How to Take Charge of Your Retirement Prospects

While 69% of workers are confident they will be able to fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle, just three in 10 actually have a written financial strategy for retirement, according to the 22nd Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey. Despite the confidence, 63% of workers agree with the statement, “I do not know as much as I should about retirement investing.” Preparing …

Early 401(k) Rollovers without Penalties

Many people decide to roll over their 401(k) plan to an IRA after they switch employers since they won’t be able to make contributions to the account after they leave their former employer. However, people who are 59½ or older may be able to roll their 401(k) over while still working for their current employer and still avoid early withdrawal …

Six Ways to Manage Your Money in Retirement

To help you better manage your finances during this time of decreased earnings, we offer the following pearls of wisdom: Take care of your body — Health care is one of the largest expenses in Americans’ retirement years. According to the Fidelity Retiree Health Care Cost Estimator, an average retired couple age 65 in 2022 may need approximately $315,000 saved …

The High Cost of Not Having Life Insurance

Life insurance premiums aren’t cheap — but the cost of not having life insurance can be devastating for your loved ones. Too many families and small business owners overlook the foundational financial planning step of getting sufficient life insurance protection in place. According to LIMRA, about 48% of U.S. families are significantly underinsured, and about 37 million Americans have no …

How Self-employed Americans Can Prepare Financially for Retirement

Growth of new businesses being launched during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in the number of self-employed people, but it raises the question of how they will be able to plan for their retirements when they are not eligible for employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. Because of these uncertainties, many small entrepreneurs envision never stopping working which becomes more …

Gear Up Your Financial Plan for 2023

As the new year gets underway amid fears of a looming recession and stock market gyrations, now is a good time to take steps to bolster your savings and financial plans. Pundits expect continued volatility as the Fed weighs more interest rate hikes to tame inflation, which have been roiling the stock market. Inflation has ebbed, the housing market has …

Financial Planning During Times of High Volatility

Bear markets and economic downturns are nerve-wracking. And in some cases, they’re downright painful. But economic cycles should be expected. If the financial news has you reaching for the blood pressure meds, here’s what to keep in mind. 1. Don’t panic People tend to make their worst investment decisions when things look like they’re going very, very poorly, and when …

Retiring Soon? Follow This Pre-Retirement Financial Checklist

Retirement is a major life transition. If you’re reaching retirement age within the next few years, it’s time to start making some important financial decisions.  Here are several of the most critical issues you should be addressing in the coming months: Reduce risk. Now is the time to begin reducing your stock market exposure. While stocks have been a great …

Essentials of a Proper Estate Plan

Having a solid estate plan in place is the only way to make sure your assets are distributed as you wish, and funeral plans are covered. If you pass away and do not have an estate plan, there will be no direction for how your assets will be distributed. Without that, your family may have to deal with probate court, …

Want to be Prepared for Retirement? Work With a Professional

People who use financial advisors are more than twice as likely to feel confident in their retirement preparedness than people who don’t. That’s the conclusion of a recent report from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. It helps to have a plan  The survey also found that having a formal, written retirement plan is a big plus when it comes to …