Corporations are transferring pension liabilities to third parties. Where does this leave retirees? A new phrase has made its way into the contemporary financial jargon: derisking. Anyone with assets in an old-school pension plan should know what that phrase signifies. The derisking trend began in 2012. In that year, Ford Motor Co. made a controversial [...]
What’s good for the economy isn’t necessarily good for our future. Provided by Virtue Wealth Management Our parents & grandparents saved much more than we do. Most people who have read up on the economy for any length of time have heard of the personal saving rate (PSAVERT), which the Commerce Department calculates as the [...]
Patience & diversification matter in all manner of stock market climates. Stocks rise, fall ... and rise again. Volatility certainly came back to Wall Street during the first several weeks of 2014 in the form of a 7.2% descent for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 5.9% retreat for the NASDAQ. The declines gave [...]
Your assets matter more than your age. Isn’t 65 the traditional retirement age? Perhaps, but baby boomers are modifying the definition of a traditional retirement (if not redefining it altogether). The Social Security Administration has subtly revised its definition of the traditional retirement age as well. If you glance at the SSA website, the “full” [...]
Crucial questions & essential documents. The financial planning process is not merely a matter of numbers. When you meet with a financial advisor to map out a strategy for wealth accumulation or wealth preservation, you may find yourself intellectually and emotionally engaged on a level you hadn't anticipated. It may actually give you a better [...]
Certain financial & lifestyle choices may lead you toward a better future. Some retirees succeed at realizing the life they want, others don’t. Fate aside, it isn’t merely a matter of stock market performance or investment selection that makes the difference. There are certain dos and don’ts – some less apparent than others – that [...]
New & old concepts to address the retirement savings gap. How many 401(k)s have more than $100k in them? According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the average 401(k) balance at the end of 2012 was $63,929.1 Is this enough money to retire on? No – and this is only part of America’s retirement [...]
Here is what you need to know for 2014. Financially, many of us associate April with taxes – but we should also associate April with important IRA deadlines. *April 1 is the absolute deadline to take an initial IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). *April 15 is the deadline for making annual contributions to a traditional [...]
Why are they made again and again? Much has been written about the classic financial mistakes that plague start-ups, family businesses, corporations and charities. Aside from these blunders, there are also some classic financial missteps that plague retirees. Calling them “mistakes” may be a bit harsh, as not all of them represent errors in judgment. Yet [...]
