Financial planners typically advise you to work for as long as you can, so you can juice up your retirement savings while holding out for a fatter Social Security check. But such advice presumes that ...
Tag: Retirement planning
How $10,000 now will help my newborn granddaughter have a better retirement
Earlier this month, my wife and I were delighted to welcome a new granddaughter into the world, and we wanted to give her the very best gift that we could. My readers won’t be surprised to learn that ...
Are you prepared for year-end 401(k) deadlines?
As we approach the end of the year, now is a great time to ensure you’re getting the most out of your 401(k) plan. There are several opportunities to expand your savings, potentially minimize your tax...
Retirement savers seeking safe havens within 401(k) plans may rue it
Yongyuan | E+ | Getty Images Data suggests some retirement savers are seeking out safe havens within their 401(k) plans. But the move may hobble those investors in the long run; in fact, it may have d...
The secret to a happier retirement might be in your ‘retirement quotient’
You know all about IQ (intelligence quotient) and probably EQ (emotional quotient or emotional intelligence). But if you’re getting close to retirement or in retirement, you might also want to know ab...
Your 401(k) has had a wild year — how to know when it’s time to rebalance
After a roller coaster of a year, retirement accounts may need a little fine tuning and consultation. Retirement Tip of the Week: If you haven’t checked the allocation of your investments recently, d...
How to get a guaranteed retirement spending rate of 4.3%
Stop the presses! The 4% spending rule may be alive after all—at least for now. I’m referring to the famous research from William Bengen in 1994 that focused on how much a retiree could withdraw from ...
Should I do a Roth conversion to offset stock losses?
Q.: Dear Dan, We have roughly $45,000 in short-term & long-term losses this year from our brokerage accounts. Is the best move to sell some of our positive stock positions in our brokerage account...
Brokered CDs pay more than traditional CDs — should you buy them now?
When market volatility and inflation persist, retirees or those who are near retirement might be wondering where to put their money now. There are a variety of alternatives with a range of risks, so t...
One reason the rich get richer
Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald disagreed about the rich. Fitzgerald, who had stars in his eyes, supposedly said, “The rich are different from the rest of us.” “Yes,” repli...
‘It’s a touchy subject’: My in-laws live in our basement. They gave us our 20% down payment. Should we charge them for renovations?
Last year, my husband and I approached my in-laws to see if they wanted to live with us. We had learned that my father-in-law had terminal cancer but could still live five to seven years in remission,...
‘My adviser has gone dark.’ My account has $500K in it, and I can’t get a hold of my adviser right now. What’s my move?
How to find the right finanical adviser Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: My business has a SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) for employees who want to participate after one yea...
The future looks gloomy for retirees — if you look closely at financial history
Retirement planning requires us all to become historians. Surely not, you object: Do we really have to become proficient in yet another subject? Unfortunately, yes. Regardless of whether you’re aware ...
Fidelity, ForUsAll offering 401(k) investors access to cryptocurrency
Justin Tallis | Afp | Getty Images Retirement savers in some 401(k) plans are starting to get access to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Fidelity Investments, the largest provider of 401(k) plans by tot...
Opinion: Forget the $22,500 limit, some workers can supersize their tax-deferred retirement savings up to $265,000 in 2023
If you really want to rev up your retirement savings and minimize income taxes, the best thing to be is a late-career professional in private practice. When you’re making a lot of money and are close ...
When retirement is a month away, here’s what you need to do
When retirement is coming up close—and you have that exciting date in mind—make sure you have everything organized to make it a seamless, enjoyable transition. Retirement Tip of the Week: Before you ...
Should You Retire Early to Get a Larger Lump Sum on Your Pension?
The math on when and how to retire is shifting for millions of workers with pension plans. Blame the steep rise in interest rates. When workers retire with a pension, many are given a choice between r...
What an inverted yield curve means for the economy
Catherine Yeulet | Getty Images What the inverted yield curve means Generally, longer-term bonds pay more than bonds with shorter maturities. Since longer-maturity bonds are more vulnerable to price c...
Retired? Here Are 3 Things You Need to Get Right.
So much financial planning is focused on getting people to retirement. Planning and investing during those golden years is even more critical because missteps can be disastrous. Spending down money i...
Will the stock market be higher in 12 months? Here are the odds.
Odds are good the stock market will be higher in 12 months’ time. The probabilities are two out of three, in fact. These odds are not based on any privileged insight into whether the economy will expe...
Why retirement calculators fail the people who need them most — and what to do about it
Or were you so overwhelmed by the steps and questions that you only increased the amount you were saving by a little bit — or not at all? If you fall into the latter category, don’t feel bad. A new st...
History says inflation could persist for a decade
If you are a retiree, or even near to retirement, you are probably more vulnerable to inflation than most. Your cost of living is probably rising faster than your income. You’re lucky if any pension o...