“Tax-deferred accounts are great until they aren’t – when we have to pay taxes on our withdrawals,” notes the author of today’s article, who highlights an “often-overlooked” reason for married couples to consider making additional, earlier withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts (in addition to more common reasons such as wanting to use accumulated funds while you and your spouse are still…
What’s the “nastiest, hardest problem in finance”? According to Nobel Prize-winning economist William Sharpe, it’s turning retirement savings into retirement spending or, as today’s article puts it, “knowing how to strike a balance between having enough income to meet your current needs (and wants, assuming you’ve saved enough) and having enough to get you through your lifetime.” What insights does…
How would you like to only have to save half as much as you otherwise would for retirement? The author of today’s article outlines how you can turn that fantasy into a reality with proper fee management, pointing out that “You lose over half a million dollars just from [a] small difference in fees, because small amounts multiplied over 40…
With their own distinct risk and reward characteristics, foreign government bonds can be a useful addition to a diversified portfolio. But do they make sense for retirees now at a time when approximately 25% of the foreign bond market trades with negative yields? Surprisingly, they might — under the right circumstances. This is due to what the author of today’s…
How much of your income do you need to save for retirement? As little as 4% — or as much as 44%! That’s what’s revealed in a new chart posted by data visualization site FlowingData.com, with where you fall on the 4% to 44% saving spectrum depending on when you start saving for retirement and when you plan to retire.…
What are the odds that the stock market will crash at some point (or multiple points) during the course of your retirement? Researchers have actually developed a formula for making this determination – and based on that formula, the author of today’s article warns that “the odds of a huge crash are…high enough that you should expect at least one,…
A $1 million nest egg may seem like a lot, but when you consider that the average 65-year-old today can expect to live to nearly 85 (i.e. another 20 years), there is still a real risk of a $1 million nest egg expiring before you do. So how long will $1 million last in retirement – and how can you…
Despite having “restricted” in their name, the ultimate benefit of restricted stock units (RSUs) is their flexibility. As today’s article explains, RSUs are a type of equity compensation for employees that offer “a new building block toward retirement, while also opening doors for investments, experiences and major purchases throughout the course of your life.” For more on the basics of…
It’s “the cornerstone of retirement planning” – yet in a recent study, 92% of the American adults surveyed either demonstrated a lack of understanding of it or couldn’t even define what it was! What is this retirement-planning cornerstone? Fixed-income investing – and one portfolio manager cited in today’s article warns that “The lack of knowledge about fixed-income investing is a…
Inflation may not seem like much of a concern right now, but the author of today’s article points out that periods in which inflation has been significantly higher than average have typically arrived without any advance warning. Given this, and considering the fact that, as he notes, “even average rates of inflation can take a large toll”, it’s worthwhile to…