Retirement Preparedness: Move Toward Retirement Not “Away” from Working

February 21, 2011

Retirement is not simply ceasing to work but rather a step toward something – a whole new phase in life.  Many people don’t realize that until it is too late.  A friend of mine was discussing this with me over the weekend.  He works for a utility company in upstate New York as a project manager.  He was exclaiming that these guys who recently retired are coming back to work for him as part-time retirees. Continue reading “Retirement Preparedness: Move Toward Retirement Not “Away” from Working”

What and When to Buy – How We Decided to Purchase Our Rental Property

February 17, 2011

The past couple weeks have been a flashback in time for me as I have been providing some basic general principles regarding the purchase of investment property.  What I’d like to do this week is to tell you a story about a certain financial professional and his wonderful wife and the lovely discussions they had before they pulled the trigger and bought an investment property.

It was a pleasant time back in those days, two newly married professionals having dinner conversations surrounding things like vacations, the day’s work, retirement, etc. Continue reading “What and When to Buy – How We Decided to Purchase Our Rental Property”

The Impact of Being an HCE

February 15, 2011

Some of your employees may have recently received a letter in the mail notifying them that they are considered an HCE – highly compensated employee.  The good news is that being an HCE means a nice paycheck, since the employee would have made at least $110,000 in 2010.  The bad news is that because of their HCE status, their ability to contribute to the company 401(k) may be limited.  Continue reading “The Impact of Being an HCE”

Retirement Preparedness: What Employees Need to Know About Investing

February 07, 2011

There is information that is nice to know and information that you need to know but what you really need to know is — the difference.  For example, my husband is a history buff with an avid interest in politics.  When we have friends over and we are discussing politics or world affairs, he often pops up with not just the year a politician won a race but who ran against him.  I am always amazed at his memory and wonder, “How does he remember that?”   It’s crazy!  Even though I am always impressed, I do know that is the kind of information that is nice to know but in our work and in our lives, this is not vital information that we need to know. Continue reading “Retirement Preparedness: What Employees Need to Know About Investing”

Investing: The Benefits of Starting Young

January 14, 2011

Over the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to meet with a number of people who are recent college graduates just starting their careers.  Boy, has the world changed a little bit since I graduated!  The first thing I noticed is that starting salaries today are what managers’ salaries were when I was starting my career.  And, as my kids would tell you, back when I graduated from college I still had to feed my pet dinosaur on my way to work.  Is it wrong to occasionally want to sell your kids on EBay?   Back to the point. Continue reading “Investing: The Benefits of Starting Young”

Trends in Employee Benefits: In Plan Roth Rollovers

January 11, 2011

As if the Roth vs. pre-tax 401(k) contribution decision isn’t enough already to cause confusion for employees, now the IRS has allowed employers to offer in-plan Roth rollovers for eligible rollover distributions.  As part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, employees can take advantage of this opportunity for distributions made after September 27, 2010 if their employer adds the in-plan Roth rollover option through a plan amendment.  Plan sponsors of a 401(k) or 403(b) were able to add the feature in late 2010, and a 457 government plan may adopt an amendment to include a designated Roth account for in-plan Roth rollovers after December 31, 2010. Continue reading “Trends in Employee Benefits: In Plan Roth Rollovers”

Financial Education in the Workplace: What a Difference a Few Years Make

January 04, 2011

I recently spent a few cold, snowy days meeting with employees in the Midwest counseling each of them regarding their retirement goals.  I was surprised to hear quite a few employees were planning on early retirement, especially since we hear the trend is just the opposite because of our current economy.  Continue reading “Financial Education in the Workplace: What a Difference a Few Years Make”

Financial Education in the Workplace: The 2% Decision

December 28, 2010

Now that our politicians have finally come to a decision about the new 2011 tax law, your employees have a decision of their own to make – what will they do with the 2% raise they will see in their paychecks?  With the December 17th passage of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, employees will only pay 4.2% towards Social Security tax in 2011, instead of the traditional 6.2%. Continue reading “Financial Education in the Workplace: The 2% Decision”

Financial Education: Read the Warning Labels

December 24, 2010

I spoke with someone recently who just welcomed a new baby into her household.  As we were talking, the conversation turned funny when we started talking about some of the warning labels on toys for children.  My youngest child is almost 9, but one of the funniest things I have ever read was the warning label on one of the toys he received at a very young age.  It was an ExerSaucer or something similar.   The assembly instructions were fairly easy, but what really stood out was all of the warnings about product usage.  If I recall correctly, the first two warnings were: Continue reading “Financial Education: Read the Warning Labels”

4 Steps to Take Now so Tax Cuts Don’t Affect Your Retirement

December 22, 2010

Have you seen the news lately?  The president has announced his support of an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, but there are some other tax cuts in the fine print that may hurt your retirement.  The proposed legislation includes a 2% reduction in Social Security taxes.  Say what?!?  Isn’t Social Security in enough trouble?  According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security expenditures have EXCEEDED tax revenue for the first time ever this year.  The fund itself is expected to run out of money by the year 2037.  So what can you do in response to this potential derailment in your future Social Security benefits? Continue reading “4 Steps to Take Now so Tax Cuts Don’t Affect Your Retirement”

