|
|
Release Date: Release Number: 00-12
Contact Name: Linda Jackson-King 301.853.8770 Noel Maye CFP
Board 303.839.0644
|
|
WASHINGTON, D.C. - To help Americans strengthen
their retirement savings, the Department of Labor and the Certified Financial
Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) are introducing a new guideline for
savings fitness, a comprehensive, free booklet entitled Savings Fitness: A
Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future. |
The booklet outlines how Americans can plan for
their retirements by adding a savings plan to their financial lives. Consumers
can receive the free, 20-page step-by-step guide to financial planning for
retirement by contacting the Department of Labor toll-free at 1-800-998-7542.
|
"It's easy to say Americans should save more, but
they also need the tools to do so. In this savings guide for retirement, people
will find the information they need to get started, and to begin ?buying their
retirement - one of the most important purchases we make over a lifetime
of working," said Labor Departments Assistant Secretary for Pension and
Welfare Benefits Leslie Kramerich. |
The consumer guide to saving is another step in
the Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Education Campaign begun in 1995.
To produce an educational tool for Americans that reflects up-to-the-moment
information and demonstrates how saving is a part of creating a financial plan,
the Labor Department partnered with the CFP Board, a nonprofit, professional
regulatory organization that exists to benefit the public by fostering
professional standards in financial planning. |
"We're delighted to be partnering with DOL and to
be a part of this important educational tool for consumers," said Patricia P.
Houlihan, CFP Board Chair. "Financial planning is all about managing your
resources to meet your personal goals, and saving is the biggest tool we have
to make our goals a reality. Saving and investing to reach goals such as
retirement help give each of us greater control over our futures and more
choices about how we want to live today - something that's very much part of
the American approach to life." |
The new saving guide seems especially needed now,
given the low rate of personal saving as reported monthly by the Commerce
Department, said Kramerich. The personal saving rate in December 1999 was just
1.5 percent, lower than the 2.4 percent logged for 1999 overall which
itself is the lowest one-year rate recorded in more than a generation. |
The new Department of Labor/CFP Board resource for
consumers addresses key financial planning issues, including assessing your
financial situation, establishing goals, creating a savings habit, building
investments, using appropriate retirement savings plans and keeping track of
your progress toward savings goals. |
"We want everyone to succeed in setting financial
and retirement goals," said Kramerich. "This new resource will start people on
their way to setting goals and putting retirement high on their lists of
personal priorities." |
The U.S. Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare
Benefits Administration (PWBA) protects the integrity of pensions, health
plans, and other employee benefits for more than 150 million people. The PWBA
assists workers in getting the information they need to protect their benefit
rights; assists plan officials to understand the requirements of the relevant
statutes in order to meet their legal responsibilities; develops policies and
laws that encourage the growth of employment-based benefits; and deters and
corrects violations of the relevant statutes. For more on PWBA, visit
www.dol.gov/dol/pwba. |
The CFP Board is a nonprofit professional
regulatory organization founded in 1985 to benefit the public by fostering
professional standards in personal financial planning. An independent
certifying organization, the CFP Board owns the CFP certification mark and the
marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®. At end-of-year 1999, there
were over 34,600 individuals licensed to use these marks in the U.S. For more
on the CFP Board, visit www.CFP-Board.org. |
U.S. Department of
Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this
news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive
Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your
request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7775. |
|