Employers cutting 401(k) match contributions.

Here’s a story near and not so dear to my heart titled, How Much You Lose When Your Employer Cuts Your 401(k) Match

It hit close to home because a few weeks ago I received an email from my corporate masters informing me that 401(k) matching contributions were “on hold indefinitely” so as to provide the flexibility required to “navigate these unprecedented economic times.” This was a week after they announced that there would be a wage-freeze and bonuses “across the board” would be eliminated.

I’m not alone, it would seem.

The article provides some depressing figures on just how much less you have at retirement without an employer match. It seems a little like a WAG to me because there are A LOT of assumptions involved like average rate of return, whether the employee will stop contributing to his 401(k) altogether, etc.. but the article does outline 3 actions an employee faced with the elimination of his company’s match can take:

1. Save more.
2. Consider a Roth IRA.
3. Don’t cash out.

What would you do? (Read the details of each action here)

Me? I opted for #1. It wasn’t as hard a choice as I thought it would be, since the market had pretty much bottomed out by the time I had to take action. I like the idea of buying more stocks at what I’m sure will have been historic lows by the time I retire. So I jacked up my contribution rate to what it was with the employer match included. Still, I wish I had that match…

Related Posts:

• Are Retiring Boomers “The 401(k) generation”?
• How to Save for Retirement When Your 401(k) Plan Sucks.
• Generation Y slacking on Savings?
• Should I Borrow From My 401K?
• Investing For Beginners – Active Vs Passive Funds.

New regulation on credit cards offers consumer protection.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill Tuesday aimed at providing increased consumer protection by imposing stricter regulation on the credit-card industry.

The bill is known as the “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009″ and here’s a quick look at what it does:

Rate changes and account management.

• Allows a creditor to increase an APR on the existing credit card balance only if the increase is due solely to:

• Requires a 45-day advance notice of:

• States that a promotional rate APR shall be effective for a six-month period beginning from the date the promotional rate takes effect.

• Requires a creditor to provide a 30-day advance notice of an account closure.

• Requires a creditor to remove information furnished to a consumer reporting agency concerning establishment of a newly opened credit card account if the consumer:

Billing and statements

• Prohibits imposition of a double billing cycle as a result of the loss of any grace period.

• Prohibits the imposition of a fee on an outstanding credit card balance, at the end of a billing period, that is attributable only to interest accrued during the preceding billing period on an outstanding balance fully repaid during that preceding billing period.

• Requires each periodic statement of account to provide the toll-free telephone number, Internet address, and website at which the payoff balance may be requested.

• Declares that any payment beyond the required minimum payment shall be allocated first to the balance with the highest APR.

• Prohibits a creditor from denying a cardholder a specified payment grace period if the cardholder takes advantage of a promotional rate balance or deferred interest rate balance.

• Requires creditors to send a periodic credit card statement of account to the consumer at least 21 calendar days before the due date for the next payment on the outstanding balance.

• Prohibits a creditor from treating as a late payment the receipt of a periodic payment by mail as of the creditor’s next business day if the date established by the creditor as the payment due date is a day on which mail is either not delivered or is not accepted by the creditor for processing.

College and high school students.

• Prohibits extensions of credit to consumers under age 18, unless they are emancipated under state law, or the consumer’s parent or legal guardian is designated as the primary account holder.

• Limits the maximum amount of credit which may be extended to a college student for whom no one else assumes joint liability to the greater of:

• Requires:

• Prohibits a creditor from opening a credit card account for any college student who:

Fees and Minimum payments

• Prohibits a creditor from imposing a fee based on the manner in which payment on the account is made.

• Revises and expands requirements for mandatory minimum payment disclosures which a creditor must furnish.

• Prescribes a minimum type-size and font requirement for credit card applications and disclosures.

• Prohibits the charge of an over-the-limit fee unless the consumer permits the creditor to complete the relevant transaction (opt-in).

• Allows imposition of an over-the-limit fee only once during a billing cycle.

• Prescribes a standard for the initial issuance of subprime or “fee harvester” cards (accounts requiring first-year fee payments in excess of 25% of the total amount of credit authorized).

Read the full details of the bill here.

This is just past the senate hurdle, and hence not yet a law so things may change. Still, I think it’s a big step in the right direction!

photo by Andres Rueda

Related Posts:

• Is 25 Credit Cards Too Many?
• Are Banks Using Business Cards to Pay for Loss of Consumer Card Fees?
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• Don’t Let Credit Card Bonus Offers Turn Into Debt!
• How to Settle Debts On Your Own.

