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Retirement Planning Issues

OLDER WOMEN MUST PREPARE BETTER FOR RETIREMENT YEARS

(01/06/03)-- Men and women hoping to retire within the next five to ten years are being forced to face a cold truth—they may not be financially prepared to retire. And women are especially vulnerable. Consider these facts about older women from the Administration on Aging: Click here for the complete article.

PLANNING FOR A ‘RETIREMENT PAYCHECK’

(01/04/03)-- While most workers live on their paychecks during their working years, few plan for a “paycheck” that will provide a dependable stream of monthly income during their retirement. They’ve not answered such questions as how much can they safely withdraw each year, what’s the right asset allocation, or do they draw from taxable or nontaxable sources first. Click here for the complete article.

COUNTDOWN TO RETIREMENT

(08/08/02)-- Are you counting down the days to retirement? Is it just around the corner? A few months, at most a few years? Here's a checklist from the Financial Planning Association to help you make a successful transition into the next stage of your life. Click here for the complete article.

WILL YOU BE 'SHOCKED' BY THE COST OF RETIREMENT?

(05/23/02)-- Will you spend less, the same or more in retirement? Click here for the complete article.

HOW TO AVOID OVERLOADING RETIREMENT PLAN IN COMPANY STOCK

(01/04/02)-- Ask yourself: Would you invest half or even your entire nest egg in a single stock? Doubtful. Most investors know that it’s important to diversify. Yet, millions of workers overload their 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan with company stock. Click here for the complete article.

WORKING AT RETIREMENT

(01/04/02)-- You really need to work at retirement these days. Click here for the complete article.

FINDING THE RIGHT MEDIGAP POLICY

(10/05/01)-- With many HMOs (health maintenance organizations) dropping their Medicare programs, more and more enrollees are returning to traditional Medicare. Often they supplement traditional Medicare coverage with Medigap insurance. However, though Medigap plans are widely available, benefits can be limited and costs high, according to a recent report by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), so consider all your options before deciding. Click here for the complete article.

USE REVERSE MORTGAGES WITH CAUTION

(09/04/01)-- Many older house-rich, cash-poor Americans may want to consider reverse mortgages as a source of supplemental cash, but they should tap into this source only after careful review and consideration of financing alternatives, caution many CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals. Click here for the complete article.

WHAT TO DO IF DECLINING MARKET HAS ALTERED YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN

(06/12/01)-- Are you among the retirees or those approaching retirement who are thinking of altering their retirement plan because of the down stock market? Here are some suggestions for how you might manage a change in plans-or even keep your original retirement dream intact. Click here for the complete article.

PLANNING FOR THE EXTRA LONG RETIREMENT

(05/04/01)-- You've undoubtedly seen the headlines. Tantalizing hints from laboratory research suggests that medical science may soon break the "age barrier" of 120 years, and gene manipulation will allow people to live to 140 or even 150 years. Much of this speculation is based on work with fruit flies, and such breakthroughs, if they occur, are probably years away. Nonetheless, the headlines accurately reflect one reality: people are living longer, much longer, and that is having a significant impact on planning for retirement. Click here for the complete article.

DON'T DEPEND ON INHERITANCE TO FUND RETIREMENT

(04/02/01)-- Baby boomers depending on an inheritance to help fund their retirement may be putting their retirement at risk, warn many financial planners and other retirement experts. Click here for the complete article.

IRS DRAMATICALLY SIMPLIFIES MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION RULES

(03/07/01)-- If you have already begun taking out required distributions from an individual retirement account or qualified retirement plan, expect to soon, or have recently inherited an IRA or retirement account, listen up. In a surprise to everyone, including retirement experts, the Internal Revenue Service has dramatically simplified the minimum distributions rules for account owners reaching age 70 1/2. You may want to act as soon as possible to take advantage of these rules, which become mandatory January 1, 2002. The new rules sweep away nearly all of the complexity and confusion of the previous rules. Moreover, IRA owners can immediately apply these new rules to distributions they take for the tax year 2001. (They do not apply for distributions that count for the tax year 2000 but not actually taken out until 2001.) Participants in retirement plans such as 401(k) plans will have to wait until their employer revises plan documents to reflect the new rules, which must be done later than January 1, 2002. Click here for the complete article.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT TYPE OF REAL ESTATE AGENT

(01/03/01)-- Buying a home is one of the biggest financial-and emotional-decisions a person makes. That's why it's critical to pick the right type of real estate agent to help you buy your home, and that you use a financial planner to help make sure your home buying decision fits your financial circumstances. Click here for the complete article.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR EMPLOYER NEST EGG

(11/01/00)-- Are you leaving your employer soon to retire or change jobs? Will you be receiving a sizable lump sum payment from your 401(k) or other company-sponsored retirement plan? Think twice before you walk out the door with what may be the biggest check you'll ever see in your life. What you do with that money may save you-or cost you-thousands of critical retirement dollars. Click here for the complete article.

DEADLINES FOR ESTABLISHING AND FUNDING RETIREMENT PLANS FOR 2000

(10/04/00)-- Many deadlines are approaching for establishing and funding a variety of tax-qualified retirement vehicles for the tax year 2000. Here's a list of the most common retirement vehicles for individuals, small-business owners and the self-employed, with their deadlines and contribution limits, starting with the most pressing deadlines listed first. Click here for the complete article.

RETIREMENT DECISIONS FOR THOSE REACHING 70 1/2

(08/31/00)-- Will you turn 70 1/2 this year? Assuming you have retired, you will likely be required to soon start taking a minimum amount of money out of your retirement accounts, and you need to make some important decisions, preferably before the end of this year, regarding those distributions. Click here for the complete article.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR MEDICARE HMO DROPS YOUR COVERAGE

(08/31/00)-- Are you going to lose your current Medicare HMO coverage beginning in 2001? You're not alone if you are. In midsummer, the federal government announced that Medicare HMOs nationwide would drop coverage for over 700,000 enrollees next year. That's equal to the total number of enrollees Medicare HMOs dropped in the last two years combined. Many other Medicare HMO beneficiaries still covered are losing benefits, paying more for coverage or losing their doctor. If you're faced with one of these situations, financial planners recommend considering the following options so you'll be able to keep affordable coverage. Click here for the complete article.

WATCH OUT FOR FIVE-YEAR IRA RULE

(07/31/00)-- Rules governing individual retirement accounts are a nightmare, and the five-year rule is one of the worst parts of the nightmare. Here are the basics of the five-year IRA rule and how to avoid costly mistakes. Click here for the complete article.

PLANNING FOR AN UNPLANNED RETIREMENT

(06/05/00)-- Planning and saving for retirement is a major financial issue for most of us. Many of us spend years building our nest egg, with the goal of stepping into retirement financially and psychologically prepared. However, sometimes retirement arrives earlier than we plan. Click here for the complete article.

UNDERSTANDING THE 'ODDS' OF FINANCIAL SUCCESS

(06/05/00)-- We all know that life is uncertain, and that uncertainty especially applies to personal finances. That's why the financial planning community is increasingly employing a technique that illustrates to consumers the "odds" that a given financial strategy will prove successful. Click here for the complete article.