Retirement

6 Retirement Planning Tips For Middle-Aged Procrastinators

written by | Managing Money

My 56 year old friend Colin (fictitious name), recently told me that he plans to retire at age 65 and then kick back and do what he wants. His retirement will include traveling when and where he (and his wife) choose, driving his vehicle of choice and pretty much living the good life…

Fix Social Security by Changing Retirement Age to 70?

written by | Budgeting, Saving Money

I must admit I don’t think much about Social Security as a retirement option these days. How could I when most financial advisors and experts tell you to plan around it and don’t depend on it because it won’t be there by the time you retire (unless you’re close to retirement). Personally, I focus on contributing to my company’s 401(k), my Roth IRA and traditional IRA as the best sources of retirment income. ..

How Much Should I Save For Retirement?

written by | Investing

Everyone wants to retire with an adequate amount of retirement savings. However, there are so many factors that cannot be predicted that people often feel overwhelmed when they try to figure out how much they should be saving for retirement. Due to simplicity, it is recommended that you try and establish a set percentage of…

What is Private Placement Life Insurance?

written by | Managing Money

Private placement life insurance describes a type of variable life insurance that is only offered privately and not through a public offering. It can be a great a defensive tax strategy that transforms ordinary taxable income as well as capital gains into tax free income without any income tax reporting requirements under, and it is all done legally…

Advantages Of A Living Trust vs. A Will

written by | Managing Money

Over the past 15 years as a financial planner, I am often asked, “should I have a will or a trust?” I sure wished every prospective client would ask this question because this would reveal they were planning ahead. The sad fact remains that less than half of adults have a will, let alone a trust…

When Can You Withdraw From Your Traditional IRA?

written by | Investing, Managing Money

For some reason I get this question a lot in my day job, so I thought I’d provide a little clarification on some of the rules regarding withdrawals from Individual Retirement Arrangements, or IRAs.

IRAs were designed to provide an opportunity for folks to save for retirement on a pre-tax, tax-deferred basis. In other words, the money grows without having to pay any taxes on the gains.