Retirement Trends

The three finalists are Alliance Benefit Group Financial Services, Corp. represented by Bradley Arends; Compass Financial Partners, represented by Kathleen Kelly; and Maresh Yoshida 401(k) Group, represented by T. Henry Yoshida.

Consumers still face plenty of obstacles, including falling household income which has slid 6 percent since March 1998 to a median of $52,297.

With interest rates at their lowest point in years and the volatility in the stock market, it has become nearly impossible to predict whether most retirement accounts will earn enough to fund a 4 percent withdrawal rate.

Like everyone else who dines at a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett is charged a 2.5 percent tax thats used in part to defray $850 million in unfunded retirement expenses for city workers.

While the rates arent directly followed by most investors, even small movements can affect the value of what Morningstar Inc. estimates is about $3.6 trillion in funds including pension and savings accounts that track global indexes.

Many banks are looking to fee-based businesses like wealth management to help them develop new revenue streams.