“How often do you eat red meat? Do you exercise regularly? Cancer in your family? Did you go to college?” “These questions – among the varied and complex predictors of longevity – are packed into a calculator that will estimate how long you could live. The calculator was created by Dr. Thomas Perls, an expert…
Category: retirement
Calculators to help you decide when to claim Social Security retirement benefits
“One of the most important retirement decisions you will make is when to apply for Social Security. Several retirement calculators have been developed to help you determine the optimal retirement age to start Social Security payments.” (Thanks to Emily Brandon writing for US News and World Report). Here are 10 Social Security calculators worth trying:…
Your complete guide to a succesful and secure retirement
“Investment and personal finance experts Larry Swedroe and Kevin Grogan present uniquely comprehensive coverage of every important aspect you need to think about as you approach retirement, including: Social Security, Medicare, investment planning strategy, portfolio maintenance, preparing your heirs, retirement issues faced by women, the threat of elder financial abuse, going beyond financials to think…
Risk Less and Prosper: Your Guide to Safer Investing
During the market volatility brought on by the Coronavirus is a great time to read this classic book by Zvi Bodie and Rachelle Taqqu (2011). A practical guide to getting personal investing right “Somewhere along the way, something has gone very wrong with the way individuals save and invest. Too often, households are drawn in…
Keep track of your pension!
Regardless of the state of the investment markets, it’s wise to keep track of your pension (if you are lucky enough to have one). Many states are far behind in funding state pensions and corporate pensions may be at risk during this severe recession and corporate bankruptcies.More than 100 multi-employer pension plans covering 1.4 million…
Worried retirement savers and retirees should consider annuities
Expert: Worried retirement savers should buy annuities People planning to retire this year should buy an annuity to guarantee future income now because annuity payouts that have been falling because of declining interest rates could fall further, says retirement income expert Wade Pfau “The simple income annuity can fit in for anyone who’s panicking about…
So you think you’re going to jump back in the market after it bottoms out
“The problem with “going to cash” in a crash is that you lock in your losses. Maybe your plan is to jump right back in after the market bottoms? Good luck with that. When markets do turn back up, they do so quickly. As financial planner Kristin McKenna explains here, six of the 10 best…
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts
After you turn 70½, you must prepare for required minimum distributions from your individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans. If you don’t take your so-called RMD in time, you’ll face a penalty of 50% of what you were supposed to withdraw. Got an RMD for 2019? You have less than four weeks to get it…
Retirement Caregiver Crisis
A labor shortage in the caregiving market could have widespread implications for families. Nursing homes in Maine, the state with the oldest average age, are having to close down due to not being able to hire enough staff. Other nursing homes throughout the U.S. struggle with keeping qualified staff. This situation does not portend well…
Mom doesn’t need flowers or a new kitchen gadget for Mother’s Day!
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…