Your Money and Your Life Series Begins Today
NPR SERIES HELPS YOU PLAN AHEAD FOR RETIREMENT WITH ACTIONABLE INFORMATION AND ONLINE TOOLS
Series Previewed Sunday and Continues Through Nov. 27
October 19, 2015; Washington, D.C. – It's a startling fact: having enough money to retire is American's number one financial concern, yet half of American families with children have next to nothing saved. Starting this week on Morning Edition and online, the Your Money and Your Life series will offer NPR listeners actionable helpful information so they can get started saving early and making better investment decisions. The series will continue with weekly stories on All Things Considered through November 27, the narrative and content of the series will be shaped by listeners' feedback and concerns.
For the first time NPR is inviting listeners to join a Facebook group at: npr.org/moneyandlife
Members of the group will play an interactive role in how a story series is shaped. People who join the group will learn more about how to start saving and investing successfully for their retirement, there will also be "events" where they can take part in a new spin on the public radio "pledge" by pledging to give themselves money by saving more and investing. There's also a Retirement Action Plan they can fill out.
The series previewed on Weekend Edition Sunday where NPR's Chris Arnold told Rachel Martin about his motivation for starting this project: "About a year ago I was watching Janet Yellen give a speech and she put up a chart showing that half of American families with children have basically no assets. Nothing saved. Half of American families with children ... have nothing. That's one of the things that got me motivated to offer our listeners some really actionable helpful information online and to help people get started saving and making better investment decisions."
Every day this week on Morning Edition, NPR journalists will talk to top investors, behavioral economists, large and small employers, and everyday Americans who are trying to save. Some of the questions NPR Your Money will answer are: Why aren't people saving enough money? How do we know how MUCH we're supposed to be squirreling away for retirement? It isn't enough to just save - you have to be smart about it - what are some of the most common mistakes people make?
The first story in the NPR Your Money series aired this morning Is Wall Street Eating Your 401(k) Nest Egg? Many Americans are paying excessive fees in their 401(k) plans – especially at smaller and medium-sized businesses where research shows that workers end up paying much higher fees that damage the workers' ability to build wealth over time.
Schedule & Story Descriptions: NPR's Your Money Your Life
Note: Schedule is tentative and subject to change. Local broadcasters and their schedules can be found by visiting npr.org/stations.
Tuesday Oct. 20:
Morning Edition & NPR.org
"Roboadvisers" - NPR's Uri Berliner investigates: are roboadvisers a fad or a digital disruption of financial services and the way of the future? He takes a look at the new wave of companies offering to manage clients' investments, often for less money than traditional financial firms charge.
Wednesday Oct. 21:
Morning Edition & NPR.org
Profile of Jack Bogle - NPR's Chris Arnold piece on Jack Bogle, the "George Washington of an American investing revolution." Bogle created the world's first index fund and for 40 years has been leading the charge for a lower-cost approach to investing to allow everyday Americans to make more money in their retirement accounts over time. Bogle explains how something that sounds small like a 2 percent annual fee is actually very damaging to your ability to build wealth.
Thursday Oct. 22:
Morning Edition & NPR.org
Do you need a financial adviser - And how much to pay? - NPR's John Ydstie gets at the behavioral economics of how people make bad choices when they try to invest. They want to sell when stocks crash among other things. An adviser can be very helpful but an adviser can also charge too much and steer clients into very expensive investments and get a commission for doing so. Economists recommend getting an adviser with a real fiduciary duty to put clients' best interests first. That can mean choosing one who works for a simple fee and doesn't get commissions for putting clients into overpriced funds.
Friday Oct. 23:
Morning Edition & NPR.org
UK "Auto enrollment" - NPR's Chris Arnold looks at the legislation in England requiring all employers to automatically enroll workers in 401(k)-type savings account. Even people who think they can't save any money stick with it if they're auto enrolled (91 percent of people stick with it!)
Contact
NPR Media Relations: Isabel Lara
Email: mediarelations (at) npr.org