Let’s Talk About Retirement

James Steele asked:


You have several rollover options when deciding what to do with your IRA or 401k account. Make sure to think about your personal situation when reading through these options, so you can weigh what the best choice is for you. And keep in mind that more than one option may pertain to your retirement needs, especially when you consider those retirement needs in the future.

The easiest thing to do is not act at all. Keep any and all accounts exactly where they are and do not give them a second thought until you are ready to retire. As you can imagine we do not advocate this choice. While it is easier to bury your head in the sand then learn about and act on your financial future, it will only cause bigger retirement problems in the future. Can you imagine finally being ready to step away from work and all of your retirement assets are scattered between a dozen or more past employers that you have worked for over the last 40 years?

You can consolidate your retirement accounts into a Rollover IRA. If you already have a past employer or two where you are still keep your retirement funds, or an individual retirement account opened years ago when you were younger, you can transfer the funds to a Rollover IRA account, so they are all consolidated and easy to locate. This way you can add simplicity to your retirement planning. Rollover retirement accounts also allow you to rollover your money again in the future, so that you can adjust your investing goals as you get closer to retirement age.

If you like to take personal charge of your retirement funds, you can rollover into separate IRA accounts that will allow you to greatly diversify your retirement investments. Each retirement account can be given a different purpose, such as a self directed IRA that you use to purchase rental properties, or an retirement account that you do not intend to touch personally, but is set aside as a inheritance for your children.

If you are already with a new employer that offers a great 401k program, the past retirement account funds can be switched directly into the new 401k. Make sure that your new company will match a portion of the money you save from each paycheck and that the investments they offer can produce good returns with reasonable management fees. There is no point in changing out of a flexible IRA unless the retirement program your company offers is top notch.

Your final option is that you can take the money out of the retirement accounts and use them, but if you are hoping to have any ability to really retire in the future, this is a huge mistake. Any money that you take out of your 401k or IRA for personal use will be heavily taxed by the IRS. On top of that early retirement account withdrawals are hit with large penalties. Avoid this choice at all costs.

These are a sample of the options given you when deciding what choice to make with your IRA rollover or 401k rollover. It is always recommended to speak with a trustworthy broker when deciding and implementing any retirement account changes.



ARMAND

Wayne Miller asked:


Perhaps it is looking toward the future in terms of insurance, planning for college and other issues such as this also gets your mind moving on how you will be ready when retirement gets here.

But if we were able to step back above our lives, the best time to start preparing for retirement is not the middle age years. Retirement planning experts tell us that if young people in their twenties or even teens can start putting a little bit back toward retirement, the rewards when they reach their golden years will be phenomenal. If a youth in his early twenties or teens were to just put one percent of what they make back, and that money stayed in some form of investment vehicle that would grow into a retirement account, the growth between the time of investment and retirement at 60 or 65 can be explosive even at a modest interest rate.

Unfortunately, few young people are looking that far ahead when they are in their early adult lives. That is a time when the transition from teen years to family life is pretty all consuming. So it might be the responsibility of parents and older advisors to help youth see the value of starting to work on their retirement savings well in advance so they have a well developed program when their retirement years come along.

One of the best places for a young person to start their retirement program is with the 401k or retirement benefits at their job. Now, in the last decade, many businesses have eliminated retirement benefits where the company pays for the retirement. But if the young person works for a company that offers 401K, they can set aside a percentage of their income and it will be put into a retirement fund before taxes. Moreover, often the company will match the funds up to dollar for dollar and the company will manage the investment of the funds as well.

The outcome is a healthy and rapidly growing fund that starts out with an immediate doubling of the invested funds and then grows steadily over the years as more is put into the fund with each paycheck. The young worker gets used to the retirement money coming out so they adjust their budget to live without it. And without giving retirement much more thought than that, within a few decades, the 401K can evolve into a very impressive retirement account to be sure.

