Planning Retirement

Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part series on common retirement planning mistakes made by high net-worth investors and households. For more information on the retirement and financial challenges awaiting today’s investors, request your personalized copy of The New Retirement Report. This resource spells out many of the risks awaiting you in retirement and potential solutions to address them.

In the first half of this two-part series we addressed key mistakes that can drain your wealth in retirement. From the high-ticket expenses of long-term care and healthcare to unaddressed asset protection or liability issues, there are many potential missteps. Here are a few more retirement mistakes to avoid.

Review them with your retirement planning professional or advisor to ensure your plan has strategies to address, or even avoid, these possible financial mishaps. Read More

Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on common retirement planning mistakes made by high net-worth investors and households. For more information on the retirement and financial challenges awaiting today’s investors, please consider a review of The New Retirement Report. Many investors have found this resource useful for planning out for their financial futures.

With even more on the line than traditional retirees, high net-worth households need to be cautious of several all-too-common retirement mistakes that can cause a reversal of fortune.

Review these threats with your retirement planning professional or advisor to ensure your plan has strategies to address—and avoid—these potentially costly pitfalls. Read More

No matter how much we have prepared for retirement, it often seems that we could be doing more. As people live longer and need more money, there’s increased pressure to step up saving. But what if, in addition to funding your own retirement, you also had to provide financial support to your parents?

According to TD Ameritrade, 25% of baby boomers already support another adult. Around 8% of those adults are aging parents. What’s more, 20% of Gen Xers also support other adults, with 13% being their parents.

Most of this support went to general living expenses and medical bills, with financial supporters paying an average of $12,000 per year to help loved ones. 

So, what if your parents don’t have enough money for their retirement needs? It’s more than likely you will help them with care and support, but this could inhibit your own retirement plans in the process.  Read More

Sure, many people stress over money issues. From mortgage payments and other bills to household spending and transportation costs, more than a few financial stressors are taking a toll. But retirement is quite different from the earlier stages of life. What may be Americans’ top money stressor as they venture into their retirement years?

According to a recent survey by Allianz Life, a top economic worry is inflation. Nearly one-third, or 32% of Americans said that they are “panicked” or “very worried” about inflation and its effects on their retirement.

It’s good that retirement investors are aware of inflation, but many underestimate it as a significant risk. In the survey, 64% said they don’t have a plan to address inflation. Among the 36% who do, 51% indicated “being more frugal with their money” would be their plan of action. And what about when it comes to actual planning? The Society of Actuaries reports that 45% of retirees and 28% of pre-retirees neglect inflation in their retirement plans.

Because inflation can be a real dealbreaker for retirement lifestyle – especially as lifespans increase – here’s a look at the power-punch that inflation can land over time. Read More

Whether you are in your 40s or approaching retirement, long-term financial planning should be on your mind. If you want to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, but you will no longer receive income from a full-time job, you will need to think about cash-flow from other sources, including Social Security, lifetime savings, a retirement portfolio, and maybe some other sources.

While each individual situation will require a specific approach, it’s a good idea to get a general idea of some retirement planning fundamentals. Two primary aspects of financial planning for retirement are wealth preservation and income certainty. Not only should a financial plan match retirement expenses and costs of living with income streams, it also needs to account for how income-producing assets will last as long as you need them to.

Say your risk tolerance tilts toward the conservative spectrum, or where appetites for stomaching financial losses are low. Then you may want to evaluate retirement strategies that provide the emotional comfort of knowing where your money will be coming from, month-to-month, to pay household bills and expenses. We call this Safe Money retirement planning – or making assurances that the money you can’t afford to lose is under the “lock and key” of contractually guaranteed protections.

Of course no retirement success springs up overnight. So, here’s a quick look at 4 simple steps to help you reach more long-term financial wellness and peace of mind. Read More

A number of recent studies indicate that today’s Americans have a higher life expectancy compared to previous generations. The Social Security Administration suggests that after reaching the standard age of retirement, 65, U.S. men and women may anticipate living at least a couple of decades more.            

There is no denying the fact that a longer life is a reason to celebrate. However, this increased longevity certainly adds new challenges in the process of retirement planning. While living a longer life is a worthy milestone for most, whether it will be enjoyable is largely based on the question of whether its quality is high. So, it’s prudent to pay careful attention to longevity risk in retirement planning – that way you are well-prepared for the uncertainty of potentially spending decades in your post-work life stage. Read More

How should I invest for retirement? And during retirement? There’s a lot of great advice to answer these questions – a wealth of strategic financial tips for nest eggs of all sizes. But equally important is what not to do. Below are 3 retirement planning mistakes—avoid them at all costs. Read More

Good news: People are living longer. But it does come with downsides. For one, increasing lifespans bring greater financial risk, like outliving your retirement money or forking over income for costly health expenditures. Then there is the evolving question of what a longer retirement looks like.

Just some decades ago, many Americans shared a common vision. You worked for the same company for years, often in exchange for a defined-benefit pension. Then you left your job and shifted into a post-work lifestyle, drawing on your pension and living comfortably.

However, times have changed. As evolving trends and statistical projections indicate, retirement could last as long as 20-30 years, or perhaps even 40 years! Now it’s hard to define what retirement should be. That brings yet another challenge: How can we prepare financially for an extended post-work lifespan?

If you wonder about what you can do, here are some quick tips you can put into action. Before we go into those, let’s address an important topic affecting the near future: the pace at which longevity has changed over time. Read More

Finances continue to be a top retirement concern, as surveys show. In a recent study by the American Institute of CPAs, 57% of CPA financial planners reported their clients’ foremost retirement concern was “running out of money.” When asked what the sources of this client stress were, 76% of the financial planners said healthcare costs. Other causes of financial stress were lifestyle expenses (52%) and unanticipated costs in retirement (47%).

Given these concerns, it’s critical to ensure we’re ready for monthly income needs in retirement. But there are a number of retirement expenses which can give us the slip. Some costs are hard to project, such as healthcare costs. Then there are life changes which can completely transform a retirement budget, such as doting on grandchildren.

Here’s a look at some retirement costs to keep in mind – and to help you avoid the financial shock of unexpected or harder-to-predict areas of retirement spending. Read More

Through careful deliberation, many Americans have figured out their retirement planning requirements. But a comfortable retirement needs more than just creation of a financial strategy. It also means sticking to the plan you have developed.

Of course, there are some events beyond our control, events which can disrupt a retirement plan. Stock market downturns, costly unforeseen situations, and medical emergencies are a handful of such occurrences. There are some ways to mitigate the effects of these situations, but there are other mistakes which can prove detrimental to retirement security.

Here’s a look at some pitfalls which can put a retirement plan on the line – and which we recommend you take measures to avoid. Read More