There’s a consensus that Americans are not saving enough for retirement. But what are the obstacles – including the mental obstacles – that are preventing them from doing so? What can they do to save more for retirement (including those who are close to retirement but haven’t saved enough)? What’s the “wrong picture” many may have of the FIRE (Financial…
$1 million is the figure commonly cited by financial experts when it comes to how much you need for retirement. In today’s article, however, the author outlines a way in which you can retire on less than half that amount — $405,000 – with just five buys which, in combination, “hand you a 7.4%-yielding portfolio that will pay you reliably…
When Social Security’s trustees issued their annual report on the program earlier this year, it forecast that costs will exceed income next year for the first time since 1982 and that, if no action is taken, the program will run out of money by 2035. Given this, is it time to rethink the common financial wisdom that says it’s best…
Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders may or may not become president. And Democrats’ chances of taking complete control of Congress appear slim. Still, the author of today’s article expresses concern that “If the Dems take over, the top federal bracket goes to 50%, the cap on payroll taxes goes away and dividends and capital gains lose their favorable rates. Would…
How do people who save 20% or more of their incomes for retirement – so-called retirement “super savers” – manage to do it? New research provides a big part of the answer, identifying “the single biggest difference between what super savers spent less on, as compared to the rest of us” – something super savers spend just 14% of their…
The difference between running a marathon race and preparing for retirement, the author of today’s article observes, is that “When you cross the finish line in a marathon, you know the race is over. But when you quit the workforce, it’s much harder to figure out whether you’ve successfully reached retirement.” So how can you get a good sense of…
Individuals tend to retire when the market (and their portfolio balances) are up. However, as today’s article observes, “even though people often retire after periods of strong market returns, that, somewhat counterintuitively, tends to reduce their portfolios’ sustainability rather than enhance it.” This is one of the five retirement-planning blind spots that can catch retirees off-guard that the author details.…
How can retirees best ready themselves for a possible recession? Construct a sound financial plan if you don’t already have one, according to the author of today’s article. And if you already have an appropriate financial plan in place, his advice, “in short, is to do nothing.” Why does he recommend doing nothing in the face of a possible recession?…
If you’ve been extremely diligent and managed to save $1 million for retirement, how can you best make that $1 million last for a 30-year retirement? Today’s article outlines four different strategies (two conservative approaches and two moderate approaches) to do just that, with two of the strategies involving drawing down that $1 million nest egg over 30 years and…
With the market butting up against all-time highs, those who are about to retire may be feeling particularly concerned, given sequence of returns risk and the potentially catastrophic effect of poor returns early on in retirement. For those nervous near-retirees, today’s article may provide some comfort as it outlines what a research team found when it comes to retiring at…