It may be a nice problem to have as a retiree, but it’s still a problem: what do you do with your required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your retirement accounts – which, as their name indicates, are required – if you don’t need the money for living expenses? Today’s article outlines a number of strategies, from QCDs to QLACs, to…
“Sell in May and go away”. “The January effect”. The “Santa Claus rally”. “Financial hurricane season”. When it comes to whether these seasonal investing adages work, the author of today’s article argues that they work “just often enough to sustain their myths” – and just often enough to negatively impact your retirement savings if you make investment decisions based on…
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – or SECURE Act – has been overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives as a purported means of improving retirement savings options. In today’s article, a financial planner with 20 years of experience looks at how the SECURE Act, which, among other things, raises the age for required withdrawals…
The median retirement account balance among all Americans of working age? $0.00. And that’s the median amount, meaning half of working-age Americans have even less than $0.00 to their name. And if the paltry state of Americans’ retirement accounts isn’t enough to convince you that there’s a retirement crisis, consider the fact that total U.S. consumer debt is now sitting…
“Maybe your retirement plan is on track, but that doesn’t mean you can rest easy. We all exist within a society and an economy. Its problems are ours, too, as we may find out when taxes rise to help pay for others to retire,” warns the author of today’s article. He proceeds to examine the state of retirement in the…
The retirement expert cited in today’s article calls them “the single biggest risk you face in outliving your money”: out-of-pocket healthcare expenses and costs for long-term care. These expenses can now total over half a million dollars, “almost four times more than the typical couple nearing retirement has saved in their combined retirement accounts”. Given this, the author outlines several…
It has been 10 years since the housing crash of 2008, the fallout from which decimated the retirement accounts of many – and now one financial security expert is warning that “the danger of another crisis lurks despite assurances to the contrary.” She cautions that “The massive regulatory response to the subprime crisis meant that banks were no longer allowed…
How should you invest your retirement accounts? With IRAs holding about $9 trillion and 401(k)s holding about $5 trillion, that is the critical question that today’s article tackles. In seeking to answer it, the author highlights the importance of intrinsic stock value, reinvested dividends (and tax deferral), diversification – and Warren Buffett. For more on investing your retirement accounts, CLICK…
Contributing to tax-deferred retirement accounts is an attractive option for building your nest egg. However, the author of today’s article cautions that “While contributing to your 401(k) account can be beneficial, exceeding the statutory limit could cost you a lot.” In order to ensure that your contributions are all above-board, the author proceeds to outline the rules pertaining to contributing…
Required minimum distributions from retirement accounts are generally unavoidable for retirees – unless they want to incur a substantial penalty for not taking them. For those who don’t need the money (or the tax bill), this can lead to resenting RMDs. Today’s article, however, outlines how, rather than being a necessary evil, RMDs can actually serve as an opportunity to…