Retirement Savings and Investments

Here is a guide for how to find lost money — a lost 401k or other unclaimed retirement benefits. It can be as easy as 1,2,3!

For many of us, the desire to engage in charitable giving — giving  to our family, communities or world — only grows as we age. And there may be good reason that we want to give.  It turns out that giving is good — very good.  Numerous studies have found that there is a huge…

Don’t think you could possibly save more money for retirement? These tips will help you shift your mindset for a secure and happy future. Read now!

Episode 58 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Jack Brennan — the handpicked successor to Jack Bogle at the Vanguard Group

What is your inflation risk? (It just went up.) Here are 8 ways to protect your retirement finances from rising inflation.

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Explore the proposed tax increases on the wealthy and find out what to do about it if you might be at risk of a higher tax burden.

As you prepare for children to fly the coop, it is worthwhile to consider what type of empty nest parent you might be. Are you: Super proud that they are setting out on their own? Still supporting them financially? Relieved and happy to have more time on your own? Sad and lonely that your children…

If you do not know about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)… it may be well worth your while to learn about them. There are many compelling pros and cons of ETFs as a retirement investment. ETFs have become a very popular investment vehicle and they can be a good place for retirement savings. In a nutshell,…

When you are retired, or near retirement, it is generally a good idea to have a percentage of your savings in investment vehicles that are lower in risk.  However, it can be difficult to find low-risk, high-return investments — especially now with Certificate of Deposit (CD) and savings account rates at less than one percent.…

Episode 53 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Brooke Southall — Founder and Principal Reporter of RIABiz.com — and discusses the past, present and future of wealth management. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future episodes: subscribe on iTunes subscribe on Stitcher And, join our private Facebook Group to discuss this podcast, suggest…

Episode 52 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Ben Carlson — Director of Institutional Asset Management at Ritholtz Wealth Management — and discusses whether we’re in a bubble, how to invest in a bubble, and Carlson’s new book, Everything You Need To Know About Saving For Retirement. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on…

Keeping your retirement savings on track helps you meet your retirement goals. That seems like a very simple concept, and in a way it is. But living with that plan every day isn’t quite so simple. Knowing how much one should save for retirement is useful — it can motivate you to take action. And…

The Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) is not usually thought of as an institution that adds a lot of value to our lives — to the contrary in fact. However, a few years ago, the researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College came up with a simple and relatively safe retirement withdrawals strategy…

What Is a Self-Directed IRA? A Self Directed IRA is a type Individual Retirement Account (IRA)  that allows you to invest in a really wide variety of alternative investments.  Traditional IRAs require that  you invest in traditional asset classes — mainly stocks, bonds, funds, treasuries, annuities and certificates of deposit. Self Directed IRAs and Self…

Joe Biden is now President elect. There are several ways a Biden presidency might affect your retirement, including lower tax benefits on 401(k) accounts and more generous Social Security benefits. Biden’s Plan for Older Americans gives specific details on what Biden would like to do as President to overhaul the nation’s retirement system, shore up…

You may have seen the news: Interest rates in the United States are at historic lows. That sounds great. But is it really? What are the effects of low interest rates on your retirement? Read on to see the pros and cons of low interest rates on your retirement plan. And, how to make the…

Retirement tax planning is a critical part of preparing for a secure future. The good news is that with so many possible retirement income sources, you have many different opportunities to potentially reduce your tax burden. And, you may even discover that reducing taxes can enable you to retire a little earlier than you might…

Episode 47 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Steve Vernon — a writer and research scholar at the Stanford Center of Longevity — and discusses the Spend Safely in Retirement Strategy that Vernon came up with and, secondly, his new book, Don’t Go Broke in Retirement. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future…

They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The bad news is that the last 50 years have seen 5 major financial, market, or economic crises. The good news is that each crisis has lessons that you can apply today to help you build more wealth and feel…

Episode 46 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Jerry Patterson — Principal Financial’s senior vice president of workplace savings and retirement solutions — and discusses how to make the most of your 401(k), workforce savings trends, financial independence and retirement income. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future episodes: subscribe on iTunes subscribe…

We have a lot of choices about where to invest our money, both before and after retirement.  Some options are clearly bad investments. Others seem like a good bet, but they probably aren’t. While we would all like to find a shortcut to massive wealth, a more steady approach is probably the best route to…

Diversification should be one of your retirement mantras. After all, if you have all your eggs in one basket, they’re more likely to all break if something goes wrong.  That is why you want to try to achieve the right asset allocation mix for your particular situation.  Continue reading for some rules of thumb as…

Episode 44 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Morgan Housel — a writer, former columnist at The Motley Fool and the Wall Street Journal, and a partner at the Collaborative Fund. He and Steve discuss Housel’s new book, The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness, and his perspective on…

Episode 43 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Christine Benz — author and Morningstar’s director of personal finance — and discusses the big financial and life lessons Benz has picked up over her 25-year career at Morningstar. They also talk about Benz’s works, 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances…