Pension and annuity retirement policies were first implemented as a means to encourage older workers in employment to look for another jobs. Retirement has become a norm, the expected life of the stage, which has an institutionalized part of most modern societies. Workers expect to retire actively choose to withdraw from workforce as quickly as they are financially feasible. Once they are retired, they are expected to enjoy their life and get satisfaction with their lives. (more…)

There is an old adage that says “numbers don’t lie.” So when it comes to figuring out how much money do you need to retire, you need to understand basic math, a few retirement concepts, and some financial retirement concepts. This is where you may wish you had paid more attention to your high school math teacher. (more…)

In this part, we describe the various distribution options that are avail able for the withdrawal of your TIAA-CREF accumulation after you have retired. The rules governing almost all of these options originate in the Code. Again, we will try our best to describe them in nontechnical terms.

The transition from a working environment to retirement poses financial as well as emotional challenges. (more…)

The Group Retirement Account (or “GRA”) and the Group Supplemental Retirement Account (or “GSRA”) resemble the Retirement Annuity account and the Supplemental Retirement Annuity account in many respects. There are, however, some fundamental differences between the group accounts and their nongroup counterparts.

Both the RA and the Group Retirement Account are contracts with TIAA-CREF. (more…)

Now that you have quantified your retirement objectives, identified the asset classes you should choose, and considered how this retirement account will work with existing assets, you can move to select the specific product(s) for your portfolio retirement.

If you are an experienced investor with the time, temperament, training, and money to select individual stocks and bonds, you can certainly include them in your portfolio. (more…)

How much 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 successful 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…)

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…)

Do you want your retirement years to be lively? Is your current job, or career, fulfilling for you? If so, then maybe you are going to be joining the happy, busy ranks of those, more than 70% according to a recent A.A.R.P. survey, who are planning a “working retirement.” If working past your retirement date seems grim, then cheer up. There is a silver lining if you know where to look.

1) Continuing at your current job has its positives - you know the job. There are no learning curves, or the awkwardness of being the new kid. (more…)