Jul
15
Is Early Retirement A Fantasy?
Filed Under Personal Finance | Comments Off
Cindy Heller asked:
When life or working conditions become difficult, many people fantasize about early retirement as a form of escape. Early retirement can be a reality if you have taken steps early enough to prepare for this. If you have the foresight and the discipline to set aside savings from your employment income and invested them wisely, perhaps you stand a good chance to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it. For people who enjoy their work, mandatory requirement to retire at a certain age may not be looked forward to. They dread the day when they will need to stop going to work as part of a regular routine, fraternizing with their colleagues and basically keeping themselves productively occupied. Another group of people are content with their previous life stage as employees and look forward to transitioning to their next stage of retirement. In summary, different people take to retirement in different ways.
A minority of people start saving for their retirement from their first paycheck. Many people do not start saving for retirement until it is a little too late. Those who started early with saving and investing for retirement, usually can look forward to comfortable retirement. For those who are unprepared, they may survive their retirement out of sheer luck – inheritance from parents who may have passed away or funds from an insurance payout due to the early death of one’s spouse. For everyone else who is unprepared, life will be pretty hard during their retirement. They will have to severely limit their choices in terms of quality of accommodation, activities like travel and potentially even the types of food consumed.
Do Not Daydream About Your Retirement; Prepare For It
If you wish to enjoy the flexibility to do whatever you wish upon your retirement, you need to prepare for it by saving and investing wisely according to a financial plan. You can choose to wake up whenever you wish. You may decide to spend time with your friends and neighbors. You can spend time with your grandchildren and watch them grow up. You may wish to work in the garden or take long naps. You can catch up on your favorite TV programs or movies. In fact, your leisure choices are limitless. The key proviso is that you have the financial means to do so. So put in place a retirement plan as early as possible.
There are some who dread retirement, since they miss the sense of order in their day from employment. They do not have any particular hobbies or interests. They may not socialize easily. They just do not know what to do with themselves with all the time they have from retirement. Some of them may take on another job post-retirement. A job that may not demand much in terms of skills or physical strength. These people are contented to work as long as they can and do not look forward to their retirement.
Retirement Jobs Are Increasingly Becoming Available
The issue of retirement jobs may seem really odd to some, but the reality is that not everyone can afford to retire. In developed countries, the two issues of a shrinking population arising from fewer babies being born and an ageing population living beyond the previous lifespan estimates have meant that retirees who need jobs can usually find them. Since more people can expect to live longer, they need to take this extended longevity into their retirement financial planning. For some this may be a little too late, so they will grudgingly have to consider working longer. Many governments around the world have been systematically raising the mandatory retirement age over the last few decades.
Opportunities For Retirement Jobs In Consulting
Many professionals today can develop new careers in retirement by offering their services as consultants in the fields in which they have expertise and from which they retired. This allows them to stay in the workforce without the pressures of day to day job demands. Most will work on a part time basis and others will work as contractors, working only when there is work, leaving plenty of time for hobbies and other interests.
Those lucky enough to have lucrative part-time consulting retirement jobs have the luxury of working productively for short durations at a time, while having the flexibility to spend the rest of their time on other activities like hobbies and social service. Many retirees who elect to work usually do so with a strong work ethic. Businesses may benefit substantially from offering these charged-up, motivated and active retirees.
There is a great span of retirement jobs available for the retiree who is seeking suitable work. Some may be simple and undemanding work at retail stores like fast food joints and cafes right up to high-end consultancy positions. If retirement jobs give retirees some sense of purpose along with other tangible benefits, then society at large benefits too. National welfare systems do not end up being over-burdened.
RANDOLPH
When life or working conditions become difficult, many people fantasize about early retirement as a form of escape. Early retirement can be a reality if you have taken steps early enough to prepare for this. If you have the foresight and the discipline to set aside savings from your employment income and invested them wisely, perhaps you stand a good chance to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it. For people who enjoy their work, mandatory requirement to retire at a certain age may not be looked forward to. They dread the day when they will need to stop going to work as part of a regular routine, fraternizing with their colleagues and basically keeping themselves productively occupied. Another group of people are content with their previous life stage as employees and look forward to transitioning to their next stage of retirement. In summary, different people take to retirement in different ways.
A minority of people start saving for their retirement from their first paycheck. Many people do not start saving for retirement until it is a little too late. Those who started early with saving and investing for retirement, usually can look forward to comfortable retirement. For those who are unprepared, they may survive their retirement out of sheer luck – inheritance from parents who may have passed away or funds from an insurance payout due to the early death of one’s spouse. For everyone else who is unprepared, life will be pretty hard during their retirement. They will have to severely limit their choices in terms of quality of accommodation, activities like travel and potentially even the types of food consumed.
