Retirement plans come in all shapes and sizes, but most plans fall into a few broad types. The following is a list of the major categories. I discuss the individual plans in detail later in the book.
A defined benefit plan is a retirement arrangement in which your employer guarantees the benefit. (more…)
The economic status of older adults in the United States today is greatly improved, and there is much diversity of circumstances among different elder populations. In 2004 inflation-adjusted dollars, the median income of elderly households had increased from $13,228 in 1960 to $24,509 in 2004. Since the mid-1950s, poverty, as measured in 2005 by the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds, has decreased for all age groups but most noticeably for adults age 65 years and older. (more…)
If you, like many Americans today, are longing to leave the rat race and retire from your job, but don’t feel that you can yet afford to do so, this third and final article in a series on “Redefining Retirement”, discusses one of the most critical success factors in starting and building a successful home-based business as a baby boomer entrepreneur: Time Management. (more…)
How much money to retire do you need? How much do you already have? How much time do you have to save? These are the questions that lead you to a retirement saving plan. A well-thought out and diligently followed plan leads you to your goal. This section walks you through the major steps in planning for your post-retirement financial needs. (more…)
Unlike past eras, it’s doubtful you’ll spend your career with the same employer. When you’re ready to move on, you’ll face some important decisions about what to do with your 401(k) plan. Essentially, there are four choices when you’re ready to take a hike:
1. Take the money and run. (more…)
“Why is it when midlifers talk of fulfilling their lifelong dreams before they’re too old to do them, they’re never talking about dreams like publishing a book or singing at the Met?” Barbara Sher
You have grown up in a goal oriented society. We have been taught from a very early age about achievement and success. Most of us, whether we reached it or not, had a sense of what was expected of us. (more…)
If you are looking for the answer to how much money to retire… you are asking the wrong question. It should be how much longer can I afford to wait before retiring. The longer you wait to retire the less time you will be retired. That should be a given.
Something the dollars and sense approach to early retirement planning fails to take into consideration is the fact that as (more…)
If you’re one of the “Baby Boomers,” you’re probably giving serious thought to retiring, if you haven’t already retired - and if you have already retired, you may be wondering if you’re going to be able to afford to stay retired.
Today’s economic crisis complicates the situation considerably by increasing the following retirement related risks: (more…)