Retirement Planning

Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on different ways that a retirement plan can go bust. Stay tuned for the second part of our series in the coming days.

Some investors face disadvantages in retirement due to a lack of planning. Lackluster savings, minimal guards against risks, no real strategies for high-cost healthcare or long-term care… These are just a few of myriad ways in how someone may be ill-prepared.  

But there is also the other side to consider. How about when someone does have an effective plan set? Then it’s different.

Say that you have created what you feel is a rock-solid retirement plan. When you finally enter this phase of life, chances are you are quite confident about your financial future. Still, planning isn’t a sure guarantee of success. Oftentimes, the question of whether someone sticks to their plan is just as important.

What you may not realize is there are several factors that could actually take a retirement plan off course. Those factors may range from being an overly generous parent or grandparent to losing your spouse and needing to adjust your lifestyle to a reduced income.

While it may not be rocket science or a magic formula, knowing these common plan-derailing pitfalls might help you avoid them. Read More

Generation Xers, you have probably heard yourselves referred to you as the “Sandwich Generation.” For those of you on the upper end of Gen X’s age range (35 to 55) this means that, not only are you likely to be responsible for caring for your long-living parents. You will also likely provide some financial support to your children. For many Gen X parents, that may be helping with college tuition. 

And there you are in the middle, needing to build a retirement nest egg and prepare for your own future needs, like the possibility of long-term care. What’s more, you have to account for all the other routine expenses facing retirees.

You may not be feeling like the middle of a sandwich as much as you are feeling like the middle of a famous chocolate sandwich cookie. The two rigid outside edges (financial support for both parents and kids) may seem like they are squishing you—and your financial future—in the middle.

In a recent survey, the Insured Retirement Institute found three key money risks that worry Gen Xers. Below are those money concerns, as well as some ideas to help you preserve your financial strength and maybe even “Double Stuf” your retirement resources in the face of them. But first you need to start the conversation. Read More