Do Not Daydream About Your Retirement; Prepare For It
If you wish to enjoy the flexibility to do whatever you wish upon your retirement, you need to prepare for it by saving and investing wisely according to a financial plan. You can choose to wake up whenever you wish. You may decide to spend time with your friends and neighbors. You can spend time with your grandchildren and watch them grow up. You may wish to work in the garden or take long naps. You can catch up on your favorite TV programs or movies. In fact, your leisure choices are limitless. The key proviso is that you have the financial means to do so. So put in place a retirement plan as early as possible.
There are some who dread retirement, since they miss the sense of order in their day from employment. They do not have any particular hobbies or interests. They may not socialize easily. They just do not know what to do with themselves with all the time they have from retirement. Some of them may take on another job post-retirement. A job that may not demand much in terms of skills or physical strength. These people are contented to work as long as they can and do not look forward to their retirement.
Retirement Jobs Are Increasingly Becoming Available
The issue of retirement jobs may seem really odd to some, but the reality is that not everyone can afford to retire. In developed countries, the two issues of a shrinking population arising from fewer babies being born and an ageing population living beyond the previous lifespan estimates have meant that retirees who need jobs can usually find them. Since more people can expect to live longer, they need to take this extended longevity into their retirement financial planning. For some this may be a little too late, so they will grudgingly have to consider working longer. Many governments around the world have been systematically raising the mandatory retirement age over the last few decades.
Opportunities For Retirement Jobs In Consulting
Many professionals today can develop new careers in retirement by offering their services as consultants in the fields in which they have expertise and from which they retired. This allows them to stay in the workforce without the pressures of day to day job demands. Most will work on a part time basis and others will work as contractors, working only when there is work, leaving plenty of time for hobbies and other interests.
Those lucky enough to have lucrative part-time consulting retirement jobs have the luxury of working productively for short durations at a time, while having the flexibility to spend the rest of their time on other activities like hobbies and social service. Many retirees who elect to work usually do so with a strong work ethic. Businesses may benefit substantially from offering these charged-up, motivated and active retirees.
There is a great span of retirement jobs available for the retiree who is seeking suitable work. Some may be simple and undemanding work at retail stores like fast food joints and cafes right up to high-end consultancy positions. If retirement jobs give retirees some sense of purpose along with other tangible benefits, then society at large benefits too. National welfare systems do not end up being over-burdened.
RANDOLPH
Jun
4
What Women Need To Know About Preparing For Retirement
Filed Under Personal Finance | Comments Off
Martin Reed asked:
As women, we have many different roles that we take on throughout the years. We are daughters, wives, housekeepers, mothers, employees, volunteers and so much more. With all of this activity, hustle and bustle, thinking about the day when we will retire always seems like it is a long way off. It can be difficult to put effort into saving for something that seems such a distant idea. However, planning and preparing for retirement is one of the most important things that we can do for ourselves.
The most important thing to remember when preparing for retirement is that your income will end, but your bills will keep coming in. There will be some decreases in spending, due to the fact that you no longer need to commute and spend money on other work related expenses, but your cost of living will likely remain the same or even increase as you will be spending more time at home. You need to be sure that you have enough funding to take care of these expenses for many years to come.
There are several different options available when it is time to begin saving for retirement, each with its own set of rules and regulations. Be sure to understand the ins and outs of the types of retirement savings plans you are investigating before making a final decision. Some of the most popular options for retirement funding include:
Social Security – In the US, Social Security payments are about 40 percent of the monthly earnings of a retiree. While this free money is a wonderful asset to your retirement budget, it is far from enough to allow those who have left the workforce to live comfortably. You can certainly budget Social Security payments into your retirement plan, but know that there is more that needs to be done.
Profit Sharing and Pension – Some employers offer profit sharing and pension plans to their employees. These are usually company allocated funds that are invested on behalf of the employee and are paid out upon your leaving the company. There are often penalties involved if you leave an employer before retirement. If your company offers one of these plans, be sure to educate yourself on the regulations and rules that govern the policy. Be sure to keep track of the amount that is in your account each year and review what your future additional needs might be.
401(k) Plans – 401(k) plans are very popular retirement savings plans that are offered through employers. When these are offered through an employer, often employee contributions to the fund are matched by the company, up to a certain percentage of weekly or monthly income. In this case, you may want to elect to have a higher amount held from your checks to get the most from your money when it is time to cash out your account. As with a profit sharing or pension plan, usually you must have a certain number of years at a company for your account to be fully vested.
