retirement planning

With more than 95% of American workers currently covered by Social Security, there are some things about this massive retirement program that you should probably know.

A recent poll of pre-retirees suggests that truth risks being ignored.

Steady income or a lump sum? Last year, financial services firm TIAA asked working Americans: if you could choose between a lump sum of $500,000 or a monthly income of $2,700 at retirement, which choice would you make?1

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked financial questions.  

A bill now in Congress proposes to alter some longstanding rules.

Most Americans are not saving enough for retirement, despite ongoing encouragement to do so (and recurring warnings about what may happen if they do not). This year, lawmakers are also addressing this problem, with a bill proposing big changes to IRAs and workplace retirement plans.

The Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act (RESA), introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch, would amend the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in some significant ways.1

Bill Roth was a Senator from Delaware.  He realized in the late 1990s that savings rates were too low in the U.S. and he endeavored to find a solution. Enter the Roth IRA. Contributions to a Roth IRA won’t re­duce your tax bill now because, while pret­ax salary goes into a Traditional IRA, after-tax money funds the Roth.

Many people are familiar with 401(k)s, but IRAs are another popular retirement savings vehicle and they come in several varieties.

Changing jobs is a much more frequent occurrence than it used to be.  Eventually people even retire (at least that is what I hear).  When either of these events occurs, it is too many times the case that a person might not know exactly what to do with their former employer plans (we are dealing with 401k’s here, but most of this also applies to 403b’s).