A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a seminar by Dr. Michael Finke, then a professor at Texas Tech (he is now at The American College of Financial Services). He spoke about measuring life satisfaction in retirement. I remember being impressed by his talk and wanting to write my own article about [Learn more…]
Retirement Planning and Cash Flow
Roth and Traditional IRA contributions: 2 simple rules, and 1 rule that isn’t so simple
If you want to save for retirement in an account or accounts not linked to your job, you have two choices: Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. This article gives you guidance about which type you should choose to contribute to. It focuses on the key distinctions between the two types: Contributions to Traditional IRAs are [Learn more…]
How the DOL’s New Fiduciary Rule Will Affect Retirement Advice
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published a new rule that will hold all financial professionals to the same standard when offering retirement advice. In its simplest form, the new rule provides that financial advisors and brokers must act in the best interest of their clients when providing retirement advice. This best interest, or “fiduciary” [Learn more…]
Retirement can be a Scary Proposition – Part 2
Investment risk and its potentially negative consequences can be a scary proposition for retirees, who might find it difficult to recover from a significant market downturn. By restructuring your portfolio to include more predictable retirement income, you can greatly increase the probability that your retirement assets will sustain you through retirement. To increase income predictability, [Learn more…]
Retirement Can Be Scary, But It Needn’t Be
Why is retirement so scary? If someone identifies closely with their job, and has no outside interests, leaving work can be frightening.
Buying a Longevity Annuity
In my previous two posts, I compared how a longevity annuity differs from a traditional life annuity (here) and I described a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC), a special type of longevity annuity (here). Now let’s walk through the mechanics of buying a QLAC. An Example Larry and Andrea are two healthy, financially-savvy 65 year [Learn more…]
5 Ways Your Children Can Influence Your Retirement
We often ask our clients “What is important to you in life?” While priorities and preferences vary, the majority of our clients cite “family” as a primary value. Couples who include children in their lives face fundamental differences in their financial life cycle, which affect their retirement in a number of ways. Consumption Spending. Since [Learn more…]