Individual Retirement Accounts – If you are not able to start a retirement funding plan through your employer or the plans that are offered to you are simply not enough for you to retire comfortably when you want to, consider an individual retirement account or IRA. Certain types of retirement accounts offer tax incentives to those investing up to a certain amount of money each year. Remember that these are investment accounts, the amount they will be worth will vary depending on what you add to the account and how long you keep the money invested.
Making the crucial decisions that are necessary to ensure that your future will be safe and comfortable can be difficult. You may want to seek the help of a professional retirement investment specialist. They will be able to look at your current lifestyle and income, find out about what you would like to be able to accomplish in retirement and help you to develop a retirement savings strategy that will be affordable for you and will create a pleasant retirement environment for you later.
Even when retirement is decades away, beginning to prepare for retirement as early as possible will make things less financially stressful for you down the road. Create an affordable retirement plan as soon as possible and you can be certain that your golden years are spent enjoying yourself, rather than worrying over how the bills are being paid each month. With careful planning and investment help, if necessary, you can ensure that you have a pleasant retirement without financial stress or worry.
WILKINS
As women, we have many different roles that we take on throughout the years. We are daughters, wives, housekeepers, mothers, employees, volunteers and so much more. With all of this activity, hustle and bustle, thinking about the day when we will retire always seems like it is a long way off. It can be difficult to put effort into saving for something that seems such a distant idea. However, planning and preparing for retirement is one of the most important things that we can do for ourselves.
The most important thing to remember when preparing for retirement is that your income will end, but your bills will keep coming in. There will be some decreases in spending, due to the fact that you no longer need to commute and spend money on other work related expenses, but your cost of living will likely remain the same or even increase as you will be spending more time at home. You need to be sure that you have enough funding to take care of these expenses for many years to come.
There are several different options available when it is time to begin saving for retirement, each with its own set of rules and regulations. Be sure to understand the ins and outs of the types of retirement savings plans you are investigating before making a final decision. Some of the most popular options for retirement funding include:
Social Security – In the US, Social Security payments are about 40 percent of the monthly earnings of a retiree. While this free money is a wonderful asset to your retirement budget, it is far from enough to allow those who have left the workforce to live comfortably. You can certainly budget Social Security payments into your retirement plan, but know that there is more that needs to be done.
Profit Sharing and Pension – Some employers offer profit sharing and pension plans to their employees. These are usually company allocated funds that are invested on behalf of the employee and are paid out upon your leaving the company. There are often penalties involved if you leave an employer before retirement. If your company offers one of these plans, be sure to educate yourself on the regulations and rules that govern the policy. Be sure to keep track of the amount that is in your account each year and review what your future additional needs might be.
401(k) Plans – 401(k) plans are very popular retirement savings plans that are offered through employers. When these are offered through an employer, often employee contributions to the fund are matched by the company, up to a certain percentage of weekly or monthly income. In this case, you may want to elect to have a higher amount held from your checks to get the most from your money when it is time to cash out your account. As with a profit sharing or pension plan, usually you must have a certain number of years at a company for your account to be fully vested.
Individual Retirement Accounts – If you are not able to start a retirement funding plan through your employer or the plans that are offered to you are simply not enough for you to retire comfortably when you want to, consider an individual retirement account or IRA. Certain types of retirement accounts offer tax incentives to those investing up to a certain amount of money each year. Remember that these are investment accounts, the amount they will be worth will vary depending on what you add to the account and how long you keep the money invested.
Making the crucial decisions that are necessary to ensure that your future will be safe and comfortable can be difficult. You may want to seek the help of a professional retirement investment specialist. They will be able to look at your current lifestyle and income, find out about what you would like to be able to accomplish in retirement and help you to develop a retirement savings strategy that will be affordable for you and will create a pleasant retirement environment for you later.
Even when retirement is decades away, beginning to prepare for retirement as early as possible will make things less financially stressful for you down the road. Create an affordable retirement plan as soon as possible and you can be certain that your golden years are spent enjoying yourself, rather than worrying over how the bills are being paid each month. With careful planning and investment help, if necessary, you can ensure that you have a pleasant retirement without financial stress or worry.
WILKINS
Apr
16
Start Squirreling Away Funds For Your Retirement
Filed Under Personal Finance | Comments Off
Cindy Heller asked:
Investing for retirement is not something everyone does ahead of time. Many people do not get started because they feel that their retirement is several decades away and they can get to it in good time. Almost everyone under estimates the resources, mainly cash, that are required to retire with a certain quality of life. With better health management and medical technology, many people are beginning to live beyond the previous general estimates for human life spans. The result is that many people run the risk of running out of money before their time is up.
