Tag: Retirement Planning

Understanding Risk

Jun 2, 2023

Few terms in personal finance are as important, or used as frequently, as “risk.” Nevertheless, few terms are as imprecisely defined. Generally, when financial advisors or the media talk about investment risk, their focus is on the historical price volatility of the asset or investment under discussion.

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Rolling Over Funds from an Employer Retirement Savings Plan: What You Need to Know

May 19, 2023

401k job offer acceptance

You got the job, what do you do with your old 401k?When you leave your employer, you have several options available to you for managing your retirement savings plan assets. You can leave the money in the current plan, if allowed; you can cash out and take a lump-sum distribution; or you can roll over the funds from your current plan into another employer plan, if allowed, or an IRA. (more…)

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Estimating Your Retirement Income Needs

May 8, 2023

You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you’ll need to fund your retirement. That’s not as easy as it sounds, because retirement planning is not an exact science. Your specific needs depend on your goals and many other factors.

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An Introduction to Estate Planning

Apr 26, 2023

Incapacity can strike anyone at any time. Estate Planning plans for it

By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you specifically depends on who you are.

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Revisiting the 4% Rule

Apr 21, 2023

Free Atm Withdraw Cash photo and pictureSaving for retirement is not easy, but using your retirement savings wisely can be just as challenging. How much of your savings can you withdraw each year? Withdraw too much and you run the risk of running out of money. Withdraw too little and you may miss out on a more comfortable retirement lifestyle.

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Building a Healthy Financial Foundation

Apr 17, 2023

When you read about money matters, you will sometimes see the phrase, “getting your financial house in order.” What exactly does that mean?  When your financial “house is in order,” it means it is built on a solid foundation. It means that you have six fundamental “pillars” in place that are either crucial for sustaining your financial well-being or creating wealth. (more…)

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Tax Efficiency in Retirement

Apr 12, 2023

Stopwatch Gears
What role should taxes play in your investment decisions to make them run as smoothly as the gears in a stopwatch

Will you pay higher taxes in retirement? Do you have a 401(k) or a traditional IRA? If so, you will receive income from both after age 73. However, if you have saved and invested much of your life, you may also end up retiring at a higher marginal tax rate than your current one. Tax efficiency in retirement is paramount and many people forget it. In fact, the income alone resulting from a Required Minimum Distribution could push you into a higher tax bracket. (more…)

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Debunking Common Retirement Assumptions

Mar 31, 2023

Don’t fall for these misconceptions.

Financial generalizations are as old as time. Some have been around for decades, while others have only recently joined their ranks. Let’s examine a few common retirement assumptions.

Retirement means I can stop investing. In the past, retirement was viewed as an “end” in many ways. These days though, retirement is often seen as an opportunity to return to one’s passions or just another of life’s many chapters. That doesn’t mean you should stop investing, however. (more…)

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Creating a Retirement Strategy

Mar 29, 2023

Most people just invest for the future. You have a chance to do more.

Across the country, people are saving for that “someday” called retirement. Someday, their careers will end. Someday, they may live off their savings or investments, plus Social Security.  They know this, but many of them do not know when, or how, it will happen. What is missing is a strategy – and a good strategy might make a great difference.

A retirement strategy directly addresses the “when, why, and how” of retiring. It can even address the “where.” It breaks the whole process of getting ready for retirement into actionable steps. (more…)

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Healthcare Costs are Cutting into Retirement Preparations

Mar 22, 2023

 

health supplements on dollar bill
How healthcare costs affect retirement planning

You may have seen this statistic before or one resembling it: the average 65-year-old retiring couple can now expect to pay more than $250,000 in healthcare costs during the rest of their lives.

In fact, Fidelity now projects this cost at $285,000. The effort to prepare for these potential expenses is changing the big picture of retirement planning.

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More Insights

Jun 5, 2023

The rental car you’re driving while on vacation or a business trip is nice–you almost wish you could take it home with you. But what happens if you have an accident while you’re renting it? When you do go home, the last thing you want to take back with you is the liability associated with … Continue reading “Rental Car Insurance”

Jun 2, 2023

Few terms in personal finance are as important, or used as frequently, as “risk.” Nevertheless, few terms are as imprecisely defined. Generally, when financial advisors or the media talk about investment risk, their focus is on the historical price volatility of the asset or investment under discussion.

May 31, 2023

You’re beginning to accumulate substantial wealth, but you worry about protecting it from future potential creditors. Whether your concern is for your personal assets or your business, various tools exist to keep your property safe from tax collectors, accident victims, health-care providers, credit card issuers, business creditors, and creditors of others. To insulate your property … Continue reading “Asset Protection in Estate Planning”

May 26, 2023

It’s nice to own stocks, bonds, and other investments. Nice, that is, until it’s time to fill out your federal income tax return. At that point, you may be left scratching your head. Just how do you report your investments and how are they taxed?

May 24, 2023

Vacation homes require a special type of insurance–one that protects your vacation home but doesn’t overlap with your already existing homeowners insurance coverage. Here are some things to consider when insuring your vacation home.

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