Essay on Self-Employed Retirement Savings: Why Are They Falling Short?

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/12/self-employed-heres-why-your-retirement-savings-are-falling-short.html

For my business news assignment, I looked at two business news articles. The first article, titled "Self-employed? Here's why your retirement savings are falling short" was published on September 12th, 2019, on the CBBC business news website. The author of the article is Darla Mercado and was published in the personal finance section. I selected this article mainly because it is business related and also because it discusses personal finance which is an area which I have developed much interest over the past few years. In addition, the article discusses a current issue and thus was relevant for my assignment.

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The article provides a clear insight into the U.S. retirement statistics. According to the article, only 13% of self-employed people who run a single-person business have enrolled into a workplace retirement plan (Mercado, 2019). This compared to the 72% of employees working in larger organizations who are currently participating in a workplace retirement plan (Mercado, 2019). Employees in larger organizations enjoy an automatic enrollment into a 401(k) plan and automatic escalation of workers contributions. However, self-employed workers miss out on this and thus the burden of selecting the right retirement plan and dutifully saving in it remains entirely based on the independent worker.

Lastly, I think that the article has successfully discussed the issue of personal finance, specifically retirement planning has been widely discussed across the various platforms. Therefore, the choice of personal finance a current issue in the economy today has improved the reliability of this article. The author provides references to all the information sources, which has helped improve the credibility and reliability of the article. The use of simple language also improves the understanding of the reads of the article. Lastly, the choice of the

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-attacks-gasoline/saudi-attacks-threaten-u-s-gasoline-price-hikes-particularly-in-california-idUSKBN1W101

The second article selected is titled "Saudi attacks threaten U.S. gasoline price hikes, particularly in California." The article is authored by Devika Krishna Kumar and published on September 15th, 2019 by Reuters. I selected this article first because it discussed a business issue and second because it was recently published and thus its reliability. Saudi Arabia oil facilities were attacked most recently on Saturday and have affected more than 5% of global oil supply and sent oil prices surging as much as 20% (U.S., 2019).

The article is very informative. Disruptions in the oil industry have over the years influence the global economy significantly. The article's discussion on the influence of Saudi Oil facilities on the U.S. economy is critical has it informs the readers of the effects they are likely to experience as a result of the crisis. The author of the article clearly explains how these attacks will influence gasoline prices in California and in addition, also discusses measures which have already be taken by the U.S. government to mitigate this issue.

Lastly, I think that this article was successful in presenting the discussion. The author utilizes simple language for the audience to understand. In addition, the author has adequately referenced information by providing quotes and statistics. This helps the reader of the article improve the understanding while at the same time, appreciating the credibility of the information.

Works Cited

Mercado, D. (2019). Self-employed? Here's why your retirement savings are falling short. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/12/self-employed-heres-why-your-retirement-savings-are-falling-short.html [Accessed September 16th. 2019].

U.S. (2019). Saudi attacks threaten U.S. gasoline price hikes, particularly in.... [online] Available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-aramco-attacks-gasoline/saudi-attacks-threaten-u-s-gasoline-price-hikes-particularly-in-california-idUSKBN1W101B [Accessed September 16th. 2019].