Since few people are motivated in investing for retirement early enough, it has become a serious issue for governments in many developed countries. In some of these countries their welfare systems are straining from the demands put on them by the growing numbers of elderly living beyond the estimates of previous human longevity models. In these countries governments have warned their citizens that their social security systems may not have enough funds to go around.
In order to face our retirements more confidently, it has become necessary for us to not rely on state-sponsored programs; but increasingly on self-managed initiatives.
Key Issues Regarding Investing For Retirement
Investing for retirement requires us to prepare a retirement plan early – the earlier the better. Unfortunately, when you are young it is very difficult to imagine life as a retiree. What can we do? Perhaps we should initially discuss it with our parents. Many of them would have experienced the positive and negative elements of investing for retirement. Next you may wish to a financial planner. Do not commit to any investments until you feel that you have done enough research, clarified your doubts, identified your key goals and estimated what portion of your salary you are prepared to save for the long-term.
During your discussions with your financial planner regarding investing for retirement, you are likely to be surprised how much you will need to set aside for the golden years when you would have stopped working. Many people tend to extrapolate their planned savings linearly and find that achieving their investment goals are near impossible. Your financial planner should be able to enlighten you regarding some essential concepts of investing like the time value of money, the effect of compounding interest, the benefits of a diversified portfolio with a spread among asset classes with varying risk and return profiles and pre-tax investment programs made possible by your employer or government.
When you have done sufficient research, understood key investment concepts and got sound advice from your financial planner, you will realize that if you start early enough and do the right things, you should be able to retire rather comfortably with sufficient funds to last your lifetime. Investing for retirement is not difficult if you start sufficiently early and act on sound financial planning advice.
The Advantages Of 401k Retirement Plans
A 401k retirement plan allows a worker to save for retirement while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal. Many people today are relying on 401k retirement plans to support their needs during their retirement. The funds from this retirement plan can be used to pay regular bills and in some cases if the funds are substantial, help us retire in style and luxury. In these uncertain times fraught with economic and political uncertainty and health scares, it pays to plan ahead for our future when we may not be economically very productive by saving with a 401k retirement plan. The 401k retirement plan is a flexible program that has substantial benefits for retirees.
Of all the advantages of a 401k retirement plan, they key advantage are the tax benefits. Companies you work for are responsible for creating and designing the plan. Some companies may restrict the amount set aside to match what the employer sets aside.
The tax benefit arises from the fact that you will only be taxed on the remaining amount of your salary after the savings into the 401k retirement plan. The return on investment from a 401k retirement plan may be higher than many other competing retirement investment plans. The flexibility advantage is that you may transfer the funds from the retirement fund initially setup with your former employer into the new employer’s 401k retirement plan. You may also choose to transfer the funds to a personal 401k retirement fund account.
Use Your 401k Funds To Build A Diversified Financial Portfolio
The 401k retirement fund plan is to a large extent a self-directed investment program. You can choose to assign the funds into a wide variety of financial assets like stocks, bonds, money market investments, mutual funds or some of them. You can choose to re-allocate the funds among these investment choices at any time. It is critical to get some information and advise regarding these financial instruments if you choose to invest and re-allocate the funds yourself.
Saving and investing with a 401k retirement plan is a great way to ensure that you have sufficient funds to live on long after your retirement from full-time employment. The funds can be withdrawn if they are needed in the event of an emergency. If necessary, you may also take out a loan against your 401k retirement funds. This should only be done after much careful thought and consideration. The funds in your 401k retirement plan are for your retirement. If you squander the money, you will just be postponing your agony into the future.
RAYMOND
Investing for retirement is not something everyone does ahead of time. Many people do not get started because they feel that their retirement is several decades away and they can get to it in good time. Almost everyone under estimates the resources, mainly cash, that are required to retire with a certain quality of life. With better health management and medical technology, many people are beginning to live beyond the previous general estimates for human life spans. The result is that many people run the risk of running out of money before their time is up.
Since few people are motivated in investing for retirement early enough, it has become a serious issue for governments in many developed countries. In some of these countries their welfare systems are straining from the demands put on them by the growing numbers of elderly living beyond the estimates of previous human longevity models. In these countries governments have warned their citizens that their social security systems may not have enough funds to go around.
In order to face our retirements more confidently, it has become necessary for us to not rely on state-sponsored programs; but increasingly on self-managed initiatives.
Key Issues Regarding Investing For Retirement
Investing for retirement requires us to prepare a retirement plan early – the earlier the better. Unfortunately, when you are young it is very difficult to imagine life as a retiree. What can we do? Perhaps we should initially discuss it with our parents. Many of them would have experienced the positive and negative elements of investing for retirement. Next you may wish to a financial planner. Do not commit to any investments until you feel that you have done enough research, clarified your doubts, identified your key goals and estimated what portion of your salary you are prepared to save for the long-term.
