Americans are part of an amazing yet curious phenomenon: most are extremely well-educated in their professions and careers, yet are quite uneducated when it comes to the purpose behind their jobs – money. Our society is awash in information about money, but most people still end up making decisions based on emotion and lack of… Continue reading Is Ignorance Ruining Your Retirement?
Tag: Retirement
Ready to Retire? It’s Time to Simplify Your Life
The time is now to get started on reaching your retirement goal (or dream) in 2016. Reboot Partners, four Boomer professionals, have written a practical guide, THE RETIREMENT BOOM: An All Inclusive Guide to Money, Life, and Health in Your Next Chapter (Career Press), to make the transition a bit easier. (You can order the… Continue reading Ready to Retire? It’s Time to Simplify Your Life
What’s the Most Important Factor in Keeping Your Retirement Money Safe?
Don’t be so quick to simply accept what a financial advisor offers for your retirement – that’s the takeaway from multiple red flags since the 2008-09 economic crisis. First, there’s an important difference between advice that’s “suitable,” called the suitability standard, and what’s best for an advisor’s client, called the fiduciary standard. As reported in… Continue reading What’s the Most Important Factor in Keeping Your Retirement Money Safe?
Five Overlooked Variables in Planning for Your Retirement
It wasn’t long ago that most Americans had a secure three-legged stool on which to rest their retirement concerns – a well-funded Social Security system, substantial corporate pensions with retiree health benefits and, ideally, a strong personal savings rate. Nowadays, however, pensions aren’t what they used to be; they’ve been largely replaced by employer-sponsored plans… Continue reading Five Overlooked Variables in Planning for Your Retirement
The Social Security Dilemma: Draw Now Or Draw Later?
The temptation is great. Maybe too great for some. The federal government allows retirees to start drawing Social Security as early as age 62, a feature that more than 40 percent of Americans take advantage of as they gladly draw from the system they spent a lifetime paying into. But many of those people may… Continue reading The Social Security Dilemma: Draw Now Or Draw Later?
How Hidden Expenses Can Affect Your Retirement Goals
Having enough money for retirement can be a tricky proposition even under the best circumstances. But when some of those dollars are being siphoned away by hidden – and perhaps unnecessary – fees, then the path to a secure retirement becomes even more difficult to navigate. Even small fees can have a major impact over… Continue reading How Hidden Expenses Can Affect Your Retirement Goals
Divorce And How It Can Affect Your Retirement Money
It’s the unthinkable that no aging person wants to face: divorce. The impact is huge on every aspect of your life, especially financially and the role it can play in planning for retirement. Certified Financial Planners Gary Plessl and Kevin Houser, authors of The Book on Retirement: Are You Ready for The Second Half of… Continue reading Divorce And How It Can Affect Your Retirement Money
Can We Make Retirement Planning Easier?
For most people, addressing retirement issues is a costly, abstract and deeply psychological matter, which is apparent from a survey by Schwab Retirement Plan Services. While most survey participants find their 401(k) – a workplace savings plan that lets employees invest a portion of their paycheck before taxes are taken out – a crucial benefit,… Continue reading Can We Make Retirement Planning Easier?
Proposed Regulatory Changes Could Boost Retirement Savings
Investors who count on their retirement accounts to see them through their golden years sometimes find that those savings add up to less than anticipated. One reason: Broker fees they either didn’t realize they were paying, or which were higher than need be. But that could be changing. The Obama administration has proposed tougher regulations… Continue reading Proposed Regulatory Changes Could Boost Retirement Savings
Who Controls Your Retirement Money?
People make a mistake when they feel as though they’ve lost control of their qualified retirement plans – they never had control in the first place, says retirement advisor Mark Cardoza. “Qualified retirement funds – whether we’re talking about an IRA, 401(k), Contributory or Defined Benefit Pension Plan, or a Roth IRA – have so… Continue reading Who Controls Your Retirement Money?
“Successful Aging” Linked to Harmful Drinking Aming Over 50s
Retirement should represent an opportunity to enjoy life after decades of hard work and saving. But it doesn’t always turn out that way, even with people who saved wisely, says Gary Marriage Jr., CEO of Nature Coast Financial Advisors (www.naturecoastfinancial.com). Maybe it’s because of worries that those savings won’t last. Or maybe it’s just an… Continue reading “Successful Aging” Linked to Harmful Drinking Aming Over 50s
The Top 3 Financial Concerns of Boomers Approaching Retirement
The number one financial concern of baby boomers nearing retirement is not being able to maintain their current lifestyle throughout their golden years, reveals a new survey by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations. The second biggest worry is not being able to stop work when they want to; and the third… Continue reading The Top 3 Financial Concerns of Boomers Approaching Retirement
Boomers Have Unrealistic Expectations About Job Flexibility and Pay in Retirement
Nearly two-thirds (60%) of America’s Baby Boomers plan to work for pay in retirement, however, they are unrealistic about the compensation and work arrangements, according to a new study commissioned by Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement ® (CSR). The CSR study— New Expectations, New Rewards: Work in Retirement for Middle-Income Boomers— surveyed 1,005… Continue reading Boomers Have Unrealistic Expectations About Job Flexibility and Pay in Retirement
Six Ways to Create Unforgettable Memories When Traveling
The US is the only developed country without any legally required paid vacation days. Is it any wonder that many Americans opt for an organized tour in order to cram in as much sight-seeing as possible into a one or two week period? If you are retired or have time, why not spend longer abroad… Continue reading Six Ways to Create Unforgettable Memories When Traveling
Working Your Way Through Retirement
Many people who waited eagerly for the day they could stop working and enjoy a leisurely retirement find that the reality doesn’t match their dreams. “Some people are not prepared financially or mentally to retire,” says Michael Bivona, a retired CPA and author of the book “Retiring? Beware!! Don’t Run Out of Money and Don’t… Continue reading Working Your Way Through Retirement
Is Retirement Cancer of the Soul?
Is retirement the American Dream? Or the promise that those now under forty will never see fulfilled? Or is the problem definitional in that the word itself may mean one thing to you and something entirely different to your neighbor? Exactly what do we mean when we talk about the dream of retirement? Although there… Continue reading Is Retirement Cancer of the Soul?
Don’t Let These Financial Blunders Leave You with An Empty Wallet
To err is human, but when mistakes affect your pocketbook it’s not exactly divine. Don’t feel alone if you’ve committed a financial blunder, though. Two-thirds of Americans have made a significant money mistake somewhere along the way, says Jim Chilton, founder and chief executive officer of the non-profit Society for Financial Awareness (www.sofausa.org) “One thing… Continue reading Don’t Let These Financial Blunders Leave You with An Empty Wallet
Retirement Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely: 9 Great Ways to Stay Connected
Retirement can be a difficult time as you adjust to a new life away from the 9-to-5 grind you’re used to. And if you’re not careful, retirement can become an extremely lonely time, especially if your social life was once wrapped up with your work life. Thankfully, retirees can find companionship in a variety of… Continue reading Retirement Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely: 9 Great Ways to Stay Connected