A digest of timely information and insight about finance, investing, and retirement.

Taxpayers not burdened by public pensions | PlanSponsor

Taxpayers only contribute about 20 cents on the dollar toward public pensions plan contributions, according to a recent paper by the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS). And research from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) indicates that every dollar paid in pension benefits creates $2.21 in economic output.

This is what retirees would do differently if they could go back in time | Time-Money

A little bit of practical advice or a fresh perspective on the retirement savings journey could come from recent and soon-to-be-retirees who shared some of the lessons they learned on their own retirement paths.

Denverites define $2 million as the entryway to wealth, lower than national mark | The Denver Post

Being wealthy can mean different things to different people, but for residents of the Mile High City, the threshold is a net worth of $2 million, according to the new Modern Wealth Index for Denver from Charles Schwab & Co. Nationally, the “wealthy” mark was $2.4 million and the “financially comfortable” mark was $1.1 million. In metro Denver, financially comfortable was defined as $541,700.

Labor Dept. seeks delay of consumer protection rule for financial advisors | The New York Times

Regulators are seeking to delay the deadline for financial advisors to fully comply with a rule that would require them to act in their customers’ best interest, according to a federal court filing earlier this month. [Read more about the federal rule as it was first introduced in April, 2016.]

Why the Dow isn’t really the stock market | The New York Times

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the oldest and best-known measuring stick for the American stock market, has risen more than 18 percent over the last 12 months, a spectacular return. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, the benchmark for large companies used by many stock professionals, has been far less impressive, with a gain in the last 12 months of a little over 12 percent.  To a surprising extent, the divergence depends on just two stocks, Apple and Boeing, and on the ways in which the two indexes are constructed. The Dow is an old and simple index, including only 30 stocks that are weighted by price, meaning that the highest-priced share of a stock – which happens to be Boeing at the moment – has the greatest sway in the index. The S.&P. is known as a “market-weighted index” and is used by professionals much more widely than the Dow.

Why loneliness is more dangerous than obesity | MarketWatch

Loneliness is just as much of a public health hazard as obesity, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association annual conference. Research from a large number of studies showed people who had greater social connections had a 50 percent reduced risk of dying early, and social isolation, loneliness or living alone each played a significant role in premature death. Over 42 million Americans over the age of 45 suffer from chronic loneliness, according to the AARP. People that considered themselves lonely were less likely to engage in social activities, such as going to religious services, volunteering or finding a hobby. (The AARP promotes group activities for seniors.)