During your discussions with your financial planner regarding investing for retirement, you are likely to be surprised how much you will need to set aside for the golden years when you would have stopped working. Many people tend to extrapolate their planned savings linearly and find that achieving their investment goals are near impossible. Your financial planner should be able to enlighten you regarding some essential concepts of investing like the time value of money, the effect of compounding interest, the benefits of a diversified portfolio with a spread among asset classes with varying risk and return profiles and pre-tax investment programs made possible by your employer or government.
When you have done sufficient research, understood key investment concepts and got sound advice from your financial planner, you will realize that if you start early enough and do the right things, you should be able to retire rather comfortably with sufficient funds to last your lifetime. Investing for retirement is not difficult if you start sufficiently early and act on sound financial planning advice.
The Advantages Of 401k Retirement Plans
A 401k retirement plan allows a worker to save for retirement while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal. Many people today are relying on 401k retirement plans to support their needs during their retirement. The funds from this retirement plan can be used to pay regular bills and in some cases if the funds are substantial, help us retire in style and luxury. In these uncertain times fraught with economic and political uncertainty and health scares, it pays to plan ahead for our future when we may not be economically very productive by saving with a 401k retirement plan. The 401k retirement plan is a flexible program that has substantial benefits for retirees.
Of all the advantages of a 401k retirement plan, they key advantage are the tax benefits. Companies you work for are responsible for creating and designing the plan. Some companies may restrict the amount set aside to match what the employer sets aside.
The tax benefit arises from the fact that you will only be taxed on the remaining amount of your salary after the savings into the 401k retirement plan. The return on investment from a 401k retirement plan may be higher than many other competing retirement investment plans. The flexibility advantage is that you may transfer the funds from the retirement fund initially setup with your former employer into the new employer’s 401k retirement plan. You may also choose to transfer the funds to a personal 401k retirement fund account.
Use Your 401k Funds To Build A Diversified Financial Portfolio
The 401k retirement fund plan is to a large extent a self-directed investment program. You can choose to assign the funds into a wide variety of financial assets like stocks, bonds, money market investments, mutual funds or some of them. You can choose to re-allocate the funds among these investment choices at any time. It is critical to get some information and advise regarding these financial instruments if you choose to invest and re-allocate the funds yourself.
Saving and investing with a 401k retirement plan is a great way to ensure that you have sufficient funds to live on long after your retirement from full-time employment. The funds can be withdrawn if they are needed in the event of an emergency. If necessary, you may also take out a loan against your 401k retirement funds. This should only be done after much careful thought and consideration. The funds in your 401k retirement plan are for your retirement. If you squander the money, you will just be postponing your agony into the future.
RAYMOND
Feb
17
Top 3 Retirement Planning Questions
Filed Under Personal Finance | Comments Off
Ramsay Mameesh asked:
There are three fundamental retirement planning questions, that are universal to everyone, no matter their age, income, or wealth. More than investments, asset allocation, or tax strategy, people want to know the answer to the following three questions:
When can I retire?
How much savings do I need for retirement?
How much can I spend in retirement?
The most important of the three questions, from a
retirement planning perspective, is the last one – How much can I spend in retirement?
How much can I spend in retirement?
How much you can spend in retirement, is based on how much you have saved for retirement, divided by an annual safe withdrawal rate of between 3% to 4.75% depending on your age at retirement.
A better, and the more important, question to ask is “How much do I need to spend in retirement?” To answer this question you will have to create a retirement budget.
Creating a retirement budget, insures that you will not run out of money during retirement, and it allows you to answer the other two retirement planning questions.
How much savings do I need for retirement?
How much savings you need for retirement, depends on how much you spend in retirement (your annual retirement budget), divided by an annual safe withdrawal rate of between 3% to 4.75% depending on your age at retirement.
The amount you need to save for retirement, is the amount of money you will need, to cover the cost of your retirement. The cost of your retirement is your retirement budget, which we calculated, when we answered the previous question – «how much can I spend in retirement?»
When can I retire?
When you can retire, is determined by when your savings can pay for your spending in retirement, based on your retirement budget. So, if your retirement budget is $3,000 per month, you currently have $600k, you need $900k to pay for your retirement, you save 25k per year, and your investments earn 10% compounded annually – you can retire in 3.5 years.
Did you notice, that the common thread in answering all three questions, was your retirement budget? That is because creating a retirement budget, your spending plan for retirement, is the key to calculating how much you will need for retirement, and to figure out when you can retire.
CHOW
There are three fundamental retirement planning questions, that are universal to everyone, no matter their age, income, or wealth. More than investments, asset allocation, or tax strategy, people want to know the answer to the following three questions:
When can I retire?
