If Social Security benefits replace approximately 40% of your pre-retirement income, where do you find the other 60% –and, of particular relevance today, where do you find the other 60% when interest rates are near historic lows? Today’s article outlines one “simple solution” to this challenge, noting that “It can be more volatile than a savings account. And it can…
“Sell in May and go away”. “The January effect”. The “Santa Claus rally”. “Financial hurricane season”. When it comes to whether these seasonal investing adages work, the author of today’s article argues that they work “just often enough to sustain their myths” – and just often enough to negatively impact your retirement savings if you make investment decisions based on…
How can you go about building a portfolio that would provide your loved ones with reliable income while requiring little to no maintenance? The author of today’s article lays out one option: A “three-fund portfolio [that] will hand us a diverse collection of investments built to hold up in any market, throw off a steady 8% dividend and pay dividends…
“Never overlook the pernicious and toxic impact of inflation over periods as long as retirement,” warns the author of today’s article. He outlines why inflation over the next several decades could actually be significantly higher than currently assumed – and how, if that proves to be the case, it would make inflation-indexed annuities (or real annuities), generally considered very expensive,…
Given the fiscal state of the Social Security system, the author of today’s article advises that, when it comes to financing your retirement, “You have to assume you’re not going to get much help from our government, you’re not going to get much help from your employer, and your financial future is all up to you. And that means you…
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – or SECURE Act – has been overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives as a purported means of improving retirement savings options. In today’s article, a financial planner with 20 years of experience looks at how the SECURE Act, which, among other things, raises the age for required withdrawals…
New research from well-known, Boston-based money management firm GMO has an important warning for retirement savers of all ages when it comes to their glide paths (the gradual reduction in one’s allocation to equities as they get closer to – and then enter –retirement). As today’s article outlines, the research indicates that “No matter how young you are, chances are…
Robots and a smart fridge keeping you from having to go into a nursing home. Some new (and simple) math for retirement saving. New alternatives to purchasing long-term care insurance. The retirement community of the future. There are among what may be the best new ideas in retirement as, thanks to increasing longevity and the changing nature of work, traditional…
When it comes to investing according to environmental, social, or corporate governance (ESG) standards, today’s article notes that “While returns can vary from year to year, ethical investors tend to perform better than investors who don’t use social or “sustainable” principles.” Thus, it is possible to generate good returns in your retirement portfolio while doing good with your retirement portfolio.…
The author of today’s article likens them to an “elite Navy SEALs team of retirement savers”: those with $1 million or more in their 401(k). And after membership in this elite group decreased in the final months of last year as volatility in the stock market took its toll, the number of 401(k) millionaires ticked back up in the first…