actual pre-qualified rates from more than 10 refinancing lenders without affecting their credit scores.

"The idea is to help more Americans take control of their debt so they can better save and invest for the futures," said Stephen Dash, Credible's founder and CEO.

 

Yet the challenge is how to find, research, track, manage and trade these tax-exempt investment over the ten years of the tax incentive.

The Entrex Capital Market is one of the leaders building state by state Opportunity Zone Trading solutions, typically for the state economic development teams. Working together with local and state representatives, Entrex brings each opportunity zone to the forefront and can even allow investors to perform tax-free 1031 type of exchanges (including qualified bitcoin gains) into qualified assets in each Opportunity Zone, all through regulated market constituents.

One company taking advantage of the new tax "opportunities" is Webco Dental, a Disabled Veteran-qualified small business. Webco has gained significant exposure from building their company in a Pasco County, Florida Opportunity Zone. Christopher Cooley, CEO of Webco, suggests;

"Being in an Opportunity Zone and being a Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, or SDVOSB, allows us to help investors support our veterans, while focusing on the economic and employment growth our communities need - all on a potentially tax-free income and capital gain basis."

Entrex helps to bring exposure to investors by offering the ability not only to buy debt and equity of companies, but also the potential of liquidity. "It's like the eBay or real estate's MLS for private companies," says entrepreneur Craig Rutkai of Florida.

Similar to the way they managed over 200 transactions for companies in 2017 - each reviewed by the regulators - Entrex now offers a variety of alternative investors from real estate, gold and silver commodities, Opportunity Zones, and consumer debt. And potentially is there for government-backed airlines leases.

Stephen H. Watkins, CEO of Entrex, suggests: "Back in 2015, when our Broker/Dealer managed the Overstock.com TIGRcub Bond - we helped manage the first security to ever trade on the Blockchain. Now every trade and interest payment we service can be pushed out."

"It is an exciting time and the beginning of the democratization of private companies."

To learn more about the Entrex Alternative Trading Portal capabilities, technologies and opportunity zone investments, visit www.EntrexCapitalMarket.com.

 

According to a new "Female Financial Empowerment" survey from Edward Jones, while women have made great strides in gender and income equality in the workplace, one of the biggest challenges they continue to face is their tendency to "prioritize immediate family needs" over saving for their own future.

That certainly helps explain what the financial services firm acknowledged was an inherent conflict in the findings: While seven out of 10 women polled said they felt "confident" about their financial knowledge, all too many have actually done little to nothing to generate their own long-term wealth.

"Only 25 percent of women surveyed consider saving for retirement as their most important goal over the next three to five years," said Nela Richardson, an investment strategist at Edward Jones. "That tells us that female financial empowerment should be next on the list of barriers women have broken over the past few decades."

The two other biggest challenges women need to surmount, according to the national sample of 1,004 adult women ages 18 and older?

They're either waiting for some amorphous "perfect" time to invest - something, in all fairness, men are also guilty of - or they're waiting for … you name it to motivate them.

A big raise or other windfall (49 percent). A financial emergency (20 percent). A significant life event (20 percent). A market correction (12 percent).

None of which, let's be frank, is likely to make you the next Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. (More on that in a minute.)

"Waiting for a raise or a significant life event, by definition, isn't a financial strategy," Richardson said, "and they'll always be competing priorities. The key is to anticipate both tailwinds and headwinds in life, and be flexible enough to adapt to changing situations so you can meet your long-term financial goals."

Edward Jones lays out a female-centric approach to handling your finances on its website. But here's a quick cheat sheet to get you started:

* Make yourself a priority by starting to invest now in order to give your money time to grow - never underestimating the power of a wondrous thing called compound interest.

* Begin small with modest investments.

* Develop a goals-based financial strategy.

As for how much better women are doing financially, here's one notable sign: Forbes' list of the world's 100 richest people featured just four females in 2000 compared to 10 this year. The richest woman - and fifteenth overall - was the aforementioned L'Oréal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($49.3 billion), who's chairwoman of the family's holding company.

