Mom needs an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)!Whether employed or not, as long as a spouse is earning income, Mom can open an IRA to help provide financial security/financial freedom in later life. Typically one must have earned income to fund an IRA but not if a spouse has earnings.Typically dad is accumulating credits toward Social…
Author: Financial Planning For Women
Don’t Delay Investing for Retirement!
It’s so easy to justify procrastinating retirement savings… once I pay off the mortgage, when I finish helping my kids pay for post-secondary education, when I get a raise…“Most retirement calculators are optimistic to a fault. They assume our incomes will rise throughout our working lives, or at least stay roughly the same.In reality, our…
Retire Early? Work Forever? Both Are Wildly Unrealistic
Writing for Barron’s, Sarah Green Carmichael interviewed Teresa Ghildarducci, the Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in economic policy analysis in the economics department at the New School, and the author of How to Retire with Enough Money: And How to Know What Enough Is. Regarding the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement, Ghildarducci said: …
Single Premium Immediate Annuity vs. "Safe Withdrawal" Strategy
“Economist and mathematician Michael Edesess compares a “safe withdrawal” strategy from a 60/40 stock-and-bond retirement portfolio with a single premium immediate annuity of the same value. He found the SPIA offers retirees a bigger monthly payout and decreases their chances of running out of money.” Author/researcher Michael Edesess explains:“A safe withdrawal rate is the percentage…
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head more interested in helping corporations than protecting consumers
“Kathy Kraninger gave her first speech as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., in April. We were alarmed to hear Kraninger voice an overall vision for the CFPB that appeared antithetical to its core function of “enforcing federal consumer financial laws.” Kraninger stated that she…
Another example of the value of government regulation: The Card Act of 2009
Beside the obvious everyday advantages of vehicle safety regulations like requiring seat belts and air bags in vehicles, many federal laws protect consumer privacy and financial transactions. “May 22 is the 10th anniversary of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The game-changing CARD Act, which was passed by Congress during…
Income annuities increase income while reducing stress for retirees
“Incorporating an income annuity into a retirement portfolio increases income, cuts retirement stress and boosts retirees’ confidence, according to a study by researchers Michael Finke and Wade Pfau from The American College. Income annuities lower the risk of outliving savings in retirement without lowering overall income, compared with an investment-only approach, the study found.” Retirement…
Where to put your "safe" money when interest rates are low
Low interest rates are great when you are borrowing money but frustrating for savers, especially retirees who seek to keep up with inflation but want to avoid risk. Of course, the best way to keep up with or beat inflation, at least before taxes, is to invest in stocks. But you don’t want all your…
Medicare Part B cost going up
According to The Wall Street Journal (4/23/19) the cost of Medicare part B premiums for 2020 will likely increase $8.80/month from $135.50 to $144.30. The previous increase was from $134 in 2018.While Medicare part A that covers hospitalization is usually free for most Americnas 65 and older, Part B charges a monthly premium that ranges…
Don’t make your family guess your health care wishes
Writing in The Salt Lake Tribune (4/15/19), Chad Bittner, MD explains the need for an Advance Health Care Directive. April 15-19 is national health Care Decisions Week.It is very important to have conversations with family about end of life wishes and now is the time; not tomorrow, next week, or sometime…. Fewer than 30% of…