3 Actions to Take in an Hour to Build Wealth

December 20, 2010

It’s very obvious to my friends and family that luck plays a dominant part in our fantasy football league.  Why?  Because I am tied for second place and will possibly make the play offs.  Everyone knows that I am not skilled enough to even determine if I am getting the wool put over my eyes on a basic trade and truthfully, I don’t know the difference between a wide receiver and a tight end.  Last year during my first season, my team finished dead last. Continue reading “3 Actions to Take in an Hour to Build Wealth”

Commit to Save and Retire Early

December 08, 2010

I just got back from a business trip where I sat down with employees to do some one-on-one financial planning.  The main focus for the majority of the participants was retirement planning.  I met with some employees who were just a few months out of college, and others who were a few months from retirement, so I’d like to share some of the perspective I gained during the trip. Continue reading “Commit to Save and Retire Early”

Escalate Your New Year’s Resolutions to Save More

November 30, 2010

“This year I will . . . lose weight, eat healthier, save more and spend less.”  Sound familiar? We all are probably guilty of making empty promises to ourselves as we usher in the New Year.  I haven’t yet discovered the magic pill for eating healthier and losing weight, since being on the road conducting workshops every week makes it a bit too tempting to eat out instead of cooking healthy.  But I think I HAVE found the answer to resolving to save more and spend less without any effort. Continue reading “Escalate Your New Year’s Resolutions to Save More”

Target Fund: Glide To or Glide Through

November 22, 2010

I heard a statistic the other day that the average employee spends 30 minutes choosing their benefits at open enrollment.  I cringe to think how some people choose the funds in their 401(k) plans and I’ve seen the resulting disaster from people choosing the wrong funds especially funds they thought were safe and turned out to be much more aggressive than they thought.  Many of these were Target Funds. Continue reading “Target Fund: Glide To or Glide Through”

Do You Have a Retirement Maintenance Issue?

November 18, 2010

The other day I was flying back home from Tennessee when it came to my attention that my flight was being delayed due to a maintenance issue.  Now while I find this aggravating, I certainly would prefer getting home in one piece.  Amongst the ramblings (and choice “words”) that I overheard, was this statement: “Plane has been sitting here all night and they wait until morning to find this maintenance issue?”  I chuckled to myself as I gave the person a polite smile, but then I got to thinking… Continue reading “Do You Have a Retirement Maintenance Issue?”

“Behavioral Judo” – Don’t Stop at the Minimum Auto-enrollment

November 15, 2010

I never practiced Judo but I’ve been on the receiving end where I said, “What just happened here?  Why am I flat on my back on the mat?”  That is what happens when you are the mother of three boys!  Judo practitioners use the opponent’s motion to keep them going in the direction they are going and in the case, take them down to win a match. Continue reading ““Behavioral Judo” – Don’t Stop at the Minimum Auto-enrollment”

A Lesson in Perseverance

November 11, 2010

Recently I was conducting retirement workshops and individual meetings at one of our client’s work sites.  Nothing odd about that since THAT is what my job entails!  But it was this particular client experience that added a special joy to me.

The employees at this site had recently gone through a very difficult time financially.  The company had to bring down the work schedules of the employees to the point where they basically were working one week a month.  I need not tell you that a schedule reduction like that would certainly impact a worker’s finances.  Continue reading “A Lesson in Perseverance”

Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)

November 10, 2010

When it comes to saving money for retirement, the sooner you can save the better.  But that’s not always possible.  There may be circumstances in your life that prevent you from being able to save when you are younger, and as a result you get a late start.  In this week’s blog I’ll address what things may need to be done when faced with the challenge of a late start.

Hurdle #4: Late Start Continue reading “Hopping the Hurdles Toward Retirement (the series)”

401(k) or IRA: Which Retirement Saving Choice Is Right for You?

November 09, 2010

As you open your most recent 401k statement, take a few minutes to check out a few important features of your retirement plan.  What is the employer match, if any?  Many companies have either reduced or eliminated the match over the past few years.  At the very least, you should be contributing up to the amount your company is willing to match.  But, what if you don’t have a match at all?  Should you contribute to an IRA instead?

Here are some points to consider in favor of re-directing your dollars towards an IRA: Continue reading “401(k) or IRA: Which Retirement Saving Choice Is Right for You?”

More is ALWAYS Better…(or is it?)

November 05, 2010

I saw the movie “Supersize Me” recently.  (Yeah, it’s been out a long time and I’m just now getting around to it!  But I HAVE seen every Disney and Pixar movie made in the last 10 years.)  One part of the message that I heard in the movie was that “We’re Americans! Bigger is better!!!”

The “bigger is better” mentality permeates our society, and excess is often rewarded.   Just look at any Red Carpet event and the attention heaped on celebrities for proof.  But, can this culture of excess be a bad thing financially?  I think so. Continue reading “More is ALWAYS Better…(or is it?)”