When you are in the later stages of your career, retirement might be the furthest thing on your mind. It’s no wonder, as many other financial priorities are likely competing for your time and attention.
At this point, many people are thinking about how they will help their kids pay for college. For others, it’s about assisting their aging parents with costly health expenses. Or perhaps paying off debt is top of mind.
But retirement can creep up quickly. For some folks, it can be sooner than they think, whether via a forced early retirement or a layoff that makes it hard to find another job. Read More
If you live in the United States, then you know first-hand about taxes that we have to pay. In retirement, those taxes can add up.
Sales tax, income tax, estate tax, and gift tax are just some of the ways that Uncle Sam collects from taxpayers in order to meet his financial obligations.
The subject of taxes is always a hotbutton issue in presidential elections as it is in state elections. With talk of possible tax hikes at present, many people who are retired and nearing retirement are wondering about how they can watch their tax bills.
Fortunately, there are a number of things that you can do to help alleviate, and maybe reduce, the taxes that you owe every year when you file your return.
Here’s a quick, high-level look at the different taxes in retirement that you might face – and what you might want to talk to your financial professional about planning for taxes-wise. Read More
Balancing risk in your portfolio is a fundamental at all ages, but it’s particularly important the closer that you are to retirement. As the old saying goes, even the best-laid plans can go to waste.
Market risk and its unpredictable timing aren’t the same for everyone. Should your investment holdings take a hit in your late-career years, it could very much throw your retirement plans off-kilter.
Up until this point, you may have adopted an investment strategy that had growth and wealth accumulation as your top goals. But these priorities tend to change as you get closer to retirement. Read More
There are only two sure things in this life, and they are death and taxes. Taxes affect us at every turn financially, and investments are no exception.
With that in mind, there are ways to increase the stockpile of savings that you have for your post-career lifestyle. ‘Tax-me-later’ vehicles can increase the amount of money that you have in retirement. In financial circles, this sort of vehicle is known as a tax-deferred asset.
In other words, it’s an asset where you don’t pay taxes on your money until you start making withdrawals from there. When you do withdraw money from this asset, you will pay income taxes on the withdrawn amount. Read More
Retirement is a major event after many years of work. It marks the time when you end your career and begin the next chapter of your life.
But sometimes retirees discover that they haven’t prepared as much as they could have for this transition. Just on the financial side, there are many pieces to set in place.
You have worked hard to reach this point. Now it’s your turn to make the most of this point and enjoy the things that you may have delayed or put off during your working years.
Here are 11 steps that you can take to help ensure that you are ready for the big day when it finally comes. You can use these steps as a starting guideline for putting your retirement planning in order and being ready to enjoy your post-career lifestyle. Read More
When you think of the word “risk,” you may get a mental picture of such activities as skydiving, race car driving, rodeos, or other similar activities that have uncertain outcomes. For investments, the word “risk” may make you think of losing your life savings on a high-risk venture such as an oil and gas drilling partnership.
But the reality is that there are many different types of investment risk. All investments carry their own types of risk. It’s important to note that no investment exists without any type of risk. Read More
Everyone faces challenges to some extent when moving into retirement. Even those with the best-laid plans can still have some financial hiccups. And with everything that has happened in recent years, millions of Americans are wondering what it all might mean for their financial futures.
Take, for example, a 2020 workplace wellness survey put out by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. In the study, 1,028 workers of ages 21-64 said that they worried about their finances and retirement savings.
Two-thirds of employees felt stressed when they thought about their financial future. Almost half were concerned with their household financial well-being, with saving for retirement and having funds for an emergency being the top stressors. Read More
Financial planning for retirement, or “post-retirement planning,” doesn’t end once you retire. Even if you have accumulated enough money for a secure retirement, your plan will require ongoing checkups to confirm that everything is going smoothly.
You will have to continue to make changes and adjust your plan as time goes on. Retirement can last as long as one-third of someone’s lifetime, as medicine, wellness, and technology have seen tremendous progress in recent decades.
In other words, having an ongoing plan for this phase of life is quite crucial. You may also experience more changes in retirement than you have previously, as your abilities and health evolve over time.
Your retirement planning strategies will need to be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. Conducting annual reviews of your financial plan, at a minimum, and making changes as necessary is a solid course of action.
Here are some ‘moving targets’ that are likely to change in your retirement years. Read More
If you talk to people who have been retired for at least 15 years or more, they will often talk about the major ‘stealth’ expenses that can arise after you stop working, such as a medical condition or major home repair.
Statistics show that one in five retirees and one in four retired widows will get hit with at least four major financial shocks after they stop working. These numbers could be fairly eye-opening for most pre-retirees. Or, at least, they can make them take a second look at their retirement plans.
The numbers also reflect that 28% of retirees and 13% of widows haven’t experienced any financial shocks yet. But they are the exception and not the rule. It’s prudent to think about any and all ‘surprises’ that can happen during your retirement years.
Not only does proactive planning give you a longer window for anticipating “stealth expenses” and setting reserves in place for them. It can also help you reduce the impact of these risks when you have to deal with them.
For example, you might take a tax hit from having to make a sudden withdrawal from your portfolio to cover an unanticipated health scare.
Here’s a look at some surprise expenses in retirement that may come your way — and how you can prepare for them. Read More
Turn on the TV or radio, and chances are you might hear of volatility hitting equity markets at some time or another. But what you might not hear as much about is the risk facing CDs, bonds, Treasury securities, and other fixed-interest holdings: interest rate risk.
What is interest rate risk? It’s a particularly important topic for retirees. After all, many retirement portfolio strategies use fixed-interest holdings to generate stable retirement income or to smooth out volatility in a portfolio.
These fixed-income assets also tend to be the place where millions of Americans protect their money. Or they may park cash there for short-term to medium-term goals. So, long story short, interest rate risk can have implications for millions of people
So, how should we define interest rate risk — and how might affect you? Let’s get into it. Read More
Start a Conversation About Your Retirement What-Ifs
Start a Conversation About Your Retirement What-Ifs
Already working with someone or thinking about getting help? Ask us about what is on your mind. Learn More
What Independent Guidance Does for You
What Independent Guidance
Does for You
See how the crucial differences between independent and captive financial professionals add up. Learn More
Stories from Others Just Like You
Stories from Others
Just Like You
Hear from others who had financial challenges, were looking for answers, and how we helped them find solutions. Learn More
Sign Up for Our Newsletter
Get a monthly email on the latest news, tips, and practical strategies involving your retirement and money.
Among many other topics, learn how you can make your money last for as long as you need it, can protect your wealth against current and evolving risks, can maximize your income, and can stay retired comfortably.