Have You Looked at Your Pension?
I loved the rumble between President Obama and Mitt Romney on Tuesday night because it may have sent people to check on how their pension accounts were doing. Maybe. Hopefully.
During the debate, the two presidential candidates began sparing about Chinese investments. Then there was an exchange that was both amusing and lesson for us all. Here is, in part, how the brawl went down:
ROMNEY: Just going to make a point. Any investments I have over the last eight years have been managed by a blind trust. And I understand they do include investments outside the United States, including in — in Chinese companies. Mr. President, have you looked at your pension? Have you looked at your pension?
OBAMA: I’ve got to say…
ROMNEY: Mr. President, have you looked at your pension?
OBAMA: You know, I — I don’t look at my pension. It’s not as big as yours, so it doesn’t take as long.
ROMNEY: Well, let me give you some advice.
OBAMA: I don’t check it that often.
ROMNEY: Let me give you some advice. Look at your pension.
Romney’s right. You should have an idea of what’s in your retirement accounts and whether it’s appropriately diversified in various asset classes, including perhaps international companies or investments.
The president is, of course, a bit busy running the nation, but I hope he was just kidding about not checking his retirement plan very often.
So when was the last time you really looked at how you are investing for retirement? And I don’t mean just checking the balance. You should also look to see how you are invested.
Have you looked at your pension?
Binders Full of Women
There’s another upside to the debate. We’re talking about women and the workplace and equal pay.
How we came to talk about flexible work hours for working parents - not just women – and about finding talented women for top positions warrants a backhanded thanks to Romney.
Discussing how he went about hiring qualified women when he was governor of Massachusetts, Romney said the following: “And — and so we — we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks?’ And they brought us whole binders full of women.”
Romney’s “binders full of women comment may be the buzziest comment from last night’s debate,” wrote Jena McGregor is a columnist for The Washington Post’s On Leadership section. “But the patronizing and tone-deaf gaffe is a lot more than just an Internet meme. It also reveals a lot about why Romney has trouble connecting with women voters, and how he views the issues that affect them.”
By the way, the women’s groups approached Romney before he contacted them, McGregor and others have reported.
“He gave the impression that he thinks such groups hold the keys to special ‘binders full of women’ who can’t otherwise be found through normal human-resources channels such as leadership development programs, succession plans, and internal and external recruiting,” McGregor wrote.
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