saving and investing than their predecessors. young people are living with their parents longer, which helps conserve their limited resources but likely places a strain on their parents ’ budgets. also troubling is research showing that many consumers who should be saving for retirement instead have been forced to take hardship withdrawals from their 401 ( k ) plans. according to an analysis by vanguard, hardship withdrawals increased by 49 percent between 2005 and 2010. other types of withdrawals increased by 56 percent. the increasing use of retirement savings for other purposes is particularly troubling given that the responsibility for saving for retirement has shifted away from employers to individual employees. having a secure retirement is a high priority and a significant long - term goal for many americans, so it is especially important that they have an understanding of what level of resources they will need in retirement and the investment options available to them. bis central bankers ’ speeches individuals who are approaching retirement age, in particular, are being forced to make changes to their plans for retirement. social security administration data indicate that in 2009 and 2010, the proportions of men and women claiming social security benefits at age 62 began to rise again after several years of decline. workers have either chosen to leave the work force early in the last few years or, more likely, have applied for social security benefits as early as possible because of the weak job market. 1 opting to receive a smaller social security annuity earlier in life is just one of many hard decisions americans have had to make in order to balance their short - term and long - term financial needs. the recession has clearly disrupted the future expectations and financial plans of millions of americans, but even in the best of circumstances, effectively managing one ’ s longevity risk requires a level of financial knowledge well beyond that required of any previous generation. the pending retirement of baby boomers means that millions of older households will need to assess pension distributions and make decisions about payout options for their defined benefit plans. those with defined contribution plans will need to make decisions about the purchase of annuities or rates of withdrawal from these plans. younger workers, a majority of whom will not have pensions, will need to make complicated decisions about their target amounts of retirement savings, portfolio allocation, and asset management using 401 ( k ) plans, individual retirement accounts, and other, non - tax advantaged, accounts. financial products have also become more complex, adding a significant degree of difficulty to the important task of managing one ’ s own retirement savings. consumers need information and

9 an excellent example is tim lampkin, an mvsu graduate. tim grew up and graduated from high school in clarksdale. after graduating from mvsu, he moved to see, for example, raj chetty, nathaniel hendren, patrick kline, and emmanuel saez ( 2014 ), “ where is the land of opportunity? the geography of intergenerational mobility in the united states, ” quarterly journal of economics, vol. 129 ( november ), pp. 1553 - 1623 ; and raj chetty, john n. friedman, and jonah e. rockoff ( 2014 ), “ measuring the impacts of teachers ii : teacher value - added and student outcomes in adulthood, ” american economic review, vol. 104 ( september ), pp. 2633 - 79. see kate dunham, annelies goger, jennifer henderson - frakes, and nichole tucker ( 2005 ), workforce development in rural areas : changes in access, service delivery and partnerships, u. s. department of labor, employment and training administration occasional paper 2005 - 07 ( oakland, calif. : social policy research associates, june ), https : / / wdr. doleta. gov / research / fulltext _ documents / workforce % 20development % 20in % 20rural % 20are as. pdf. see john cromartie, christiane von reichert, and ryan arthun ( 2015 ), factors affecting former residents ’ returning to rural communities, usda economic research service report no. 185 ( washington : u. s. department of agriculture, may ), https : / / www. ers. usda. gov / webdocs / publications / 45361 / 52906 _ err185. pdf? v = 0. - 5mobile for work. he wasn ’ t gone long, though, before he felt called to return to make his home here in the delta. since moving back, tim has founded several businesses, as well as a nonprofit that helps people of color start and grow their own businesses. entrepreneurship and small business development as with tim and his clients, entrepreneurship opportunities can motivate residents who have left rural communities to return home - - or to keep them from moving away in the first place. business ownership represents an important source of income and wealth for both owners and their employees. recognizing this fact, successful communities find ways to help residents turn what they know and do best, including skills they