But she inherited her wealth, you say? Well, the youngest self-made billionaire ever, according to Forbes, is none other than 21-year-old cosmetics wunderkind Kylie Jenner ($1 billion).

 

Finding consensus on addressing the question of how to pay for the massive investment needed to fix the problem, however, is another matter entirely.

As federal and state legislators discuss and debate the means by which to fund infrastructure improvements, what has become clear is that funds, whether from public or private sources or a combination of the two, are precious commodities that must be wisely spent and protected.

Mandatory bonding on federal and state public construction projects has been in existence for many decades, protecting and preserving countless projects through prequalification of contractors and providing guarantees of contract performance.

In fact, a recent study conducted by The Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis verified the economic value of surety bond protection.

"One of the conclusions which leapt off the page to us was…that non-bonded construction enterprises are 10 times more likely to become insolvent than bonded companies," states Steve Ness, President of the Surety Association of Canada. Construction projects carried out under the protection of bonded contracts have reduced risk of contractor insolvency, greater protection of economic activity, and better management of economic risk, Ness adds.

"Disastrous consequences for the public can result from instances when mandatory bond requirements are ignored," asserts John Bustard, President of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, Inc. and Executive Vice President of King & Neel, Inc., an insurance and surety bonding agency in Honolulu, Hawaii.

He cites the example of the city of Harrisburg, PA, which decided to retrofit its trash incinerator plant without requiring the contractor to furnish a bond guaranteeing its work. The work turned out to be deficient, leaving the city with more than $280 million in debt. A grand jury investigation of the situation produced "A Report of the Thirty-Ninth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury" under then Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, in which it was concluded that "the absence of performance bonds which were equal to the contract amounts involved here was the single biggest factor in producing the overwhelming debt now facing the city."

The report further states: "Had performance bonds been in place, they would have shielded the City from the financial fallout from the failed contract to retrofit the incinerator." Subsequently, Pennsylvania legislators have introduced legislation to address this particular issue and to require bonds at 100 percent of the amount.

Even when infrastructure projects are not solely funded with public funds, such as projects undertaken through a combination of public and private financing, as through public-private partnership arrangements, those projects need bond requirements.

Approximately 20 states have already reached that policy conclusion, enacting public-private partnership legislation that also mandates bonding requirements on such projects. Situations have arisen, however, in which bonding has been ignored or reduced on public-private partnership infrastructure projects; and the public has paid a heavy price when problems have arisen with little or no backstop.

As Congress weighs how to address the tremendous infrastructure needs of the country in the coming months, protections in the form of performance and payment bonds will be absolutely necessary to ensure that the precious funds of America's private and public investment are wisely spent and that the public receives the quality of infrastructure that it deserves.

 

With the cost of a four-year degree rising nearly eight times faster than wages since the 1980s, those two questions are enough to give today's parents a serious case of night sweats. You can argue about the reasons for the disconnect -Administrative costs? Fancy amenities? - but you know there's a problem when a writer at Education Week is incensed.

"Madness," she decried.

Which is all the more reason to mark May 29 down on your calendar.

Otherwise known as National 529 College Savings Plan Day -Get it? 5/29? - it's the perfect time to consider setting up one those tax-advantaged 529 plans, as they're called, to help sock money away to cover tuition, books and other education-related expenses at most accredited two - and four-year colleges, universities and vocational-technical schools.

"It's a way of keeping your son or daughter from being saddled with too much debt when it's time to jump start their careers," explained Melissa Ridolfi, vice president of retirement and college products at Fidelity Investments. "Plus, any investment earnings compound on a tax-deferred basis, and qualified withdrawals are entirely free from federal and state income taxes."

And now to the big question: How much?

Two factors are mainly at play:

* Public vs. private schools. The cost difference can be about as mind-boggling as "Avengers: Endgame's" record $357.1 million opening weekend domestic haul: an average of $21,370 a year at the former, according to the College Board's latest figures, as opposed to $48,510 at the latter.

