Feb 19

Deciding When to Take Retirement Benefits

Because in a defined benefit plan, the benefit relates directly to the number of years you work for a company, the longer you work there, the greater the benefit during retirement.

The cost of early retirement on your pension throughout the rest of your life is something to consider as you make a decision about when to retire. (more…)

Jan 16

Determining Retirement Contributions and Benefits

If we look at defined benefit plans, it has a slumped down popularity among business owner in recent years. It is more like traditional pension plans where the plans are altogether financed by the employer. Annual contributions founded on actuarial computations involving employer’s years of service and salary are set aside for employees. (more…)

Dec 12

Early retirement - Questions to Ask Before Retire Early

retire early questions
The thought of retire early may be an illusion for some and a punishment for others. Everything is, as the saying goes, depending on how you look at it. First, is it the decision whether retirement is voluntary or forced? Often when companies offer their employee early retirement is not really such an offer since the other option is to be fired. (more…)

Sep 9

Top 10 Retirement Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

avoid retirement planning mistakes
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…)

Jul 30

Types of Qualified Retirement Plans

types of qualified retirement plans
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.

Defined Benefit Plans

A defined benefit plan is a retirement arrangement in which your employer guarantees the benefit. (more…)

Jun 4

401k Defined Contribution Plan – A Simple Explanation

401k defined contribution plan

A 401k plan is a retirement account set up by an employer into which employee put aside some of his/her salary into the account. It is named defined contribution plan because the annual amount of money that can be given to each employee account is defined. This 401k plan program does not assure a defined retirement benefit when employees withdraw their money when it is mature. (more…)

Mar 2

Retirement Benefits – Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) and 401(k)

employee pension plan
You are eligible for your employer’s pension plan if you have worked there for one year and at least 1000 hours. Employers offer two basic types of retirement accounts—defined contribution plans or defined benefit plans.

Defined contribution plans are characterized by an annual contribution being made for each employee. (more…)