In our ongoing series of risks faced by retirees, we turn our attention to interest rate risk this time. Interest rate risk affects both the investments and the income of retirees. On the investment side, when interest rates rise, bond … Continue reading
For all retirees, one decision you have to make is when to start your Social Security (SS) retirement benefits. You would think that would be pretty basic, but we do have the federal government involved here. Here are some of … Continue reading
Nowadays, many retirees (or soon to be retirees) want to work to some degree in their retirement years. These so-called “bridge jobs” can serve many purposes, such as the need for income, the social aspects of a workplace, or perhaps … Continue reading
In our ongoing series on retirement risks and challenges, married retirees must also deal with handling the loss of a spouse. From a personal standpoint, the death of a lifelong partner is a major loss psychologically and emotionally to the … Continue reading
Hurricane Sandy really created havoc in the northeast, in spite of the best efforts of many people, government agencies, weather forecasters and others. Can you imagine how bad this storm could have been say 50 years ago, before we had … Continue reading
I want to remind you about the retirement tax credit for lower/middle-income working families. Assuming you meet the eligibility requirements, you can claim a tax credit for your retirement plan contributions for 2012. Eligible retirement plans include 401(k)s, 403(b)s, a … Continue reading
Sometimes it’s hard to envision how much, if any, saving an extra $50 or $100 regularly for retirement really benefits you. So to help motivate you to save more and save often, here’s a simple illustration showing about a 2:1 … Continue reading
For retirees, there’s a magic age in the tax code that you must be aware of: 70 ½. That is the age when so-called “required minimum distributions” begin from most of your typical retirement accounts, like IRAs. It’s very important … Continue reading
We’ve had a presidential and a vice-presidential debate so far this campaign season. But there’s no debate when it comes to retirement readiness for the average American: we’re in dire shape! My political action message for this campaign season is … Continue reading
For many small business owners, the business is also their retirement plan. The plan is to sell the business at some point and then retire. The trouble is often in the timing. When you want to sell may not be … Continue reading
