People don't save enough for retirement because they live longer than they think they will, research finds

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Those in their 50s and 60s underestimate chances of survival to age 75 by around 20 percentage points and to 85 by five to 10 percentage points, study finds
People live longer than they think they will, potentially harming their ability to save adequately for their retirement, new research has found.
It is increasingly important to plan for the future because recently introduced pension freedoms have given people more control over their retirement funds, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.
People in their 50s and 60s underestimate their chances of survival to age 75 by around 20 percentage points and to 85 by around five to 10 percentage points, the study found. For example, men born in the 1940s who were interviewed at age 65 reported a 65 per cent chance of making it to age 75, whereas the official estimate was 83 per cent. For women, the equivalent figures were 65 per cent and 89 per cent.
Read more Pensioners paying £4,300 each to bankroll children and grandchildren Howev..

Employees Jump at Genetic Testing. Is That a Good Thing?

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Employees Jump at Genetic Testing. Is That a Good Thing?

Levi Strauss & Company introduced a novel benefit for employees at its San Francisco headquarters last fall: free genetic screening to assess their hereditary risks for certain cancers and high cholesterol.
Chip Bergh, Levi’s chief executive, said he had hoped that the tests would spur employees to take preventive health steps and in that way reduce the company’s health care costs. But even Mr. Bergh was surprised by the turnout. Of the 1,100 eligible Levi’s employees, more than half took the genetic tests. Now, he wants to extend the benefit to employees in other cities.
“It really is a differentiator,” Mr. Bergh said.
West Coast companies vying for talent offer an unusual array of benefits like college loan repayment, egg freezing, surrogacy assistance and, for new mothers away on business trips, overnight breast milk shipping. Some companies have added genetic screening as well, and employees are lining up for the tests.
Inst..

Maralinga Journal: Australia’s Least Likely Tourist Spot: a Test Site for Atom Bombs

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Australia’s Least Likely Tourist Spot: a Test Site for Atom Bombs
MARALINGA, Australia — Maralinga, a barren stretch of land in South Australia’s remote western desert, is the country’s only former nuclear test site open to tourists. And Robin Matthews is Australia’s only nuclear tour guide.
Visitors to Maralinga, a deserted military installation the size of Manhattan, who expect to find their tour guide dressed in a yellow jumpsuit and ventilator mask are bound to be disappointed.
Instead, Mr. Matthews, 65, can be found wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes and a cigarette hanging from chapped lips. His skin, deeply tanned, is covered with a narrative of faded tattoos inked long before they were fashionable.
“Yes, there is still radiation here,” Mr. Matthews said as he drove a minibus to the sites where the Australian and British governments dropped seven bombs between 1956 and 1963, which dotted the earth with huge craters and poisoned scores of indigenous people and their..

Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists Prepare for an I.P.O. Wave

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Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists Prepare for an I.P.O. Wave SAN FRANCISCO — Jason Pressman spent Thursday morning cheering from the balcony of the New York Stock Exchange as shares of the software firm Zuora, which he backed in 2008, began trading.
By the market’s close, Zuora’s stock had soared 43 percent, making his venture capital firm’s $17 million investment in the company worth roughly $150 million.
“Not bad at all,” Mr. Pressman said by phone on Thursday night, before heading to a celebratory dinner with about 60 people at a pricey Italian restaurant in Chelsea. Mr. Pressman, a venture capitalist at Shasta Ventures, said he had been up much of the night before but still expected to raise a few glasses. “I’m running a little bit on adrenaline.”
Mr. Pressman and many other Silicon Valley venture capitalists expect the windfalls to continue. Many of these investors, who back tiny start-ups with the hope that they will someday go public or be sold for nine- or 10-figure sums, have..

‘I Am Gay, Not a Pervert’: Furor Erupts in China as Sina Weibo Bans Gay Content

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‘I Am Gay, Not a Pervert’: Furor Erupts in China as Sina Weibo Bans Gay Content BEIJING — With hashtags like #Iamgaynotapervert and images of hearts and rainbows, tens of thousands of Chinese residents took to social media over the weekend to protest efforts to censor gay-themed images, videos and cartoons.
The uproar was in response to a vow on Friday by Sina Weibo, one of China’s most popular social media sites, to delete posts relating to gay culture, part of a three-month “cleanup” effort.
Sina Weibo, a Twitterlike site, said in its announcement that it was trying to limit the spread of sexually suggestive and violent content and that it would target cartoons, pictures, texts, short videos and romantic fiction. The site said its aim was to promote a “clear and harmonious” environment and to comply with stricter cybersecurity laws put in place by President Xi Jinping.
But many users were incensed, saying the campaign was another sign of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual ..

News Analysis: Hamas Sees Gaza Protests as Peaceful — and as a ‘Deadly Weapon’

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Hamas Sees Gaza Protests as Peaceful — and as a ‘Deadly Weapon’ Photo The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, likened Palestinians’ struggle to those for India’s independence, against racial segregation in the United States and against apartheid in South Africa. Credit Mahmud Hams/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images GAZA CITY — It was a striking tableau: Ismail Haniya, the political leader of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that has tried suicide bombs, rockets and attack tunnels in its long struggle with Israel, standing before portraits of the giants of nonviolent resistance — Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
Urging on Palestinians who have staged a new campaign of protests along the fence separating Gaza from Israel, Mr. Haniya likened their struggle to those for India’s independence, against racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, and against apartheid in South Africa.
“This blessed protest is national, peaceful, popular and civ..