* The percentage of the bill you plan to foot. If you were counting on scholarships and other grants to pick up all or most of the tab, you should probably rethink that unless your kid is either a bona fide child prodigy or football star. Sallie Mae's "How America Pays for College" 2018 report found that both categories combined paid for just 28 percent of college costs.

One guess where 47 percent of the costs came from. That's right, "family income and savings," with another 24 percent covered by borrowing.

In other words, as Ridolfi said, "any way you look at it, the family is on the hook to pay the lion's share of college expenses." Which probably helps explain why a recent Fidelity study found that parents are increasingly starting to save before their child even reaches the age of two.

To see where you stand, try using what Fidelity calls "the college savings 2K rule of thumb." Simply multiply your child's current age by $2,000 to figure whether your savings to date are generally on track to handle approximately 50 percent of the College Board's $21,370-a-year average cost of attending a four-year public college.

Or, especially if you want a more customized estimate - one that lets you play around with percentages and switch back and forth between public and private schools - the firm's free online college savings calculator takes the angst out of doing the math yourself.

Fidelity provides 12 savings ideas to help reach your own goal, and offers a choice of two different investment strategies in the 529 savings plans it manages - including an age-based portfolio of funds that automatically becomes more conservative as the beneficiary nears college age.

Hopefully, armed with all that info, you'll be sleeping better at night.

Yes, we're talking 529 plans. They've been around since 1996 - longer than most Generation Zers have been alive - but a new survey from Edward Jones found that a whopping 67 percent of Americans don't have a clue that they provide a tax-advantaged way to save money for tuition, books and other qualified education-related expenses at most accredited two- and four-year colleges, universities, and vocational-technical schools. Worse still, that 67 percent figure is 5 percent higher than the first time the survey was done in 2012.

"It's a concerning trend," says Tim Burke, a principal at the financial services firm Edward Jones.

"Concerning" because of the current average price tag of a four-year degree, including tuition, room and board: $21,370-a-year at public schools, according to the College Board, and $48,510-a-year at private schools.

And just how do those surveyed think they're going to handle that freight?

* Personal savings accounts (38 percent). Alas, the national average interest rate on such accounts is a measly 0.09 percent. Try covering even the more than $1,200 the average college student spends on books and materials over the course of a year with that.

* Scholarships (35 percent). Is your kid a bona fide child prodigy or football star? Because Sallie Mae's "How America Pays for College" 2018 report found that only 17 percent of college costs were paid this way.

* Federal or state financial aid (33 percent). Pell Grants are the largest source of federally funded grants, and they max out at $6,095 for the 2018-19 academic year. That would cover about 28 percent of one year's $21,370 average cost at a public college - except that, as the College Board explains, "most students receive smaller grants because they are enrolled part time or because their family income and assets reduce their aid eligibility."

* Private student loans (20 percent). According to the Brookings Institution, parents who take out loans - not the financially strapped Millennials we've heard so much about it - do so to the tune of $16,000 a year on average, and nearly 10 percent are on the hook for $100,000. "College debt is increasingly becoming a parent problem, too," ConsumerReports.com just warned.

Given all that, you can see why Kyle Andersen, another principal at Edward Jones, says that "by relying on scholarships or federal or state financial aid that a student may or may not receive, Americans leave themselves vulnerable."

Which brings us back to 529 plans.

Kudos to the 18 percent of those surveyed who said they'd implemented this strategy, which Edward Jones and others call "an attractive and practical way to save." How so? Remember when we said they're tax-advantaged? That means that (unlike personal savings accounts) the earnings in these plans - typically comprised of a portfolio of funds - accumulate tax-free, and that qualified withdrawals are exempt from both federal and state income taxes.

The federal gift tax exclusion allows a contributor to give up to $15,000 per year, per beneficiary, or $30,000 for married couples. Though almost every state has its own 529 plan - with total limits sometimes reaching more than $500,000 - there's no "home-town restriction," so you might want to work with a local Edward Jones financial advisor to compare plans and review your situation.

Oh, one other thing less than half of those surveyed knew: 529 plans can also be used to pay for qualified K-12 tuition.

