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

Why does my health insurance premium increase each year? | Verywell Health
Typically as fall approaches, you begin to hear from your employer’s human resources department or from the insurers and payers who oversee your health coverage about how much you’ll have to pay for coverage next year. And each year, it seems like those premiums increase, sometimes by double-digit percentages. Why is health insurance so expensive? And why do you have to pay more every year, even if you’re healthy? Simply put, health insurance premiums go up because medical costs increase.

Opinion: Don’t confuse public pension cost with generosity | MarketWatch
In a recent editorial, The Wall Street Journal reports on state and local pension liabilities as a percentage of state GDP and concludes that politicians have made excessive pension promises. In fact, pension costs are going up, but the question is whether the rising costs are a result of benefit generosity or of underfunding. The answer is underfunding.

Scammers are targeting retirement savings. Here’s how to fight them | Marketplace
As we age, one of the things that sometimes gets lost in the mix is how we’ve handled our money. Did we save enough? What will our retirement be like? And if that’s not enough, now add another worrisome element to the mix: retirement scammers. Con artists of all types are finding ways to sap the savings of aging retirees. Senior economics correspondent Chris Farrell addresses what the government, the financial industry and you can do about it.

Best and worst cities for retirement | CNBC
If you’re looking for an affordable retirement, the city in which you decide to live should be an important factor. Personal finance website WalletHub recently ranked 182 U.S. cities based on their affordability, activities, quality of life and health care. Each city was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the highest score.

Half of pre-retirees expect to return to work | PlanSponsor
Fifty-three percent of workers who expect to retire in the next five years think it is likely they will return to work, according to a survey by Home Instead, Inc. Earning additional income was their primary reason for returning to work, cited by 67 percent, followed by fighting boredom (44 percent) and keeping their minds sharp (22 percent). Sixty-eight percent of those approaching retirement say they plan to work in a different industry and 65 percent of retirees who have returned to work say the same.

This is how to have the “perfect” retirement | MarketWatch
Most people look forward to retirement as a time to forget their worries, live without a boss or a commute and to perhaps just kick back whenever and however the urge appears. But in real life, that fantasy isn’t very common — and it may not be all it’s cracked up to be. There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for a good retirement, because every situation is in some ways unique.

Social Security finances worsen as reliance on the program increases | Investment News
Two new reports from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business document an increase in American retirees’ reliance on Social Security income over the past 25 years as the program’s long-term finances deteriorate at a faster pace than officially projected by the Social Security Administration.