How much savings do I need for retirement?
How much can I spend in retirement?
The most important of the three questions, from a
retirement planning perspective, is the last one – How much can I spend in retirement?
How much can I spend in retirement?
How much you can spend in retirement, is based on how much you have saved for retirement, divided by an annual safe withdrawal rate of between 3% to 4.75% depending on your age at retirement.
A better, and the more important, question to ask is “How much do I need to spend in retirement?” To answer this question you will have to create a retirement budget.
Creating a retirement budget, insures that you will not run out of money during retirement, and it allows you to answer the other two retirement planning questions.
How much savings do I need for retirement?
How much savings you need for retirement, depends on how much you spend in retirement (your annual retirement budget), divided by an annual safe withdrawal rate of between 3% to 4.75% depending on your age at retirement.
The amount you need to save for retirement, is the amount of money you will need, to cover the cost of your retirement. The cost of your retirement is your retirement budget, which we calculated, when we answered the previous question – «how much can I spend in retirement?»
When can I retire?
When you can retire, is determined by when your savings can pay for your spending in retirement, based on your retirement budget. So, if your retirement budget is $3,000 per month, you currently have $600k, you need $900k to pay for your retirement, you save 25k per year, and your investments earn 10% compounded annually – you can retire in 3.5 years.
Did you notice, that the common thread in answering all three questions, was your retirement budget? That is because creating a retirement budget, your spending plan for retirement, is the key to calculating how much you will need for retirement, and to figure out when you can retire.
CHOW
Feb
4
Secure Your Future With Retirement Planning and Insured Savings
Filed Under Personal Finance | Comments Off
Bhumika Goel asked:
Whether we want to accept it or not, old age is a definite and leads to retirement from professional life. Thus, to have a comfortable and secure senior period, it is important to plan your post-retirement life prudently. Credit Union Retirement Planning gives you financial independence and a comfortable living standard even when you are no longer earning. With the help of a retirement calculator, we will help you to plan your retirement in a more effective manner.
With skyrocketing costs, it becomes difficult to keep your monthly budget intact. Even a well-salaried person may become off balance. With costs going up every day, you can imagine how high they will be when you are ready to retire. However, retirement planning provides you with a steady income every month to support you during times of rising costs. Retirement planning is a guarantee that you will continue to receive enough income to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.
Planning for retirement is as important as planning your career or marriage. The future depends largely on the choices you make today. Correct and wise decisions with proper planning, taken at the right time, will promise many smiles at the time of retirement. Therefore, reach out to your retirement calculator and know your retirement needs.
To understand why a large number of people have already started planning for their retirement, and why you should also check your retirement investment calculators for perfect retirement planning.
Retirement is the ultimate reality that happens to every working person and we believe that it should be your best phase of life. Most young people today think of retirement as a distant reality. However, it is important to plan for your post-retirement life today if you really want to retain your financial independence and live a comfortable life. Retirement planning can be done anytime. It is never too late or too early to start saving for retirement with NMTW’s Traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs.
With NMTW’s traditional and Roth IRA accounts, saving for retirement becomes even easier. You can have a regular amount deducted from your paycheck and directly invested into your account that can serve as your regular earning after retirement. Our traditional, Roth and SEP IRA accounts help young professionals to plan their life after retirement with feasibility. With such retirement planning, you will never feel a burden on your present life and can save a hefty amount for your life after 60.
Traditional IRA Account
With a traditional IRA, you may be able to deduct your annual contributions on your federal income tax return and your earnings are 100% free from federal income tax until you withdraw them from your account.
Roth IRA Account
With the Roth IRA, your contributions are not tax deductible now, but if you follow certain rules, your earnings will be tax free when you withdraw them.
Visit www.nmtw.org and know more about our different personalized retirement planning to make your future secure and independent.
ASHLEY
Whether we want to accept it or not, old age is a definite and leads to retirement from professional life. Thus, to have a comfortable and secure senior period, it is important to plan your post-retirement life prudently. Credit Union Retirement Planning gives you financial independence and a comfortable living standard even when you are no longer earning. With the help of a retirement calculator, we will help you to plan your retirement in a more effective manner.
With skyrocketing costs, it becomes difficult to keep your monthly budget intact. Even a well-salaried person may become off balance. With costs going up every day, you can imagine how high they will be when you are ready to retire. However, retirement planning provides you with a steady income every month to support you during times of rising costs. Retirement planning is a guarantee that you will continue to receive enough income to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.
