“If you’re retired or a conservative investor who cannot afford to lose money, your bank certificate of deposits are about to become worthless. Or close to worthless,” declares the author of today’s article as it appears the Fed is gearing up to cut interest rates. So what are fixed-income investors who want to make money on cash without putting that cash in the stock market to do? The author identifies their “one option in the conservative fixed-income space” – and what may be the best specific bet. For more, CLICK HERE.
Why Retirees Aren’t Making The “Financially Optimal” Social Security Decision – And Leaving Trillions On The Table
$3.4 trillion. According to a new study, that’s how much retirees have lost, and are losing, by not making the optimal decision when it comes to when to claim Social Security benefits. That’s $111,000 per household! According to the study, “the average Social Security recipient would get 9% more income in retirement by making the ‘financially optimal’ decision about when to claim benefits.” So what is the “financially optimal” decision – and why aren’t retirees making it and leaving trillions on the table? CLICK HERE.
“Easier Than You Expect”: How An Ordinary Person With A Modest Salary Can Become A 401(k) Millionaire
Thirty-four percent of workers who have calculated how much they need to save for retirement concluded their magic retirement number is $1 million – and the author of today’s article has some encouraging words for those striving to amass $1 million for retirement on modest salaries: “building your nest egg to that size can be easier than you expect…All you have to do is follow some simple steps.” For more on what characterizes ordinary people with typical paychecks who become 401(k) millionaires, CLICK HERE.
Hack Your Retirement Plan With Behavioral Economics
Calling it “a transformative science”, the author of today’s article outlines some of the ways in which “you and your employer and plan sponsors can hack your retirement” using the principles of behavioral economics – including how simply visualizing your future (older) self can help you boost your retirement savings and how, when it comes to 401(k) plans, it’s important to avoid “the tyranny of too much choice”. For more, CLICK HERE.
The Financial Downside Of A Longer Life – And One Way To Plug A Potential Retirement Savings Gap
The fastest-growing demographic in the developed world is people over the age of 100 – a positive development for those desiring a long life but a challenging one when it comes to funding a retirement that could last 20 to 30 years or longer. With the average 65 year old American estimated to only have enough savings to fund about 10 years of retirement (and similar shortfalls in other advanced countries), a recent report from the World Economic Forum warns of a several hundred trillion dollar global retirement savings shortfall by 2050 – and has a suggestion for those who want to avoid facing a retirement savings gap. CLICK HERE.
The Better Payout: Annuity Or Lump Sum?
If you’re one of the fortunate Americans with a pension, you are faced with a critical question: are you better off receiving it as a lump sum payment or as an annuity? In attempting to answer this question, the author of today’s article runs some numbers to illustrate the costs and benefits of each payout method at different points of life. For more – including what the author highlights as “The one thing that the Lump Sum offers that the Annuity doesn’t” and the most important question to consider when making the lump sum vs. annuity determination – CLICK HERE.
Right-Sizing Your Retirement Risk
“The riskiest day in your entire financial life is the day you retire,” declares one investment manager cited in today’s article, which examines the critical conundrum that retirees face today: “How to invest in retirement with enough risk to maintain your purchasing power for 30-plus years while not taking so much risk that you leave your underbelly exposed.” So what are some strategies for doing so – including one strategy that involves maintaining a specific constant equity exposure throughout retirement? CLICK HERE.
How Lottery Money Can Help Fund Your Retirement (But Not In The Way You Think)
Nearly 40% of U.S. consumers (and nearly 60% of millennials) see winning the lottery as a reasonable way to fund retirement, leading the author of today’s article to scoff that “You might as well bet on the tooth fairy paying off your credit card balance every month.” However, he also outlines how Americans’ lotto habit can actually help fund their golden years – just not in the way you think. For more, CLICK HERE.
A High-Yield, Lower-Risk Solution To The Low Rate Retirement Income Challenge
If Social Security benefits replace approximately 40% of your pre-retirement income, where do you find the other 60% –and, of particular relevance today, where do you find the other 60% when interest rates are near historic lows? Today’s article outlines one “simple solution” to this challenge, noting that “It can be more volatile than a savings account. And it can require you to do a little homework. But it can offer the retirement income you want.” For the solution in question – which involves diversifying across three different types of investment vehicles offering yields up to 7% or more – CLICK HERE.
De-Mything Your Retirement Accounts
“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 them. For more, CLICK HERE.
