“While the market has long periods of high returns, it has even more long period of low returns. Investors have seen entire decades delivering nothing but losses,” notes the author of today’s article – and this reality is critical for retirement planners to be cognizant of, given that financial advisors often use overly optimistic return assumptions when creating retirement plans…
When it comes to determining how much money you need to retire, there is no lack of opinions out there. Today’s article, however, highlights “an elegant solution to the problem” devised by one financial advisor that the author describes as a “divergent thinker”: a simple formula based on the market value of your house. For this formula – and why…
Only save in tax-deductible accounts – and disregard Roth accounts. Claim your Social Security benefit at age 62 – whether you need it then or not. Plan on your expenses dropping significantly once you leave the workforce. Double down on your employer’s stock. Ditch stocks for bonds when the market goes south. These are five of the 20 ways identified…
As part of its 2019 Guide to Retirement, J.P. Morgan Chase includes a simple chart that presents a “sound plan for retirement.” The chart depicts six different factors (two that retirement planners have total control over, two they have some control over, and two that are out of their control), with the investment bank advising to “Make the most of…
When it comes to de-risking your retirement portfolio, the author of today’s article suggests thinking of it as being akin to de-icing your car, noting that “de-risking is important. It helps insulate your future retirement income from a market plunge that could occur near, or soon after, your retirement date.” In terms of how to de-risk, however, she advocates taking…
It’s hard to imagine that what is perhaps most people’s primary financial preoccupation today – retirement – was not always a common thing. In fact, today’s article notes, there was a time when this life stage that everyone strives to achieve today was not considered desirable! Today, the question is not so much whether retirement is desirable but what type…
Today’s article calls it “the nastiest hardest problem in finance”: retirement spending strategies. And unfortunately, despite the complexity inherent in retirement spending strategizing, it is often subject to simplistic rules of thumb, most notably the 4% rule. The author outlines the dangers associated with the 4% rule, how it “can go very badly”, and the implications of this for the…
“Maybe your retirement plan is on track, but that doesn’t mean you can rest easy. We all exist within a society and an economy. Its problems are ours, too, as we may find out when taxes rise to help pay for others to retire,” warns the author of today’s article. He proceeds to examine the state of retirement in the…
Noting the troubles ahead for Social Security, the author of today’s article warns “Don’t count on the government, your employer, or anyone else to pay for the lifestyle you want to enjoy in retirement. It’s truly up to you.” To help you in this endeavor, he proceeds to highlight two stocks that have been rewarding shareholders with massive gains –…
While retirees living on investment income may desire to be able to simply sit in bonds, today’s article notes that “Even in 2019 and even after the Fed’s normalization of interest rates, retirees and those who are nearing retirement simply have no choice but to have at least some investments in stocks” – specifically, stable dividend-paying stocks with the ability…