Retirement savings

My company just added a Roth 401(k) investment option to our retirement plan. I am currently saving 6 percent of my salary in my 401(k), with a 3 percent match from my company. (This is the maximum match.) Now that there is an option to invest in the Roth, with the same match available, I am not sure how to adjust my investments. I don't have any other retirement savings besides my 401(k). I have talked this over with a few of my friends and none of them seems to know the answer, either. Thanks for your help! Priscilla, Greenville, N.C.

A substantial fraction of people die with virtually no financial assets -- 46.1 percent with less than $10,000.

My real question is about disability and long-term care insurance. I have some level of short- and long-term disability through work, but my husband has nothing (besides Social Security), and neither of us has long-term care insurance. I worry about what would happen if we lost one income stream. We've looked into these programs, but they are not cheap (especially the long-term care insurance). Is this something we should have? If we do, it will probably mean less savings in other areas (such as retirement). Is it worth the trade-off? Catherine, Princeton, NJ

More Americans are at risk of a lower standard of living in retirement.

I'm in my early 30s and work in the government sector. I contribute to a 401(a) and a 457 through my employer, and after discussing things with my wife, I have begun to think I may actually contribute TOO MUCH on a monthly basis. I contribute about 31 percent of my pre-tax income, including those two plus another ~5 percent after taxes to the 401(a). We have a mutual fund that had an acceptable return in 2011. Would I be better off lowering what I contribute to my 457 and 401(a) and increasing deposits into the mutual fund instead? I recently got a promotion with a substantial raise, so I thought now would be the time to reconsider where I am parking my money. Dan, Bloomfield Hills, MI

My husband and I are both church pastors. We have been married for a year and half and we both work full time. Our gross income is about $84,000 and we tithe 10 percent to our churches and charities, which we will continue to do. We are trying to decide whether or not to purchase a home, and whether we are saving money in the proper places.... Is this a good time to buy a home? What if we needed to sell it in four years? Should we be putting less money into savings and more into the Roth IRA's? Thank you for your help! Emma, Beverly Hills, MI

I am retired and would like to safely increase income. What is a secondary market annuity? Is it a suitable vehicle for putting a portion of retirement funds to safely increase guaranteed retirement income? Are there issues to be aware of with the secondary market annuities? How should this product be purchased? Thanking you in advance for any light you can shine on this topic. Ronald, Rhinebeck, NY

What I like about the insurance money management framework is that it takes seriously the idea that how you save and where you save is all about what you want out of life -- your goals, your desires, your values, your lifestyle.

After close to a decade in graduate school, a post-doc, 24 job interviews, and almost as many rejections, I am elated to have started my first bone-fide adult job. Which in this day and age is not only a blessing, but a miracle, for which I am truly grateful for. While I have mastered the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular level, I am pretty clueless about how to manipulate my finances. My question: what should my financial priorities be? repayment of school loans? saving for retirement? putting money into an emergency fund?... Romas, Berkeley, CA

I recently bought a house for the first time. I am in my early 50s and have a son in high school. I don't have life insurance. I have been receiving lots of advertisements in the mail telling me I should have life insurance or mortgage insurance. Should I buy term life insurance to protect my son? It is very hard for me to save money, and I'd rather save what I can for future college bills and my retirement. Thank you, Erika, Salisbury, CT