A Little Friday File Fun

And now it's time for FRIDAY FILES!

In New York City, a bar has replaced a sign touting a special on shots with a new one. The new sign reads, in all caps, “Sorry but if you say the word ‘literally’ inside Continental you have 5 minutes to finish your drink and then you must leave. If you actually start a sentence with ‘I literally,’ you must leave immediately!!! This is the most overused, annoying word in the English language and we will not tolerate it.” The bar owner has since told Timeout New York that the sign is just a joke, and that his bar would be empty if he actually enforced the rule.

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In New Haven, Connecticut, a suspected burglar apparently just needed a nap. A homeowner watched on surveillance video as someone broke into her home. Police were called to the scene and said they found the suspect sleeping on the homeowner’s couch. Nevertheless, according to the Associated Press, the man has been charged with third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal trespass.

In Sochi, Russia, orange snow has been falling in parts of Eastern Europe. According to the Associated Press, meteorologists said the snow from Siberia collided with dust-filled wind from the Sahara Desert in Africa. The orange snow has been spotted on mountains in Russia’s Sochi region, farther east in Georgia’s Adzharia region and at Romania’s Danube port of Galati.

In Bern, Switzerland, scientists have found those cute little rubber ducks used as bath-time toys can be dangerous. Swiss and American researchers counted the microbes swimming inside the toys and said the murky liquid released when ducks were squeezed contained “potentially pathogenic bacteria” in four out of the five toys studied. The bacteria found included Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium “often implicated in hospital-acquired infections,” the authors said in a statement. The study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, ETH Zurich and the University of Illinois turned up a strikingly high volume—up to 75 million cells per square centimeter (0.15 square inch)—and variety of bacteria and fungus in the ducks, the Associated Press reports. Tap water doesn’t usually foster the growth of bacteria, the scientists said, but low-quality polymers in the plastic give them the nutrients they need. Bodily fluids—e.g., urine and sweat—as well as contaminants and even soap in bathwater add microbes and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and create balmy brine for bacteria. While certain amounts of bacteria can help strengthen children’s immune systems, they can also lead to eye, ear and intestinal infections, the researchers said. Among the vulnerable users: Children “who may enjoy squirting water from bath toys into their faces.”
There’s something to be said about living on a farm—consider the extra babysitters.

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This little girl provides a lesson on how to give yourself a pep talk in the morning.

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This is what happens when you smack talk a goose.

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Americans Reflect on How Stock Market Volatility Will Affect Plans to Retire

Six in ten (61%) survey respondents are simply not sure how long it might delay their ability to save for retirement should a large 6,000 point drop in the Dow occur.

Lately, retirement plan participants have seen how volatile markets can be, with the Dow plunging nearly 3,000 points in early February, and the markets swinging wildly up and down since then.

Data from the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index showed participants reacted poorly to the volatility.

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A new survey conducted by Gfk on behalf of in partnership with COUNTRY Financial finds Americans are expecting a volatile year in the stock market with slightly more than one-quarter (27%) saying the market will gain value and 23% expecting the market to lose value. Nearly three in 10 (29%) say they “don’t know” what to expect from the stock market in 2018, and 19% expect the market to stay the same.

More than half of Americans (52%) say they are financially prepared if the Dow were to lose an additional 6,000 points, yet only 28% actually have a financial safety plan in place. Two-thirds (65%) of Millennials do not consider themselves financially prepared for another down market in comparison to 70% of older Americans (age 65 and older) and men (57%), who believe they are equipped to handle a drop.

Six in 10 (61%) survey respondents are simply not sure how long it might delay their ability to save for retirement should a large 6,000 point drop in the Dow occur. For those that are able to estimate the amount of delay in their ability to save for retirement, responses ranged from zero to two years (23%) to more long-term impact of nine or more years (2%), with a mean of 2.69 years. Women are more likely than men to be “unsure” about how long a large drop in the Dow might delay being able to save for retirement (67% to 55%, respectively). Men are more likely than women to say that the delay in savings might only be zero to two years (28% to 18%).

The survey also revealed how many Americans would tap into savings to pay for an unexpected expense. Nearly half of Americans (49%) feel like they could pay a $1,500 emergency room visit using their savings, while one in five (19%) would need to rely on using a credit card to pay the emergency room bill. More than half of Americans (53%) feel like they could pay a $500 car insurance deductible using their savings, while one in six (17%) would need to rely on using a credit card to pay the insurance deductible. When faced with a $100 tax bill, 54% of Americans feel like they could pay the bill from their savings.

Among those Americans with access to using retirement savings vehicles, such as a 401(k), 403(b), 457 plan or individual retirement account (IRA), only 46% say they are contributing as much as they would like. Those who are not contributing as much as they like blame a combination of a full range financial responsibilities (home mortgage (23%), credit card debt (20%), student loans (16%), car loans (15%), and medical bills (8%)) holding them back from contributing more.

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