Today’s article highlights how, in the search for stable and predictable retirement income, some people are choosing to “be the bank”: “As an alternative to a 401(k) account or investing in the stock market, they become private lenders for people who are investing in real estate. And just as borrowers send monthly payments to a bank or mortgage company to…
When it comes to your retirement account, if you just set it and forget it, you could well lose it…to escheatment. As today’s article explains, escheatment is the process whereby firms that manage retirement accounts are required to turn over to the states any accounts that are seemingly not being actively managed. What happens to your retirement account (and related…
When it comes to withholding taxes in retirement, the author of today’s article advises that you want to withhold just the right amount: over-withhold and you miss out on earned interest; under-withhold and you risk getting hit with a penalty tax by the IRS. However, despite the importance of getting your withholding as close as possible to your actual tax…
With REITs being hammered by rising interest rates, the author of today’s article sought out REIT ETFs that attempt to mitigate the effect of rising rates – and found that no such funds currently exist. So, he went about building his own REIT ETF “that in theory responds better to interest rates, lowers volatility and eliminates ultra high yield companies…
The author of today’s article argues that people make a critical mistake when it comes to retirement income planning: “limiting their strategy to interest and dividends and neglecting the power of rebalancing to capture portfolio growth as an additional income source.” So how can rebalancing be used to create a paycheck in retirement? The author outlines an example of how…
The stock market is rising, tax rates are falling, and the final GOP tax reform bill didn’t make dramatic changes to 401(k) contributions. All of this would seem to be good news for retirees and retirement savers. However, today’s article outlines a number of things that retirees and those approaching retirement may be wise to keep an eye on this…
Despite renewed strength in – and interest in owning – gold, the author of today’s article believes that few people have a good understanding of why the precious metal behaves the way it does – and thus what role (if any) it has to play in an investment portfolio. As such, he proceeds to examine the case for and against…
While the primary casualty of the fiduciary rule – which began to take effect in June – is intended to be conflicts of interest on the part of financial advisers when it comes to their clients’ retirement accounts, today’s article identifies another potential casualty of the rule: the number of mutual funds offered by brokerage firms as they seek to…
“Perhaps the best stocks you can buy for your retirement portfolio are dividend stocks with strong long-term growth potential,” acknowledges the author of today’s article, who sees real estate investment trusts as offering some of the best opportunities in this regard despite their poor performance of late due to rising interest rates. Three REITs that the author sees as top…
Today’s article notes that, with the Fed finally moving to raise interest rates, “retirees will soon be able to park their money somewhere safer than dividend-paying stocks.” However, the author does not advocate abandoning these stocks altogether, with there still being “under-the-radar dividend payers that offer considerable value for investors willing to take a little more risk.” Three such stocks…