Retirement Planning

Living at a level of comfort you’re used to when you retire requires taking steps to ensure that you have enough money. Retirement planning involves examining your goals for retirement, and then figuring how much you need to meet those objectives. You need to figure-out when to start investing and saving, how much you need to save, and what you may expect to receive from other sources such as Social Security. Retirement objectives, costs and resources are issues you need to take stock of before you quit working. Otherwise, you may find that you can’t afford to stop working.

401k Participants Can "Replace a Chance with a Guarantee"

Larger 401k accounts (in excess of $200,000) dropped 25% on average in 2008. 95% percent of participants in defined contribution style 401k plans would pursue a "cash out" option if offered--essentially taking the lump sum of accumulated assets rather than an option to turn that pool of assets into a guaranteed stream of income . Only 25% of participants in defined benefit pension programs would accept the same lump sum "cash out" offer.

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Variable Annuities, Financial Planning and Human Capital

Although mentioned previously , it is worth noting again that Moshe Milevsky is the most active, creative and interesting voice in the asset decumulation industry. Moshe produces copious amounts of outstanding materials that shed light on the world of annuities for both professional and consumer audiences. A recent interview in The Journal of Financial Planning is highly recommended. Moshe is working on a soon to be released book on lifecycle investing . In the Journal of Financial Planning...

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Financial Crisis Retirement Survey

There is a great piece in the Wall Street Journal--in the form of a quiz--that reveals survey results on a range of questions related to retirement planning. Many of the questions and answers are eye opening. All questions are framed in the general context of the financial crisis and are intended to shed light on how pre-retirees' knowledge, views and plans have changed over the past couple of years. Well worth the read. Source: Wall Street Journal Full Story

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Women and Retirement Planning

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a guide titled " Women and Retirement Savings ." The guide discussed retirement planning from the perspective of women and highlights eight fundamental questions that women should ask themselves when preparing for the financial aspects of retirement. Sources: DOL and Wall Street Journal

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Investing Decisions and Saving Rates Undermining Retirement Foundation

There is a great op-ed piece in the Washington Post that discusses what the authors refer to as the "retirement problem." In a detailed article, the authors lay-out a case for why it may not be so wise--from a public policy perspective--to leave all retirement planning decisions in the hands of individuals and the free market. In a nutshell, the authors point out that: On the whole, we save too little. On the whole, retail investment returns lag average returns by significant margins due to...

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