In addition to saving for retirement, there may be several other major financial goals you'll need to juggle in a lifetime. Let's say that at the age of 25 you earned $35,000. If your salary increased at the average historical rate, you'd have earned nearly $2 million in total by the time you were 65.¹ [...]
The year is coming to a close. Have you thought about these financial ideas yet? As every calendar year ends, the window slowly closes on a set of financial opportunities. Here are several you might want to explore before 2015 arrives. Don’t forget that IRA RMD. If you own one or more traditional IRAs, you [...]
Roth & traditional IRAs won’t get 2015 COLAs, but other plans will. 2015 Retirement Plan contribution limits went up A little inflation means a little adjustment. As the Consumer Price Index is up 1.7% over the last 12 months, the federal government is giving Social Security benefits a 1.7% boost for 2015 and [...]
Six signs that you are in good shape. How well off do you think you are financially? If your career or life takes an unexpected turn, would your finances hold up? What do you think will become of the money you’ve made and saved when you are gone? These are major questions, and most people [...]
Certain misconceptions ignore the realities of retirement. Generalizations about money & retirement linger. Some have been around for decades, and some new clichés have recently joined their ranks. Let’s examine a few. “When I’m retired, I won’t really have to invest anymore.” Many people see retirement as an end instead of a beginning – a [...]
What people don’t always realize about life after work. If you have saved and invested consistently for retirement, you may find yourself ready to leave work on your terms – with abundant free time, new opportunities, and wonderful adventures ahead of you. The thing to keep in mind is that the reality of your retirement [...]
It isn’t always top of mind, but it should be. How many of us save and invest with an eye on tax implications? Not that many of us, according to a recent survey from Russell Investments (the global asset manager overseeing the Russell 2000). In the opening quarter of 2014, Russell polled financial services professionals [...]
Beneficiaries: What do you do when an account owner passes away? If your loved ones have invested, saved or insured themselves to any degree, you may be named as a beneficiary to one or more of their accounts, policies or assets in the event of their deaths. While we all hope “that day” never comes, [...]
Have you kept up with them? Have they raised new questions for you? Retirement Plan Fiduciaries On July 1, 2012, the Department of Labor implemented some rules changes for ERISA-covered defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. These changes were made to improve transparency.1 Covered service providers (CSPs) must fully describe services & fees. Financial [...]
401k Amendment - Act now to make sure that your plan keeps up with new laws & regulations. The clock is ticking. Between now and April 30, 2016, 100% of 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, and other tax-qualified plans that use an IRS-approved prototype plan document must be amended and restated.1 If this doesn’t occur by [...]