Planning for retirement is as important as planning your career or marriage. The future depends largely on the choices you make today. Correct and wise decisions with proper planning, taken at the right time, will promise many smiles at the time of retirement. Therefore, reach out to your retirement calculator and know your retirement needs.
To understand why a large number of people have already started planning for their retirement, and why you should also check your retirement investment calculators for perfect retirement planning.
Retirement is the ultimate reality that happens to every working person and we believe that it should be your best phase of life. Most young people today think of retirement as a distant reality. However, it is important to plan for your post-retirement life today if you really want to retain your financial independence and live a comfortable life. Retirement planning can be done anytime. It is never too late or too early to start saving for retirement with NMTW’s Traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs.
With NMTW’s traditional and Roth IRA accounts, saving for retirement becomes even easier. You can have a regular amount deducted from your paycheck and directly invested into your account that can serve as your regular earning after retirement. Our traditional, Roth and SEP IRA accounts help young professionals to plan their life after retirement with feasibility. With such retirement planning, you will never feel a burden on your present life and can save a hefty amount for your life after 60.
Traditional IRA Account
With a traditional IRA, you may be able to deduct your annual contributions on your federal income tax return and your earnings are 100% free from federal income tax until you withdraw them from your account.
Roth IRA Account
With the Roth IRA, your contributions are not tax deductible now, but if you follow certain rules, your earnings will be tax free when you withdraw them.
Visit www.nmtw.org and know more about our different personalized retirement planning to make your future secure and independent.
ASHLEY
Sep
1
An Uncertain Economy & Your Retirement Money
Filed Under Personal Finance | Comments Off
Shelby Smith asked:
Many of you are in the red zone right before retirement, or you’ve already retired. No doubt your number one fear is running out of money in retirement. You’re part of a very large and growing demographic force: 35 million over age 65, 50 million drawing Social Security and 78 million baby boomers now turning 62. This means the future demand for everything used by the “retirement set” will increase, and “retirement prices” will rise dramatically. Many of you may have accumulated a retirement nest egg in a pension account, will draw a company pension and/or have other savings and investments earmarked for retirement. Where should you keep your retirement money?
If you’re keeping up with economic and financial developments, here’s what you’re seeing: sub-prime credit meltdown that has destroyed housing and is now spilling over into automobile debt and credit cards; highly volatile stock and bond markets; a weak dollar fueling higher prices for oil and other goods; more unemployment and rising inflation; retail sales, consumer confidence and new jobs creation in sharp decline; drastic interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve to avoid a recession; a money giveaway stimulus package from Washington to prop up the lagging economy; widespread talk of recession and stagflation. These all add up to troubled economic times which should prompt you to review where you have your retirement money.
You’re told the stock market is the best long term, but “long term” has a different meaning in retirement. Didn’t the dot.com stock market meltdown in 2000-2002 send many retirees back to work and prevent others from retiring? Aren’t the current inflation-adjusted stock market indexes below their previous peaks? Regardless, the loud voices of Wall Street and investment companies are advising you to buy now at bargain prices. Are the markets headed higher or is their advice self-serving? Who can forecast the economy or the stock market?
If the stock market craters as it did in 2000-02 and 1973-74, and you lose some of your retirement money, how will you replace it? Since there will be no second chance, I encourage you to think carefully before you commit your money. If you’ve been told that you’ll do just fine over the longer run (generally meaning ten years), make sure you can wait this long for a market rebound. Also remember that a rebound is not certain!
What about fixed rate places like government bonds, bank CDs and money market accounts? These are rock-solid safe unless your greatest fear is outliving your money. Since current fixed rates are lower than inflation, you’ll be losing purchasing power with these choices. The potential loss of purchasing power will only add to the risk of outliving your money. What about real estate, collectibles and non-market investments? These are not only risky but generally illiquid. Before committing your retirement money, ask yourself this question: “How will I handle the worse case outcome?”
There is one savings place that offers an “opportunity” to make an above-market rate of return without the risk of loss if held to term. It is guaranteed by some of the world’s oldest, strongest and largest financial companies. The rate of return is determined by stock/bond market indexes with owners sharing in the upside potential but avoiding downside losses. The worse case outcome is a guaranteed positive rate of return. The earned interest is income tax deferred until actually withdrawn and there is no mandatory age when the money must be used. Additionally, it can be turned into a guaranteed lifetime income that can be started, stopped and stored. What’s more, it offers penalty-free partial liquidity for emergencies and bypasses probate if the owner names a beneficiary. It can be opened for a small or a large amount, and sometimes more money can be added later. There is no law which limits the amount of money that can be placed in it. It is truly a safe place to keep retirement money.
