Retirement Planning

Winning the lottery actually has a lot in common with being near retirement age: You can quit working You have finite financial resources at your disposal (Really finite for most of us; in fact, many of us feel like we can not retire unless we actually do win the lottery.) It is a time to…

Everyone knows that they need a retirement plan. But that means different things to different people. Many think of a plan as merely retirement savings. And, while retirement savings are extremely useful, we believe that they are only one aspect of a useful retirement plan. (After all, some people do retire on Social Security alone.)…

Do thoughts of retirement conjure up images of a moving truck and boxes? Does this image sound stressful? If staying put sounds more appealing, you may be like many Americans approaching retirement age who say they actually wish to remain in the same home–or the same area–where they have lived their adult years. “Sometimes it…

You’ve probably read somewhere that you need $1 million in savings in order to retire.  While that is not entirely true, we are here to tell you that it is possible to have a million-dollar retirement (even if you haven’t started saving quite yet).A recent report from the U.S. Federal Reserve found that nearly a quarter…

If you are thinking about retirement, congratulations! This is a big decision. Did you make the right retirement preparations? Have you avoided the worst financial mistakes? Do you have the right retirement solutions? A strong retirement plan can mean the difference between outliving your retirement savings and being able to sustain your lifestyle for as…

Financial planning for retirement starts sliding into home plate after 50. If you’re lucky, you’ve spent a lifetime preparing for it. You’ve maxed out your tax-deferred investment options, amassed dependable investments, curbed spending, kept debt manageable, and created a sizable nest egg to provide a comfortable retirement income. Not everyone has that benefit, though, which…

Most people think that retirement planning is complicated and time consuming and maybe even futile. Too many people believe that a secure retirement is beyond reach. However, we have proof that improving your retirement plan is achievable and that it can even be easy and relatively speedy. Recent analysis revealed that a large percentage of…

According to the Pew Research Center, the oldest members of the Baby Boomer generation came into retirement age in 2011, and for the next 19 years, 10,000 more boomers will turn 65 each day. The Boomers face unique challenges as they approach retirement. Unlike their parents, most Boomers are not able to rely on pensions…

Jacob Lund Fisker is not your typical retiree. He’s certainly not at an age where he could collect Social Security. He’s not in his 60s or his 50s. Jacob isn’t even in his 40s (at least not yet). It’s almost astonishing that Jacob is retired – and financially independent – and he is still in…

In this day and age, just about anything can easily be done online. You can file your taxes, compare rates for a new auto loan or even order groceries to be handpicked and delivered to your door. You can also do some of your retirement planning online. There are many new and sophisticated retirement planning…

According to the Pew Research Center and the U.S. Census Bureau, Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest living generation. There may be a lot of them, but what can this modern generation tell us about having a better retirement? It turns out that some of their ideas will work quite well for those…

Warren Buffett earned his nickname honestly. The Oracle of Omaha’s success at investing is legendary, and he has ranked among the world’s wealthiest people time and again. But Buffett isn’t your typical wealthy business magnate. His retirement planning advice isn’t just for the rich and famous – it works for everyone. He’s known as frugal,…

It’s fairly common to believe that while a financial scam might happen next door, it certainly won’t happen any closer to home. But unfortunately, it happens every day. Who wouldn’t want to win a trip to the Bahamas or get an exclusive deal on an investment? That’s exactly what con artists count on to help…

Reaching age 65 once meant collecting a final paycheck. But today, more Americans are trying to delay retirement – working well into the traditional retirement years not because they have to, but because they want to. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 20% of Americans age 65 and older reported being employed part- or…

Spiders. Snakes. The dark. Clowns. It’s likely that you have at least one of these fears. However, if you are near retirement age, then what scares you most is perhaps more menacing and real than any of those things. Transamerica recently published a new survey that lists the greatest retirement fears. Wouldn’t it be nice…

Saving money is hard enough. No one wants more bills to pay, especially when you’re on a fixed or limited income. But insurance is something of a necessary evil. And certain insurance plans can help you live out your golden years as worry-free as possible – a worthy investment in your well-deserved break from workaday…

While many people ask about how much they need to save for retirement, not as many people ask when to start saving for retirement. However, when you start saving has a big impact on how much you need to save each month. The good news is that it really never is too late or too…

The retirement outlook has changed drastically since your grandparents, and even parents, retired. In fact, by some measures, retirement might seem as sour as lemons. The Great Recession of 2008-2009 and the Global Pandemic of 2020 have sharply changed people’s attitudes towards and expectations of retirement. The Trans-America Center for Retirement Studies found in their…

If you’re reading this, you’re likely someone who: saves money, has built up some assets, and is starting to think about how to create a retirement drawdown strategy – a plan for how to turn your assets into income that will last for life. Having a sound retirement drawdown strategy and keeping to it is…

You have heard it before: “Work in Retirement!” If you want to be financially secure, working after retirement age or working as long as possible before retirement is a good idea. Think about it, if you retire at age 65 (or before), you might be spending 30 years not working. Thirty years is a long…

Early retirement might seem like a dream. But it’s one that you can achieve if you plan early and set goals as if your life depends on it. In fact, it does. So, ask yourself: how much do I need to retire early? At age 60? At 55? 50? Examining different possible scenarios can give…

If you are nearing or are already in retirement, you are about to change from being an earner and a saver to being a spender. You spent a lifetime amassing savings and other resources and now is the time to use these assets – assuming you can accurately figure out how much to spend in…

Figuring out what you are going to do in retirement and how you are going to pay for it is not something you do once and just forget about it. You should plan for a quarterly retirement check-in. Retirement planning is kind of like owning a house – you put in an upfront investment, but…

“FIRE” stands for Financial Independence Retire Early for a group of fired-up young people. In a nutshell, it’s about making some significant lifestyle choices immediately to try to achieve financial independence as quickly as possible. For most followers, it’s actually more about mindfulness, frugality and simplicity – not just about money and financial independence. FIRE…