Financially speaking your 30’s and 40’s can be key years to setting up a solid financial and retirement plan. Although it may still seem early to be thinking about retirement, your future, financial health will begin to take shape now. This shouldn’t scare you but encourage and excite you as you look toward the future. Consider financial planning as a road map to financial freedom.
By the time you reach your 50s or 60s its a good time to realistically evaluate your current circumstances. Be honest with your responses so that you can make the required financial and lifestyle adjustments as you prepare for retirement. Take a look at your asset portfolio, review your estate plan, which should include a Will, a durable Power of Attorney and a Living Will just in case you are unable to make these decisions. Legal documents like financial planning, need to be updated as changes occur in your life and it’s always recommended to consult an attorney.
Americans are living longer than ever and as a result, retirement planning for 65 and over has become more complicated. How can you guarantee enough monthly income for life? What happens if I outlive my spouse? What happens if my social security does not cover my monthly expenses? With market volatility, rising healthcare and prescription costs and a longer life span, what are your best options to secure a safe retirement? Below are a few thoughts but remember everyone’s retirement planning is personal and needs to be customized with your specific goals. It is never to late to begin planning.
Whether you are a self-directed investor or your investments are completely managed by a 3rd party, chances are good that you feel that some level of improvement can stand to be made with the current performance of your investments. We all typically seek the same general objective: maximize our returns while protecting ourselves from downside risk. However, it has become increasingly difficult for some people to reach this objective as we are flooded by more information and faced with more investment alternatives. Fortunately, many investing fundamentals have remained unchanged, but problems and mistakes occur when you don’t take these fundamentals into proper consideration.
Putting aside savings from every paycheck requires a lot of discipline, which sadly most of us lack. But there are strategies to help you deal with this situation, and to be able to develop and commit yourself to a long term savings strategy. Below are a few ways in which you can begin to or increase your savings plan.
For decades, Americans considered 65 years old to be the year of Retirement. Over the past decade or so, we have witnessed a transformation in the views towards retirement and retirement ages due partly to demographic changes in the population (notably longer life expectancies) as well as changing (and worsening) economic conditions.
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When it comes to your retirement, you shouldn’t settle. Your retirement is your responsibility, and if your company’s plan is insufficient or nonexistent, you’ve got to find a way to make up for it.
Fortunately, you can solve the problem by turning to the other tax-advantaged investment options: individual retirement accounts (IRAs), SEP-IRAs or Keoghs (for the self-employed) or, in some situations, variable annuities. Here’s a breakdown of how each option works:
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As you are undoubtedly aware, tapping into your 401(k) fund before you retire can have a serious and potentially devastating impact on your financial future. If you feel that circumstances warrant an early withdrawal, you should make sure that you are aware of the options available to you and the risks that they carry.
Investing in your 401(k) is absolutely crucial to your future financial security, and as such, it is important to know how hidden fees and other 401(k) provider practices can impact your investment. With investing, as in life, it is often the unexpected things that have the biggest impact. Keep reading to find out how certain aspects of typical 401(k) plans may impact you.
If you own your own business, you are undoubtedly aware that small-business retirement plans, like SEP and Keogh can sometimes leave much to be desired. The good news is that the Solo 401(k) is making a financial comeback in a big way, and provides enterprising entrepreneurs like you with a wider variety of retirement saving options.