In developing a retirement plan there are several factors to consider in addition to the amount you need or want to save.

1. Income Taxes.

The above discussion did not take into consideration income taxes. You might have to save more if you have to pay income taxes on all or part of your retirement benefit or your contributions. Distributions from qualified employer plans are always subject to retirement income tax. (more…)

As U.S. longevity increases and health care costs soar, many older Americans face the prospect of outliving their retirement resources. Personal health and maintenance expenses are escalating, and more of America’s older adults have little recourse but to use credit for purchasing necessary medicines and even groceries. Moreover, many seniors who had planned on living in a mortgage-free home are finding that rising tax assessments, escalating insurance premiums, and other home maintenance–related costs are claiming a growing portion of their fixed incomes. (more…)

If we boil things down to a simple two-part equation, retirement planning is all about managing inflows (income) during your earning years and outflows (expenses) during your retirement years. Of course, retirement means different things to different people at different points in their lives. Rather than a static state, retirement is a dynamic state, changing with life events, financial events, and even your own education as you learn more about concepts and products. The more information you absorb, the more comfortable you feel in being an active participant in the retirement planning process. Your plan for accumulating assets for retirement has to take all of this into account and be flexible enough to adapt to all kinds of changes. (more…)

Like the peculiar behavior of the dog in the night in the Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze,” one of the obvious but overlooked clues about the insurance orientation of TIAA-CREF appears in the names of the accounts that are given to the various accumulation alternatives available to you. Each account is labeled an “annuity,” and each contribution is called a “premium.” To avoid confusion you should note that what TIAA-CREF labels as an “account,” you probably would call an investment choice or fund.

Stripped to the basics, your Retirement Annuity (or “Retirement Annuity”) boils down to an accumulation agreement between you and TIAA-CREF. (more…)

If you have plan to spend your retirement time outside US, there are some factors to consider due to country-specific restrictions, changes in national banking regulations, and changes to work like in a foreign country. You may also consider if it might affect your benefits, and whether your benefits may be taxable. If you plan to retire outside the United States, you may be affected as you benefit from social security benefits abroad. (more…)

One way to find out how much money you spend each month and what you spend it for is to keep a record of all expenditures during the next month. For this purpose some people find a small five cent notebook handy because they can carry it with them. What¬ever system you use, be sure and write down everything and es¬pecially what you spend for the “little” things such as magazines, a pack of cigarettes, toothpaste and hairpins. (more…)

Retiring is supposed are the moment you sit down and relax after years of hard work. But for some people facing retirement is not smooth as plain sailing. As mentioned in the news recently, it has been reported that a growing number of people struggling to survive on their pensions.

Although many people are working in a company, hence their private pension savings will be paid over the years. (more…)

For as long as man has left any record of his hopes and aspirations he has expressed his desire for a long life. But as people live longer and more and more of them retire from work what is their potential for living a good life? Can the retirement years be as satisfying as the working years? This is the question facing millions of Americans, and it may be the question which prompted you to take part in a retirement preparation program. (more…)

Another old adage says that we should learn from the mistakes of others. When it comes to retirement planning, there are many legal, tax, and retirement saving mistakes you can make as a business owner, retirement plan trustee, or plan participant. (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 or retiring baby boomers: Time Management. (more…)