Carole Fleck

Biography: As a senior editor for AARP Media, I cover personal finance issues, the economy, older worker issues, retirement planning and other news affecting people 50-plus.

Subscribe to this topic via: RSS Email

Carole Fleck 'sPosts

Average 401(k) Balances for 55-Plus: $255,000

Posted on 06/17/2013 by Carole Fleck | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin TodayHell-o 401(k). So nice to see you increasing in value. Here’s hoping for a record second quarter just like the first. Strong employee/employer contributions and a rocking stock market boosted the average 401(k) balance during the first three months of the year. It hit $255,000 for participants age 55 and older who worked at their current employer for 10 years or more, according to a Fidelity Investments quarterly analysis of its 401(k) accounts, which had more than 12 million participants. …

Are Your Parents at Risk for Financial Fraud?

Posted on 06/13/2013 by Carole Fleck | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Home & Family | Money & SavingsAfter a lifetime of working and saving, our parents shouldn’t have to fend off fraudsters trying to siphon their funds. But financial exploitation of older adults is happening with increasing alarm, officials say. So to help them detect and avoid all sorts of financial abuse, from identity theft to reverse mortgage fraud, a new online curriculum and guide was launched by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It’s the latest effort by regulators to curb elder financial fraud, which …

Dad’s Value Is Rising (But He’s Still Worth Less Than Mom)

Posted on 06/12/2013 by Carole Fleck | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Home & Family | Money & SavingsHow valuable is dad? We’re happy to report that he’s more valuable this year than he was last year. For all that dad does around the house — plumbing, BBQ grilling, mowing the lawn and other chores — he’s now worth $23,344. That’s up from $20,248 last year, thanks to average wage increases for household jobs that dads typically do, according to Insure.com’s annual Father’s Day Index. (The index is based on wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor). …

Would Your Bank Help Scammers Rip You Off?

Posted on 06/11/2013 by Carole Fleck | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & SavingsDo you think your bank has your best interests at heart? A new report may have you thinking twice about that. Two banks, Zions Bank of Salt Lake City and First Bank of Delaware, were not only accused of allowing dubious merchants to illegally debit their customers’ accounts with unauthorized charges, according to the New York Times, but they actually profited handsomely from the transactions. Consequently, tens of thousands of bank customers, many of them elderly, lost more than $100 …

Retirement Saving: Let’s Do It Like the Aussies

Posted on 06/10/2013 by Carole Fleck | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & Savings | Work Retiring in Australia appears to be much more pleasurable than in the United States — and it has nothing to do with gathering around the barbie and watching marsupials romp. Most workers who retire in the land Down Under apparently don’t have to worry so much about outliving their savings. That’s because about 90 percent of the workforce has a retirement savings account, and contributing to it is mandatory. Yep, you read that correctly. Most workers sock away at least …

More Older Workers Landed Jobs in May

Posted on 06/7/2013 by Carole Fleck | Money and Work | Comments

Bulletin Today | WorkGood news on the jobs front. Businesses created a not-too-shabby 175,000 jobs in May, pushing down the unemployment rate for older workers, though women fared better than men. Among all workers age 55 and older, the jobless rate fell to 5.3 percent last month from 5.5 percent in April, the government reported Friday. Older women drove that trend. Their unemployment rate slid to 4.3 percent in May from 4.8 percent the month before. Among men in that age group, the unemployment …