Is Your Pension at Risk? Everyone faces the concept of retirement at some point. The closer an individual gets to retirement age, the more concerned he may become about his ability to live comfortably after retirement. It may also make him wonder whether his retirement benefits will be available when he is ready to collect. The Future of Pensions Those who expect to collect a pension when they reach retirement age may have become concerned about recent reports regarding pension-fund growth. Recent issues regarding pension fund investments such as: • Modest economic growth • Low interest rates • Rich stock …

Planning for retirement allows for many considerations and avoiding Probate is one of them.  The good news is if own a retirement account and have named beneficiaries, the account does not have to go through the probate process in most cases. Avoiding probate should be one of the goals of proper estate and retirement planning. While probate is a good fail-safe to ensure the property of a deceased owner is distributed fairly, probate also introduces delays, expenses, and headaches that are not usually necessary. What Is Probate? Probate is the judicial process in which the property of the deceased is …

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) recently passed in the House of Representatives by a margin of 417-3 last Thursday. The bill is slated to be successfully ratified into law by the U.S. Senate later in the year in a rare moment of bipartisanship. The SECURE Act marks the most momentous legislative change in retirement planning since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. That said, the SECURE Act that passed in the House of Representatives recently is a necessary and expected change to the U.S. retirement system.  Why? Because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act …

It is never too early to begin thinking about retirement. Even if that season of life is decades away for you, the financial decisions that you make now can have a significant impact on your quality of life later down the road. As you begin planning for your future, it is important to have a guideline for each age in life. Here are ten stages of life and what you need to be doing at each age to best prepare your finances for life after retirement: UNDER AGE 49: Now is the time to be aggressive with funding your retirement …

Although we assume many of our readers know what a 401(k) and an IRA are, let’s cover these quickly. What is a 401(k)? 401(k) retirement, savings, and investment accounts are tax-deferred ways to invest your money where your contributions are typically matched – a portion of those earnings, usually not all of them in dollar-for-dollar fashion – by your employer. These plans are named after the section of the Internal Revenue Code – 401(k) – that lays out the rules for these plans. There are other benefits that 401(k) plans bring to the table, such as not having to pay money …

Individuals working for years and planning for retirement ultimately lead to be dynamic go-getters who don’t want to think about the limitations and possible incapacitations of old age. However, with smart planning in your 50’s and 60’s, you can protect your heirs from financial risk and even protect a business from a crippling lack of leadership. Costs of Long Term Care Depending on where you live, long term care can cost you anything from $54,800 to $150,200 per year. While nearly half of all those who use a long term care facility are there for more than a year, this …

Social Security is one of the main benefit programs for workers in the United States. At some point, almost everyone will collect something from Social Security. If you are getting close to collecting from Social Security, you might be wondering how the program works and what to expect. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about Social Security benefits. How Old Do You Have to Be to Collect? The short answer is that it depends on when you were born. Also, you can decide if you want to start collecting benefits earlier and take a smaller amount, or …

This years tax deadline is behind us. If you received a refund, what’s your plan? Some taxpayers choose to spend the entire check on clothing, shoes, and their appearance.  They never look into investing their money for their own personal future. In a sense, you may be temporarily happy about your purchases or your new hairstyle, but in the future, you might regret not investing some of the money for your retirement. There are many ways to put your tax refund to work, such as: • Invest in a healthcare savings account • Paying off school loans • Emergency savings …