Golden years? It may be time to redefine retirement. As USA Today reports, a new survey of American workers from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that 82% of the respondents age 60 and older either are working or expect to keep working past the age of 65. Among all workers, regardless of age, 20% expect to keep working as long as possible in their current job or a similar one. “The days of the gold-watch retirement where we have an office party and maybe some punch and cookies and never work again are more mythical than a reality,” says Catherine Collinson, president of the retirement studies center. Read the full story.
In and out: The U.S. trade deficit in March ballooned to the highest level in more than six years, propelled by a flood of imports ranging from autos to cellphones. The deficit rose to $51.4 billion—the largest trade gap since October 2008 and more than 43% higher than in February—the Commerce Department reported this morning. Exports were up 0.9% to $187.8 billion, while imports increased 7.7% to $239.2 billion. The trade deficit is the shortfall between exports and imports. The Associated Press reports the result suggests that international trade played a big role in the U.S. economy’s anemic growth in the first quarter. Read the full story.
For what it’s worth: With graduation season around the corner, more than a few U.S. families probably are wondering just how much that college degree will be worth. As Bloomberg reports, there’s little doubt education is associated with higher income, better financial decision-making and more wealth. However, issues that are harder for an individual to control—what type of family you come from, whether you get an inheritance, or how healthy you are—also play a growing role in determining your net worth, according to a new report by researchers William Emmons and Bryan Noeth at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Education “is important, but it’s not the whole story,” says Emmons, a senior economic adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Read the full story.
