A recent study found that three in five Americans are very likely to work longer than desired – an additional two years on average – to meet their retirement goals. Having to work longer than expected is just one of the many surprises that those approaching (and those in) retirement encounter. In today’s article, a number of financial planners reveal what…
“Annuities often get a bad rap,” states the author of today’s article, who acknowledges some of the drawbacks associated with these products. However, he notes that all investments have drawbacks – and that annuities can be “the hedge against the emotion of fear that you will run out of funds before you die.” He proceeds to outline the numerous ways…
In today’s article, the author shares some of the investment-related issues that he sees being most commonly misunderstood by those in – or approaching – retirement. Which “all-time classic” retirement funding strategy does he state “unfortunately…has never really worked, at least over any substantial period of time”? Why does he argue that dividends are not income, even if they feel…
With the stock market of the world’s second-largest economy – China – having dropped by more than 20%, what does this mean for retirees in the U.S., who often hold significant positions in non-U.S. stocks? The author of today’s article notes that such a divergence between the U.S. stock market and a leading foreign market is increasingly rare – and…
Homeowners’ equity has climbed to its highest level ever – and yet few retirees are actually tapping their home equity in retirement. The author of today’s article notes that “maintaining home equity throughout retirement isn’t ideal in many situations, especially for older adults with significant housing wealth but dwindling portfolio values. For them, tapping home equity in some fashion…can be…
If you’re a high-income earner, you might think that one popular retirement-saving vehicle – the Roth IRA – is not available to you due to IRS-imposed restrictions on who can contribute to these accounts. One strategy for high-income earners to get around these restrictions is the “backdoor Roth” – and while there has been concern about this strategy, the new…
“The goal of every dividend investor is to generate a sufficient stream of passive dividend income, that would adequately cover their expenses,” notes the author of today’s article –who proceeds to outline a process by which someone looking to retire in 10 years could attain this goal “even if you picked average companies.” For the five guidelines to follow in…
Today’s article highlights three small steps you can take that can make a dramatic difference (or giant leaps) in the ultimate size of your retirement nest egg. Among these steps is one the author states “is often the epitome of small-step-but-big-leap planning, as it can have almost no impact on your current financial situation, but may have dramatic impacts on…
When it comes to retirement planning, the author of today’s article notes that “What’s been missing for most people is a simple way to calculate the level of spending that can be generated from a given savings amount, that takes into account realistic assumptions about a retiree’s longevity as well as a forecast for market returns.” However, there is a…
With almost half of retirement savers having their entire account invested in a single target-date fund last year, the author of today’s article acknowledges that “Target-date funds are taking over retirement accounts” – and this may not be a good thing. He proceeds to explain how a combination of issues with target-date funds “could easily add up to 1 percent…