It is maligned by Wall Street and bankers because it competes with their products. The financial press doesn’t like it either – primarily because they are uninformed, misinformed or just plain biased. I’m talking about fixed index-linked annuities that are offered by insurance companies: the same companies that insure your home, live, health, business and other valuable assets. The worse case outcome is a positive, albeit small, rate of return if held to maturity, but there is an opportunity to do much better. Fixed index-linked annuities are not for everyone, but you need to consider them as one of your safe options for retirement money. Where are you keeping your retirement money in today’s uncertain and troubled economic climate? If in risky places, now is a great time to review your options.
Shelby J. Smith, Ph.D.
March 2008
Learn about safe money places – check out the Retirement Pros website http://www.theretirementpros.com/ I’m also doing free monthly video seminars online sign up at: http://www.theretirementpros.com/Tele-Seminar-MRM.php
—————————————————————–
POULIN
Many of you are in the red zone right before retirement, or you’ve already retired. No doubt your number one fear is running out of money in retirement. You’re part of a very large and growing demographic force: 35 million over age 65, 50 million drawing Social Security and 78 million baby boomers now turning 62. This means the future demand for everything used by the “retirement set” will increase, and “retirement prices” will rise dramatically. Many of you may have accumulated a retirement nest egg in a pension account, will draw a company pension and/or have other savings and investments earmarked for retirement. Where should you keep your retirement money?
If you’re keeping up with economic and financial developments, here’s what you’re seeing: sub-prime credit meltdown that has destroyed housing and is now spilling over into automobile debt and credit cards; highly volatile stock and bond markets; a weak dollar fueling higher prices for oil and other goods; more unemployment and rising inflation; retail sales, consumer confidence and new jobs creation in sharp decline; drastic interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve to avoid a recession; a money giveaway stimulus package from Washington to prop up the lagging economy; widespread talk of recession and stagflation. These all add up to troubled economic times which should prompt you to review where you have your retirement money.
You’re told the stock market is the best long term, but “long term” has a different meaning in retirement. Didn’t the dot.com stock market meltdown in 2000-2002 send many retirees back to work and prevent others from retiring? Aren’t the current inflation-adjusted stock market indexes below their previous peaks? Regardless, the loud voices of Wall Street and investment companies are advising you to buy now at bargain prices. Are the markets headed higher or is their advice self-serving? Who can forecast the economy or the stock market?
If the stock market craters as it did in 2000-02 and 1973-74, and you lose some of your retirement money, how will you replace it? Since there will be no second chance, I encourage you to think carefully before you commit your money. If you’ve been told that you’ll do just fine over the longer run (generally meaning ten years), make sure you can wait this long for a market rebound. Also remember that a rebound is not certain!
What about fixed rate places like government bonds, bank CDs and money market accounts? These are rock-solid safe unless your greatest fear is outliving your money. Since current fixed rates are lower than inflation, you’ll be losing purchasing power with these choices. The potential loss of purchasing power will only add to the risk of outliving your money. What about real estate, collectibles and non-market investments? These are not only risky but generally illiquid. Before committing your retirement money, ask yourself this question: “How will I handle the worse case outcome?”
There is one savings place that offers an “opportunity” to make an above-market rate of return without the risk of loss if held to term. It is guaranteed by some of the world’s oldest, strongest and largest financial companies. The rate of return is determined by stock/bond market indexes with owners sharing in the upside potential but avoiding downside losses. The worse case outcome is a guaranteed positive rate of return. The earned interest is income tax deferred until actually withdrawn and there is no mandatory age when the money must be used. Additionally, it can be turned into a guaranteed lifetime income that can be started, stopped and stored. What’s more, it offers penalty-free partial liquidity for emergencies and bypasses probate if the owner names a beneficiary. It can be opened for a small or a large amount, and sometimes more money can be added later. There is no law which limits the amount of money that can be placed in it. It is truly a safe place to keep retirement money.
It is maligned by Wall Street and bankers because it competes with their products. The financial press doesn’t like it either – primarily because they are uninformed, misinformed or just plain biased. I’m talking about fixed index-linked annuities that are offered by insurance companies: the same companies that insure your home, live, health, business and other valuable assets. The worse case outcome is a positive, albeit small, rate of return if held to maturity, but there is an opportunity to do much better. Fixed index-linked annuities are not for everyone, but you need to consider them as one of your safe options for retirement money. Where are you keeping your retirement money in today’s uncertain and troubled economic climate? If in risky places, now is a great time to review your options.
Shelby J. Smith, Ph.D.
March 2008
Learn about safe money places – check out the Retirement Pros website http://www.theretirementpros.com/ I’m also doing free monthly video seminars online sign up at: http://www.theretirementpros.com/Tele-Seminar-MRM.php
—————————————————————–
POULIN