 

The project involves the creation of a wind power farm and the installation of up to 52 wind turbines to produce green energy.

During the 15-day, pre-sale period, 10 percent of the Renewable Energy Tokens (RETs) will be sold at a 50-percent discount via a cryptocurrency system. The discount will not be available after the pre-sale period. "Ownership of one RET is equivalent to owning one asset in Eco Smart Energies," according to a company press release.

"These turbines are capable of producing mechanical energy that can be transformed into electrical energy, using wind energy converters linked to power distributors," according to a company white paper.

Cryptocurrency, an internet-based system for financial transactions, has the advantages of minimal processing fees, decentralization, and blockchain to confirm and provide security. The exchanges are quick and can be conducted on a global scale, which makes life easier for investors. According to a recent opinion piece on the Bloomberg website by former risk manager Aaron Brown, cryptocurrency is not without risk, but neither is investing, and "there are plausible scenarios in which crypto grows to become a significant part of the economy."

Investors are seeing the potential of green energy companies and the convenience of cryptocurrency. Wind energy is one of the most strongly recommended alternatives to the use of fossil fuels, and Eco Smart gets investors involved in the environmental angle with an application that will allow the token owners not only to send or receive tokens, but also to view how much wind power is being produced from the turbines. "The token holders can also actively participate in issues that are related to the future of the wind farm," according to the company.

Visit renbdo.io for more information about how cryptocurrency will shape the future and for investment opportunities.

 

According to Fidelity Investments' 2020 New Year Financial Resolutions Study, 82 percent of respondents said they're in a similar or better financial position than last year. Perhaps surprisingly, most credited their success to their own good habits - saving more (47 percent) and budgeting (29 percent) - rather than their investment gains (18 percent) from a stock market that made one high after another. Less than 25 percent put it down to having been able to work more hours in a strong economy.

And, as the study makes clear, they want to keep the momentum going.

Of the 67 percent considering making a financial resolution, "saving more" and "paying down debt" topped the list, respectively, at 53 percent and 51 percent.

"Living a debt-free life was the biggest motivator for them," said Melissa Ridolfi, Fidelity's vice president of retirement and college products.

Heck, given the choice between the classic New Year's resolution of losing five pounds or socking away $5,000, a resounding 84 percent in the national survey of 3,012 adults opted for savings.

But you want to know some of the biggest and smallest mistakes or setbacks they fessed up to, right? See if you can relate to any of these:

* Dining out too much (36 percent).

* Spending too much on non-essentials like unused apps, streaming media services, and subscription retail boxes (29 percent).

* Taking on debt or adding to existing debt (28 percent).

*Splurging on something they couldn't really afford (28 percent).

* Unexpected medical expenses (24 percent).

* Failing to save as much for retirement as they should (18 percent).

So with all the interest in getting a grip on debt, who seems to be faring the best at it?

Boomers, the study found, with 29 percent crediting being better off financially at year's end to having refinanced, paid off, or reduced debts or loans. Generation X, the next oldest, trailed at 21 percent, followed by 19 percent of millennials, and just 6 percent of Generation Z.

"Boomers are getting the message that the closer they get to retirement, the more essential it becomes to get their debt under control to make the most out of retirement savings," Ridolfi said.

Certainly there's no law that says you have to make a New Year's resolution - financial or otherwise - but even a huge chunk of those surveyed who weren't contemplating explicitly doing so still said they were planning on, say, building up emergency funds. As for what you might call the "traditionalists" out there? Fidelity has some tried-and-true tips that can help ensure your financial vows don't wind up being among the 80 percent of all resolutions that U.S. News says, alas, fail by the second week of February.

The firm also has an impressive, free online "Moments" tool designed to help you plan for lifestyle changes or react to a myriad of curveballs - i.e., the unexpected medical expenses cited as a big setback in the study - that life throws at you. And accessing the Fidelity Retirement Score gives you a quick look at where you stand with your savings.

Oh, and here's one last thing to see if you can relate to: Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed predicted they'd be even better off financially in 2020.