Are You Retiring Within the Next 5 Years? September 9, 2019 What should you focus on as the transition approaches? You can prepare for your retirement transition years before it occurs. In doing so, you can do your best to avoid the kind of financial surprises that tend to upset an unsuspecting new retiree. How much monthly income will you need? Look at your monthly [...]
IRA Withdrawals That Escape the 10% Penalty September 3, 2019 The list of these options has grown. An IRA, or Individual Retirement Account, is a tax-advantaged savings account that is subject to special rules regarding contributions and withdrawals. One of the central rules of IRAs is that withdrawals prior to age 59½ are generally subject to a tax penalty because policymakers sought to create a [...]
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Behind on Your Retirement Savings? September 3, 2019 What steps could you take to try and catch up? If life has not allowed you to build substantial retirement savings, what possible steps could you take in an effort to improve your retirement prospects? You could play catch-up. If you are 50 or older, see if you can make the catch-up contributions the Internal [...]
You Could Retire, But Should You? August 19, 2019 It might be better to wait a bit longer. Some people retire at first opportunity, only to wish they had waited longer. Your financial strategy likely considers normal financial ups and downs. That said, a big “what if” on your mind might be “what if I retire in a down time that doesn’t swing back [...]
Retirement Now vs. Retirement Then August 19, 2019 Today’s retirees must be more self-reliant than their predecessors. Decades ago, retirement was fairly predictable: Social Security and a pension provided much of your income, you moved to the Sun Belt, played tennis or golf, and you lived to age 70 or 75. To varying degrees, this was the American retirement experience during the last [...]
The Retirement We Imagine, the Retirement We Live August 14, 2019 Examining the potential differences between assumption and reality. Financially speaking, retirement might differ from your expectations. Just as few weathercasters can accurately predict a month’s worth of temperatures and storms, few retirees find their financial futures playing out as precisely as they assumed. Because of this, some common financial assumptions (and anxieties) about retirement are [...]
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Your Financial Co-Pilot August 12, 2019 If anything happens to you, your family has someone to consult. If you weren’t around, what would happen to your investments? In many families, one person handles investment decisions, and spouses or children have little comprehension of what happens each week, month, or year with a portfolio. In an emergency, this lack of knowledge can [...]
Wise Decisions with Retirement in Mind August 5, 2019 The five phases of life after 50 & the considerations that accompany them. Some retirees succeed at realizing the life they want; others don’t. Fate aside, it isn’t merely a matter of stock market performance or investment selection that makes the difference. There are certain dos and don’ts – some less apparent than others – [...]
The Chapters of Retirement July 29, 2019 The five phases of life after 50 & the considerations that accompany them. The journey to and through retirement occurs gradually, like successive chapters in a book. Each chapter has its own things to consider. Chapter 1 (the fifties). At this stage of life, retirement becomes less like a far-off dream and more like a [...]
Where Will Your Retirement Money Come From? July 15, 2019 Retirement income may come from a variety of sources. For many people, retirement income may come from a variety of sources. Here’s a quick review of the six main sources: Social Security. Social Security is the government-administered retirement income program. Workers become eligible after paying Social Security taxes for 10 years. Benefits are based on [...]
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