If you are a young person and you are considering if you might think about starting a retirement account, congratulations. You are one of just a few people who have the foresight to think about retirement this early in life. And by starting now, you take advantage of the thing that is your greatest asset is time. Because if you only put a little bit back, that can grow and grow and grow and become a sizeable retirement nest egg for you and your spouse even if he or she is the spouse off in your future.



DARRIN

TONY S asked:


It is possible the boomers will divest at the same time and cause the market to recede. It is also possible they will leave their money there, in different assets, and nothing will happen.
In any event, the younger boomers would be at the greatest risk. Or would they? Do the young boomers constitute the bulk of the Boomers? Or is it the older ones?
What do you think?
National health care for seniors is a platform for the next pres. election, and I plan to vote for someone with a good plan. We need national health care so seniors on SS can have medical coverage.

EDWARDO

d-dog 316 asked:


I have worked the same job for almost 29 years and am changing over to something entirely new. Is surgical tech a very stressful job? I am an animal control deputy now, and am so stressed from it, I have to get away from it. Also is the pay halfway decent?

BEAU

Joe Golson asked:


Different people see retirement differently. There are some who eagerly wait for it believing that it would be the beginning of loving life again. There are some who may dread retirement for the simple reason that they don’t want to reach a point of being seen as useless and unproductive. But whatever the reason, working people should bear in mind that retirement is something that everyone must go through after reaching a certain age period.

The difference in mindset over retirement may depend on how well people have prepared themselves for it. Some people have started preparing for their early retirement at such as early age that by the time they reach it, they already have everything set. These are the ones who now eagerly await it.

There are other people on the other hand that seem to put of preparing for their eventual retirement until it is already too late. While young, some people never bother about preparing for their retirement, thinking that it is still a long way off. Time comes that they are left with a short time to prepare for it eventually. The result is that they approach retirement with some dread because they might not have well prepared themselves for it.

Aside from becoming well prepared for retirement, some people just don’t look too eagerly at this point of their lives thinking that they might end up not becoming any more productive than before.  The sense that they might not have anything to do with their lives can worry quite a number of retirees.

Such a concern should not be something that retirees should be worried about. For others who are not fond of going into a permanent vacation during their retirement, there are quite a number of ways that they can still enjoy life. Retirees need not worry about not becoming productive at this point of their lives. Yes, retirees may no longer be productive working, but there are a bunch of activities in store that retirees can eventually take part in.

Retirement life can be spent doing some things that people enjoy. Retirees should realize some of the times during their younger days that they do not have the time to do the things that they love doing. Work may have prevented the then. But by the time retirement comes, people may now have all the time on their hands to spend on some things that they consider meaningful doing. So why not start doing so during retirement.

Retirement life can be spent doing a certain hobby. Retirees may now have the time to give themselves in pursuing a lifelong hobby. It can even be considered as a full time job of sorts. It is just one way that retirees can have their time spent more meaningfully aside from just sitting on the porch and watching time go by.

Retirement does not even have to mean a jobless period for people. There are still jobs available out there that retirees can still do productively. If it is not becoming productive the main concern for some people not eager about retirement, then getting a job would be the solution. People should just need to bear in mind that there is still life after retirement. Loving life during retirement is just a matter of planning and having a good imagination.



MADELEINE

rcsoccerchic asked:


I need information on Diego Maradona. One being the name of his parents and maybe a brief summary of them. I tried researching it but cant find it. I dont know, maybe you can.
I also would like a summary on what he did after retiring. I know he went to rehabs, wrote a autobiography, and a Tv show? I just dont know much about it and maybe you could sum it up for me =] Thanks!

ELVIN

Bethany S asked:


I’m playing The Golden Compass for Ps2 and I’m already stuck. I’m in a hallway with one door; it leads to the Retiring Room; but its locked. Pan keeps saying something about the Servant cleaning the windows, but I keep trying everything I can possibly think of but nothing is happening. What do I do???

