To annuitize or not to annuitize: that is the question that the author of today’s article tackles – and a question that he notes “nearly all retirees and soon-to-be-retirees face at one time or another.” Do annuities have a place in your retirement portfolio? Is there a better alternative when it comes to having a stream of income that is guaranteed to last as long as you do? And what may be the optimal amount of your retirement portfolio to allocate to annuities? CLICK HERE.
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Retiring At The (Market) Peak: How Bad Is it?
What happens if you have the bad luck to retire at a market peak, right before a brutal bear market (a scenario that many approaching retirement right now may be especially concerned about)? The author of today’s article runs the numbers to determine what effect this has on a portfolio’s value over the course of a retirement – and his findings may surprise you. For more – including what leads the author to conclude that “Retiring just before a stock market peak could be ruinous to your financial health but it doesn’t have to be” – CLICK HERE.
The Cost Of An Excess 401(k) Deferral – And How To Avoid One
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 to: a 401(k), more than one 401(k)s, SIMPLE IRAs, Roth 401(k)s, Solo 401(k)s – and more. For more – including an example showing how much an excess deferral can cost you – CLICK HERE.
What Will The Dems Do To Your Retirement?
With the new make-up of Congress post midterms, the author of today’s article advises that “future retirees should be paying close attention to retirement legislation these next few years.” She proceeds to outline what to expect in regards to pensions, Social Security and Medicare, the Obama-era fiduciary rule and retirement plans with a split Congress and Trump White House. For more, CLICK HERE.
The New Three-Legged Retirement Stool – And How To Build One
The old three-legged stool for retirement consisted of a pension, Social Security and personal savings. However, with pensions now largely obsolete and the future of Social Security in question, the author of today’s article outlines “the new three-legged retirement stool”, which he sees as consisting of personal pre-tax savings, personal after-tax savings, and income from personal hustle. For more on the new three-legged retirement stool – and how to build one that is solid – CLICK HERE.
Luck, Ability & Your Retirement Investment Strategy
How much of investment advisers’ annual returns is due to luck versus genuine ability? One attempt at measuring this, outlined in today’s article, concluded that 92% of advisers’ annual returns is due to luck! “This isn’t to say that ability plays no role in beating the market. But a healthy respect for the far larger role that luck plays is a key prerequisite for devising an appropriate retirement investment strategy,” advises the author – and he proceeds to outline some lessons that retirees can take from this finding. For more, CLICK HERE.
Fund Your Golden Years With “Pullback-Proof” Dividends
The widely referenced 4% rule suggests that retirees can safely withdraw that amount from their retirement accounts each year. However, the author of today’s article notes that the “wisdom” of the 4% rule collapses when it slams into the reality of a market slump. Instead, he advocates for another strategy for funding your golden years: “investments paying outsized cash dividends of 5.4%, 7.7% and even higher.” He proceeds to highlight two such investments with “pullback-proof” dividends – both of which come from the top performing healthcare sector. For more, CLICK HERE.
Avoid Costly Tax Surprises In Retirement With These Strategies
Here’s some sobering news for those nearing retirement: In a new survey of recent retirees, almost half indicated that they wished they had prepared better for taxes in retirement and 1 in 4 reported “having paid thousands of dollars more in taxes in retirement than they had expected.” So what can future retirees do now in order to avoid finding themselves in the same situation? Today’s article outlines a number of strategies to limit tax surprises in retirement. For more, CLICK HERE.
How To Benefit From – And Stop Resenting – RMDs
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 improve your portfolio: “The starting point for approaching RMDs is to check up on your portfolio. Armed with knowledge of its problem spots, you can then concentrate your RMD-related sales in those areas you wanted to fix anyway.” For more, CLICK HERE.
Tricks & Traps: Prepare Now For A “Memorable” 2018 Tax Year
When it comes to your 2018 taxes, the author of today’s article has some advice: Figure it out now. Why? He explains “I have a feeling the 2018 tax year is going to be a memorable one for many of us. Revisions to the tax code rushed through Congress in the dying days of 2017 have implications for almost everyone. And if you haven’t been paying attention, those implications could be unwelcome.” For more on those implications – including a “capital gains trap” to beware of, deductions that have been eliminated completely, and a “long-term trap” for the middle class – CLICK HERE.
