Easy Pieces

Tammy Flanagan's Retirement Planning column, up today, on the importance of communicating about retirement issues correctly, is eminently sensible. I'd just add that in a time like this, when people may be feeling especially vulnerable about their retirement, it's incredibly important to be both sensitive and clear. Obfuscation doesn't help someone who might genuinely have financial problems, but neither does causing them to freak out.

And on another note, I have no idea what the best way is to get people to start thinking about retirement savings at a young age, but I'd be curious to hear your suggestions. I'm always amazed by the number of my friends who don't have retirement savings accounts, and have no plans to open them, or even thoughts about doing so. I've often thought that colleges should be required to teach graduating seniors a life-skills course that includes financial literacy. Automatic enrollment in the Thrift Savings Plan will be a step forward for a lot of young federal employees, of course. But benefits officers need to do more than just passively offer information. I just don't know how they should start.