Vanguard’s new index ETFs that hold short-term US Treasury Bonds are now live (press release). Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF (VBIL). Tracks the Bloomberg US Treasury Bills 0-3 Months Index, which holds T-Bills with maturities of 3 months or less. Expense ratio of 0.07%. Vanguard Ultra-Short Treasury ETF (VGUS). Tracks the Bloomberg Short Treasury Index, which includes U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, and Bonds with less than 12 months until maturity. Expense ratio of 0.07%. […]

Between 1985 and 2012, a total of 84,350 pension plans disappeared within the United States. In 1970, 45% of private sector workers had a defined benefit pension plan. Today it’s only 15%. Could the same thing happen to the 401(k)? It might seem like a crazy question to ask given the widespread adoption of the 401(k), but imagine I had asked the same thing about pensions back in 1970. This would’ve seemed like a crazy idea at the time too. I would’ve heard things like, “Pensions are the backbone of the American retirement system,” and “How could we live without them?” But guess what? Things changed and we found a way. I have a feeling that a similar change is on the horizon today when it comes to 401(k)s in America. With the rise of AI/LLMs, the future of human labor has never been more uncertain. And with this added uncertainty, do we need to rethink how we save for retirement? Before we answer that question, let’s briefly review what almost killed the pension and how the Congress tried to fix it. What Almost Killed the Pension (and how ERISA fixed it) In December 1963, the Studebaker-Packard Corporation closed down a plant in South Bend, Indiana. Normally, such an action wouldn’t have caused much of a stir, but Studebaker had a sizable defined benefit plan covering thousands of its workers. Following the plant’s closure, Studebaker “terminated the retirement plan for hourly workers” and defaulted on all its pension obligations. This article from the Journal of Accountancy noted the chaos that ensued shortly thereafter: At the time, the [Studebaker] plan covered roughly 10,500 workers, 3,600 of whom had already retired and who received their full benefits when the plan was terminated. Four thousand employees between the ages of 40 and 59 received approximately 15 cents for each dollar of benefit they were owed. The average age of this group of workers was 52 years with an average of 23 years of service. The remaining 2,900 employees, who all had less than 10 years of service, received nothing. Despite the financial fallout from the Studebaker pension failure, nothing changed in the years that followed. It wasn’t until a NBC documentary titled Pensions: The Broken Promise aired in 1972 that the national mood began to shift on pensions. The documentary highlighted the flaws in the U.S. pension system and interviewed individuals who had been deprived of their benefits. The popularity of the documentary and the public outcry that followed pushed the U.S. government to begin working on a solution. Two years later, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) was passed and signed into law in 1974. ERISA fundamentally changed how private-sector retirement plans were regulated in the U.S. Following the passage of ERISA, every private sector retirement plan had to follow certain rules regarding funding, benefits, vesting schedules, and much more. ERISA also created the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) to be a government guarantor of private pensions. The PBGC ensured that employees with

How many times have you moved jobs? The average person has 11.9 jobs between the ages of 18 and 50. And if each one has a retirement plan that you contribute to, that’s a lot of retirement plans! So it’s no surprise that sometimes you might lose one or two. And since time passes quickly, it can be easy to misplace important documents, like 401(k) details from a previous employer. Yet, these funds are vital to retirement planning and calculating your net worth, so you might want to find them! Or, consider this common scenario – you’re the surviving spouse or child trying to track down a 401(k) for estate purposes. It’s not easy to find a lost 401(k) but thankfully, not all hope is lost. Here are the steps you can follow to find an old or missing 401(k): Table of Contents1. Use the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database2. Check Unclaimed Retirement Benefits3. Contact the Plan Provider4. Use Online Services5. Ask Your Former Employer6. Look Up Form 55006. Check Unclaimed Property DatabasesWhat To Do with Your Old 401(k)Rollover IRAConvert to a Roth IRAConsolidate 401(k)sKeep Your 401(k) (But Update It)Cash It OutSummary 1. Use the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database The SECURE 2.0 Act created a Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database, managed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. The database covers retirement plans in the private sector (so not for government employees) and makes it really easy to find out if you erroneously left a retirement plan behind. To get access, you need to set up a Login.gov login (which you may already have) and confirm your identity with a photo of yourself and ID documents, such as a driver’s license. It took me just a few minutes to do this. 2. Check Unclaimed Retirement Benefits If you don’t find success with the above database, you can always check the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. Similar to Missing Money, the NRURB keeps a database of retirement plans that have lost contact with their respective owners. It’s a very quick search, using your Social Security Number, and you can find out very quickly whether your number is listed and if a plan has been trying to reach you but has been unsuccessful. For pensions, you can use the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s search tool. 3. Contact the Plan Provider If you know where the 401(k) was “kept,” ask the plan provider. Start your search by visiting the website of the 401(k) plan provider. You may be able to provide your name, birth date, and email address to reset your login information. You might have to contact customer support to verify your identity and complete additional steps. Here are links to the three most significant 401(k) providers: Vanguard Fidelity Schwab 4. Use Online Services Meet Beagle is an adorably logo’d service that can help you find and optimize your 401(k) plans. They aim to be a “financial concierge” that can find

Today, I will try and answer the question about whether or not backlinks to your business’s website will help you rank higher with Generative AI Search. In my recent post about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO,) I linked to a white paper that talks in depth about how backlinks could influence GEO best practices, you can […]

For years I’ve been of the opinion that it’s a good idea not to check your investment accounts very often, as it leads many people to participate in one form or another of performance chasing. I still, emphatically, think that changing your asset allocation on any regular basis is not a good idea. But I definitely see the value in checking your accounts on a regular basis as a fraud-prevention mechanism. This week we have […]

The post The 2025 Dividend Champions: Updates, Performance, and Analysis appeared first on Dividend Power. This article provides an updated list of the Dividend Champions in 2025, select financial data and analysis. The list and data are updated monthly. The Dividend Champions 2025 companies on United States stock exchanges have raised their dividend for 25+ consecutive years. This list is a select list of only 134 companies. This number is from nearly 6,000 companies listed on the New York […]

Image Source: 123rf.com Are you a young adult looking to make additional income? Creating additional income doesn’t have to mean finding a higher-paying job or taking on a lot of additional work. Here are 12 passive income ideas for young adults. 1. Create and Sell Digital Products If you have a skill that can be monetized, consider creating and selling digital products like a course or downloadable material. While this requires work upfront, your digital […]

For years now, dividend tax rates have been increasing. In addition investors have been hit with a massive reduction in the already miserly tax-free dividend allowance. Let’s run through the current dividend tax rates and allowances. We’ll then consider how we got here, and what you can do about it. Dividend tax rates and allowances The rate of tax you’ll pay on your dividends depends on your income tax band. UK dividend tax rates are […]