Fidelity Offers New Educational Video Series on Pension Plans to Employees of Corporate Customers
If you work for a company with a pension plan that uses Fidelity Investments for its record keeping, you may be able to access some new online tools for understanding and managing retirement.
Fidelity, which provides pension plan services to 108 companies, announced a new online video library that helps pension plan participants better understand their benefits, and how to incorporate them into an overall retirement plan. The videos explain such topics as the difference between a 401(k) plan and a pension, and how pension benefits grow. Located in the Pension & Tools Learning section of Fidelity's NetBenefits site, the videos also cover vesting and retirement eligibility so that people can learn how to integrate their pension into a retirement income strategy.
But here's why this is important, whether your pension plan uses Fidelity or not: Fidelity said it has been expanding its online services for corporate pension participants after a 2011 study it conducted found that 71 percent of individuals surveyed didn't have a detailed understanding of how their plans work. About 61 percent of those surveyed never even asked about how much money they will receive upon retirement.
These are pretty basic questions. Yet clearly most of us are guilty of not paying attention to them.
Even if your company doesn't use Fidelity, it's worth investigating the types of tools your retirement investment plan has available to start formulating a plan. Remember the Charles Schwab survey from early December? Thinking about retirement isn’t just about saving. It’s also about figuring out how you’re going to spend income after you retire.
Ultimately, retirement planning is about making informed decisions about budgeting, saving and spending. Arm yourself with the tools made available to you and start asking questions.
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About the author
Christine Dunn has almost two decades of experience writing about finance and business issues. As founder and president of Savoir Media, she works with companies and executives on developing strategic, integrated media and marketing programs. Prior to starting her business, she worked at Bloomberg News, where she served as Boston Bureau Chief and ran industry coverage for several national teams of reporters, including consumer/retail, mutual funds and education. To reach her directly, email ChristineODunn@gmail.com or join her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ChristineODunn.Recent blog posts
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