A digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement

Your 401(k) is just one piece of the retirement puzzle. Here’s the right place for it |Money

There’s no shortage of advice about how to invest your 401(k). But if you have not just a 401(k) but also other savings vehicles — like an IRA, brokerage account, investment property, or even a pension — those rules might not apply. Particularly in a volatile economic climate like the one investors face today, a big-picture strategy with a focus on diversification can help you maximize your investment earnings and even save on taxes.

9 ways California’s new retirement plan changes the retirement savings landscape |MarketWatch

On July 1, private-sector employers in California gained access to an innovative new program that enables them to facilitate retirement savings for employees. In a state where half of all private-sector workers do not have a retirement savings account or participate in a pension, CalSavers stands to make a significant difference in the lives of everyday workers.

And this landmark program won’t just benefit Californians; it changes the retirement landscape in important ways nationwide: When the largest state enacts innovative new policies, lawmakers and the financial services industry sit up and take notice.

[Read more from PERA on the Issues about Colorado’s efforts to study private sector retirement savings plans here.]

Here’s how much more money you’d have if you delayed retirement until 70, according to Stanford researchers |CNBC

A report from the Stanford Center on Longevity and Society of Actuaries suggests that the typical American would benefit from a later retirement age. After analyzing 292 different retirement income strategies, the research team identified the best way for most people to withdraw their money in retirement: It’s called the “spend safely in retirement strategy” (SSiRS) and involves delaying Social Security payments until age 70, which could mean working longer.

To show just how powerful it can be, the research team gave one example of a hypothetical, 62-year-old middle-income couple earning a combined $100,000 with $350,000 in retirement savings. If the couple retired at 62, their annual income, including Social Security benefits and the amount they draw down from their retirement savings, would be $37,585. If they worked full-time until age 70, their annual income would be nearly double: $70,755.

Kentucky pension official says worst-funded state plan may have finally turned around |Courier-Journal

The trend that has seen Kentucky’s worst-funded pension plan getting deeper in debt each year may have come to an end, according to Rich Robben, executive director of the Office for Investments at Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS). The KRS plan that provides retirement benefits for state workers in nonhazardous jobs has $13.6 billion in unfunded liabilities and is considered to be the worst-funded public pension plan in America. A huge increase in the amount employers are required to pay to the plan beginning in 2018-19 produced a positive cash flow of $237.7 million for the plan in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

3 signs you’re ready to retire |The Motley Fool

Retirement is something many workers dream about for decades. And for some it can’t come soon enough – half of American adults say they would like to retire by age 60, a survey from the Harris Poll and TD Ameritrade found. However, not everyone is ready to retire, no matter how prepared they think they are.

Retirement takes a lot of planning, and choosing when to retire is a decision that shouldn’t be made lightly. Before you leave your job for good, make sure you’ve considered three factors to ensure you’re really ready to retire: you have a withdrawal plan; you’ve thought about how you’ll cover health care costs; and you’ve decided when you’re going to claim benefits.