The median 401(k) balance for people nearing retirement is $248,000, enough to provide a mere $10,000 annually in retirement, according to CNN Money. Try living on that, even if you add Social Security. Need to do better? Resolve to use your 401(k) benefit for all it’s worth. You’ll typically find 401(k) investments in these asset … Continue reading “Get Your 401(k) On Track”
Category: Retirement
The impending disappearance of two popular Social Security filing strategies in May 2016–“file and suspend” and “restricted application”–could force big changes to the retirement plans of potentially millions of retirement-age married couples and divorcees. If you’re currently receiving Social Security benefits, you likely will not be affected by the prospective changes to rules. However, when … Continue reading “4 Strategies for Navigating New Social Security Rules”
Money worries are rampant among Americans. A recent survey by Ohio State University found that 70% of the nearly 19,000 students surveyed reported feeling stressed about money. Half worried about not having enough money for daily expenses, and 60% were anxious about the cost of tuition. But it’s not just college-age adults who worry about money. … Continue reading “Don’t Let Money Worries Rob You of Sleep”
Money worries are rampant among Americans. A recent survey by Ohio State University found that 70% of the nearly 19,000 students surveyed reported feeling stressed about money. Half worried about not having enough money for daily expenses, and 60% were anxious about the cost of tuition. But it’s not just college-age adults who worry about … Continue reading “Don’t let money worries rob you of sleep”
It’s never too early to start putting away money for your future. If you’ve ever wondered how to save for retirement when you’re also dealing with day-to-day expenses, these easy tips can help. 1. Get a rough estimate of retirement expenses It may seem difficult to know how much money you’ll need in retirement, especially … Continue reading “How to save for retirement”
Mutual funds are one of the most popular ways for Americans to invest—and for good reason. Unlike other investment vehicles, mutual funds offer diversification, professional management and convenience all under one roof. The concept of a mutual fund is simple. A company that makes investments in other companies offers you shares in their mutual fund. … Continue reading “Mutual fund basics everyone should know”
The average American between the ages of 35 and 44 has just over $22,000 dollars saved for retirement. For people who are entering their prime earning years, this is far too low. If you want to retire at age 65 and live on $50,000 a year, you’ll need about fifteen times that much, assuming you … Continue reading “Your IRA investment: what you need to know”
The difference between working yourself to death and retiring to a life of comfort is smaller than you think. We like to believe in the simple caricature that rich people retire rich and poor people don’t retire. The truth is, much of the difference between retiring and continuing to go to work every day comes … Continue reading “Three tricks to retire rich”
Any sensible retirement planning strategy starts with a target number. This number is how much you need to have saved for living comfortably and independently throughout your retirement. A good rule of thumb is to take your current living expenses and multiply that by 400. That’s how much you’d need to have to sustain yourself … Continue reading “The 401(k) facts you need to know for retirement”
When you think of a retirement plan, what comes to mind? The most popular retirement plan is the IRA account. IRA stands for Individual Retirement Arrangement, allowing individuals (as opposed to groups of people) to arrange for their retirement. Strictly speaking, then, an IRA is not an investment, but simply money the tax code treats … Continue reading “The “ABC’s” of an IRA”