Are You Having to Handle Money All By Yourself?

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Whether you are divorced, widowed, or a lifelong single person, planning your retirement finances and having to handle money all by yourself can be extremely challenging when you only have yourself to rely on. You only have one Social Security, maybe a pension, and the assets you as an individual have saved.

Establishing a written plan is crucial to ensuring your future financial success. A solid written financial plan should include the following:

  • An Income Plan detailing how much income you will receive each year and where each income source comes from so that you can be confident knowing your income will not run out.
  • A Risk Analysis stating how much risk you’re taking currently and how you plan on eliminating or managing any possible large losses to your savings. 
  • A Fee Analysis showing how much you’re paying in fees, both direct and hidden, as well as a way to reduce them.

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Social Security Survivor Benefits and How They Work

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A Primer on the Benefits Available to You When Your Spouse Passes Away

Losing a spouse is an especially painful time. Unfortunately, many people find their grief compounded by the complexities of figuring out their finances. The process for collecting Social Security Survivor Benefits can be particularly confusing, but we hope this primer will help you wade through the confusion and better understand the benefits you may be eligible for.

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How to Estimate How Much You’ll Need to Retire

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Four Steps to Arriving at Your ‘Enough’ Number

It’s tempting to think about retirement savings in black and white: there’s a “right” number you need to reach, at which point you have enough money saved to sustain your retirement. The trouble is, there is no right number because every retiree has a different picture of what their ideal retirement looks like. That means the amount of money you’ll need to retire could be vastly different – either far more or far less – than others your age, or even in your social circle. In order to truly understand what your retirement savings goal should be, you need to forget arbitrary numbers and come up with you own personal estimate.

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The 3 Bucket Approach To Investing For Retirement

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When it comes to retirement, most retirees want less risk, smaller losses, to earn a reasonable rate of return, liquidity, and income that is guaranteed for life.

That’s why we created our 3 Bucket Approach, using multiple conservative asset strategies.

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How Does “Indexing” Work In A Fixed Index Annuity?

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Wouldn’t you love to make money when the stock market goes up but never lose anything when the stock market goes down? You can!

A fixed index annuity bases your annual gains on a portion of an index you choose, such as the S&P 500 Index, without suffering any losses in the years your index goes down. If the stock market crashes you get zero percent, so you’re completely protected against market losses.

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Are You Risking Your Retirement with These Two Investment Myths?

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Pervasive Misinformation Could Cost You in Retirement

In our many years working with clients, we have noticed a disturbing trend: most people are investing based upon two faulty premises, both of which are pervasive myths and neither of which are in an investor’s best interest:

  • The Myth of “Riding Out the Market”
  • The Myth of Getting a “10%+ Annual Return”

Have you heard these? Are you investing based upon them? If so, you’re not alone. However, we’re here to tell you that these myths are old-school and outdated, and they aren’t serving you as well as you may believe.

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Questions You Must Be Able to Answer to Have a Successful Retirement

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Do You Have Responses to these Critical Retirement Planning Considerations?

All retirees have their own unique beliefs about what a successful retirement looks like, yet too many are unable to answer important financial questions about achieving that success. And, when you can’t find answers to your most pressing money questions, it’s difficult to feel financially secure.

In our 50+ years of experience, we’ve come to realize that there are nine specific questions you need to be able to answer about your money in order to plan – and achieve – a successful retirement:

  1. How much money can you safely take out of your assets for income?
  2. How long will your money actually last?
  3. Can you guarantee you will never run out of money?
  4. How can you protect your assets from volatility and losses?
  5. How much income tax will you pay on your income distributions?
  6. How much will you lose if the market takes another big drop?
  7. Is it OK to start spending some of your money?
  8. What are the total fees you are really paying and how can you reduce them?
  9. What is going to happen if you or your spouse pass away?

If you can’t answer these nine questions, it means your retirement planning is based on hope and luck – not the best recipe for success. Read on to learn Momma’s Secret Recipe, instead.

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Retirement Planning in a Volatile Market

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The recent market volatility may have you concerned, especially if you’re approaching or already in retirement.  Feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and uneasiness are all common during any scary and volatile market.  These feelings are normal and sometimes it can be beneficial to take a step back and look at the big picture.  We can’t predict the markets, so acting with haste and making emotional decisions can potentially negatively impact your retirement outlook.  Make sure to remind yourself of the reasons you’re planning and investing in the first place.  Focusing on your priorities and unique goals can help you put your market exposure and risk tolerance into perspective.  Now that you’ve done this, you can focus your time and efforts on what’s really important.

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Make the Most of Your 401(k)

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We all know that a 401(k) is one of the most important retirement planning tools we have: The potential tax benefits and power of compound interest can make it a great savings and investment tool for anyone who practices financial discipline and contributes regularly. But your contributions aren’t the only things to consider when figuring out how to make the most of your 401(k).

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Don’t forget about Your Old 401(k)s

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Do you have multiple 401(k)s? If you left your money in a former employer’s 401(k), you may want to reconsider as you near retirement. According to the Bureau of Labor Statics, Baby Boomers have held an average of 12 jobs by the time they turn 50. When you leave a job, the money you contribute to your 401(k) is still yours, and you may also be able to keep your employer’s contributions depending on your vesting schedule. There are a few options for your old 401(k)s: You can cash out of the plan, leave the money in the plan, rollover the money into your current employer’s plan, or roll it over to an IRA. All of these options have different advantages, so don’t forget about your old 401(k)s as you approach retirement.

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