CORINNE

darla asked:


Will be retiring soon and am job searcing. How do I word cover letter/resume to include my retirement, or should I. THis is regular work retirement, not disability
The sitiuation is retiring from one job after many years and getting a job 50 minles closer to home. Plan to work at least another 5 years.

DION

Richard J. Roll asked:


For the last thirty years, I’ve devoted my career to helping improve the personal finances of families and households across America. This year, I have watched the very ground we stand on undergo a series of seismic shifts that have tossed most Americans’ hopes and plans for finding eventual financial security into total disarray.

The bursting of the sub-prime credit markets, the stock market meltdown, and the accompanying credit crunch and recession that are now upon us could not be more alarming, especially for Baby Boomers who are approaching retirement.

Of the 30 million “early Baby Boomers” who are currently aged 53 to 63, 62% admit to feeling financially unprepared to retire. It’s easy to understand why. In fact, a Harris poll found that two thirds of Baby Boomers they surveyed said they believe the cost of living is too high to truly retire and never work again.

Planning for retirement and living on a fixed income become profoundly difficult when inflation is on the rise and the markets are in turmoil. You’ve got to start now to have a way to make an ongoing income after retirement from your primary career.

Unfortunately, retirement has become a do-it-yourself project. Twenty years ago, 80% of all workers at medium and large U.S. companies were covered by defined-benefit pension plans. That meant they knew they were going to receive a portion of their salary, every year, after they retired, usually adjusted upward annually to keep pace with inflation.

By 1997, that number had dropped to 50%. The latest figures show that just 21% of workers at all private companies are covered today by defined-benefit plans.

The situation has gotten far worse because U.S. property values have declined an average of 15% to 20% nationally since 2005. Most homeowners were banking on the ballooning equity in their homes to finance their debts and provide future financial security in retirement.

Millions of Baby Boomers have just not adjusted to the new economic reality: that the primary responsibility for funding the retirement years has shifted from business and the federal government, directly onto the shoulders of workers themselves.

In addition, six common hazards can torpedo even the best retirement planning and saving process. They include:

1. Divorce– one of the most common causes of retirement planning failure.

2. Treating your house as your primary retirement vehicle (especially when housing values are plummeting).

3. Investors nearing retirement get sweet-talked at seminars into buying property or other investments, sight unseen.

4. Your withdrawal strategy may be unrealistically excessive.

5. Not planning for longevity. A husband and wife who are 65 years old today have a 40% chance of one of them reaching age 95.

6. Dumping all stocks and moving into bonds is an unbalanced, outdated move that assures sub-par returns.

To truly prepare for a secure retirement, you’ve got to protect yourself against many complex risks, from the danger that inflation or falling markets will eat away at your assets, to the strong likelihood that you’ll need costly long term care. (Today, 9 out of 10 people over 80 need some kind of help to take care of themselves). Ideally, you’ll want to develop an ongoing income source through a passion or skill you can turn into a part-time business.

Determining an appropriate asset allocation is also crucial. You’ll need to divide your money among stocks, bonds, and cash as a time-tested strategy for helping you pursue your financial goals and obtain safe investments.

The Baby Boomers Retirement Club (BBRC) offers advice and resources that Baby Boomers need to stay afloat in the current economic crisis and in the challenging years ahead. There are resources that can help you create and maintain an ongoing income stream, which is a critical priority. The tools and calculators at http://www.mybbrc.com can help you develop an intelligent and workable roadmap and financial plan for your retirement years.

Richard Roll, a retirement expert and bestselling Book-of-the-Month Club author, is the founder of the Baby Boomers Retirement Club (BBRC) web portal and membership site. He also founded the American Homeowners Association (AHA).



BOYCE

rockets117 asked:


he’s 31 or 32 or 33 and he’s retiring next year..who could be a better replacement? even beletti is retiring..thx
how bout for beletti?

CHARLIE