The average Social Security benefit is about $14,000 per year.

This is according to Wall Street Journal columnist Brett Arends who--as usual--wrote an interesting piece in today's Journal.

The story can be viewed by clicking here (subscription required).

The article discusses Social Security in the context of the recent tax deal that cuts payroll taxes for a year and subsequently affects the viability of Social Security.

Attempting to determine the amount of money one will need in retirement is an exercise fraught with complexity and uncertainty.

Wall Street Journal personal finance columnist Brett Arends offers his take on the right approach in a recent column.

Arends suggests the following:

Wall Street Journal columnist Brett Arends wrote a recent piece (subscription required) titled "How to Salvage Your Retirement."

As is almost always the case with Arends, a very interesting and worthwhile piece.

Wall Street Journal personal finance columnist Brett Arends wrote an excellent piece on life settlements from a consumer perspective.

Arends discusses:

• The inefficiencies of the life settlement market.
• When a life settlement makes sense.
• What to watch out for as a potential seller of a life insurance policy.
• Rates of return (10-12%) for buyers and investors in the life settlement market.
• The top three considerations for sellers in the market.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Brett Arends' recent column in the Wall Street Journal discusses the Cult of Equities, or as Arends describes:

the naïve and euphoric belief that the stock market offers a one-way ticket to wealth: "riches for all."

Arends discusses the possibility that a generation of investors--both professional and retail--may be starting to realize that stocks are to be cautiously considered for a portion of one's portfolio rather than serving as the dominant asset class.

Inflation can be a positive for the owner of a fixed mortgage since the real value of future mortgage payments decreases.

Inflation is terrible for the receiver of fixed payments since the real value of future receipts is eroded by inflation.

As Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal suggests in a recent column, owners of Treasurys and other fixed income investments (bonds) should be acutely aware of the risks that exist in the current environment.

Concerned about the possibility of another market swoon?

Take a look at some of the living benefits features that can be attached to most variable annuity products to hedge market risk and lock-in a floor of income.

How about inflation risk?

Buy a fixed annuity with inflation protection.

How about capturing a portion of the market upside while also having downside protection?

Brett Arends writes a personal finance column for the Wall Street Journal.

He is one of the more interesting and popular personal finance writers in the industry.  Although a subscription is required to read the Wall Street Journal, Arends' column (among other Journal features) is highly recommended.

Felix Salmon writes a regular personal finance column for Reuters.

Salmon, along with Brett Arends who writes the "ROI" personal finance column for the Wall Street Journal, is a writer whose thoughts are interesting and worth following on a regular basis.  

In a recent piece titled "The End of Personal Finance," Salmon considers what has taken place in the world of investing and personal finance over the past 12 years.  Much of the discussion focuses on the futility (and danger) of accepting conventional wisdom and advice.