Sharebuilder Price changes taking effect in June.

I’ve been a member of ShareBuilder for about 4 or 5 years now (since before they were part of ING), and I’ve never had a problem with them. I also haven’t seen too many changes over the years, certainly not in pricing. The one change I do remember was a reduction in the price of buying stocks online in real time from $19.99 to $9.99, so I really couldn’t complain about that!

I can’t really complain about this one too, but I did receive a message in email and thought I’d share it with you.

Effective mid-June – Margin Rates decreasing

“Effective mid-June, we are reducing our margin base rates by up to 18% per the loan balance schedule detailed below. In addition, we are making slight adjustments to the prices of a few other account services. These changes do not affect the price of any other service.”

Looks like the rates are dropping as follows:

Cash transfers from an ING DIRECT savings or checking account are free.

I couldn’t really complain even if they were raising the margin rates, because I don’t trade stocks on margin! That’s just one of those things that strikes me as a little too dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing and/or don’t keep up on it. I don’t need any extra risk of financial ruin in my life right now.

I use ShareBuilder for my buy and hold strategy and my taxable investment account (i.e. not 401(k)/IRA). As I said, I’ve been very satisfied and since their part of ING, they offer referral codes to get $25 free when you open up a ShareBuilder account and make a trade. Also, since it’s ING, the user interface is extremely easy to use.

Related Posts:

• Minimalism vs. Simplicity – Are You Missing the Point?
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• How (and Why) I Added Gold to my IRA.
• How to Survive (and Possibly Thrive during) Stagflation.
• CD Rate Roundup for March. (video)

CD Rate Roundup – Best Bank CD Rates in May

Emergency savings accounts are all the rage these days, and while many people keep theirs in a high yield saving account, others use CDs. It all depends on when you might need the cash.

You may want to consider splitting up your savings, depending on your situation. For example, you may only keep a months expenses in a high yield savings account, and put the bulk of the remainder in a CD. This is especially attractive given the low interest rates these days, since CDs usually offer a higher rate of return.

Well, it’s something I’ve been thinking of doing, and I since I’ve been doing the research I thought I’d compile the list and share it with you.

These are the best cd rates for deposits of $10,000 and under, as rated by BankRate.com. I filtered out the worst and here’s the 2 and 3 star (out of 3 stars) ratings that remain.

Term
Institution
Rate
APR
Min
Deposit









1 month














Univest National
Bank & Trust Co.
Souderton, PA
 0.75
0.75
 $2,500











E-LOAN 

Pleasanton, CA
0.55
0.55
 $10,000










Citizens Trust Bank

 Atlanta, GA
0.20
0.20
$500









3 month







Ally Bank 

Midvale, UT
1.73
1.75
$0



Excel National Bank 

Beverly Hills, CA
1.73
1.74
 $10,000



NOVA Bank 

Philadelphia, PA
1.29
1.30
$500



Discover Bank 

New Castle, DE
1.25
1.25
 $2,500









6 month







Ally Bank

 Midvale, UT
2.13
2.15
$0



Excel National Bank 

Beverly Hills, CA
1.98
2.00
 $10,000



giantbank.com

 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
1.89
1.91
$2,500









1 year







Ally Bank 

Midvale, UT
2.76
2.80
 $0



Pacific Mercantile 

Bank Costa Mesa, CA
2.35
2.38
$10,000



Discover Bank 

New Castle, DE
2.33
 2.35
$2,500




Advanta Bank Corp.

 Salt Lake City, UT
2.27
2.30
 $10,000









3 year







Ally Bank

 Midvale, UT
3.15
3.20
 $0



Frontier State Bank 

Oklahoma City, OK
2.73
2.75
$10,000



Discover Bank 

New Castle, DE
3.16
3.20
 $2,500



Intervest National 

Bank New York, NY
3.05
3.10
 $2,500









5 year







Ally Bank

 Midvale, UT
3.44
 3.50
 $0



Frontier State Bank 

Oklahoma City, OK
3.21
3.25
 $10,000



Advanta Bank Corp. 

Salt Lake City, UT
3.25
3.30
$10,000



Nationwide Bank 

Columbus, OH
3.25
3.30
$500

Related Posts:

• High Yield CDs (FDIC Insured) For March, 2010.
• Best High Yield Savings Account Rates Of 2011.
• Which is Larger: Your Credit Card Debt or Your Savings Account?
• America Saves Week 2011 Is Here!
• Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Fund?