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New Mortgage Initiative
Mortgage Matters: The Streamlined Modification Initiative In spite of a decade characterized by nearly every housing catastrophe possible under the sun becoming a reality, the Federal Government is giving their replenishment efforts another powerful go with the “Streamlined Modification Initiative”. Going into effect on July 1st, the initiative itself will allow “eligible borrowers who are…
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The Internet Sales Tax
The Internet Sales Tax: What to look out for. May 6th has come and gone, and with it the passage of the internet sales tax through the US Senate. The bill itself is a proposal to institute an across-the-board tax on all online sales for online retailers as a means of better regulating online sales…
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Prioritizing Your Retirement Needs, Part II
In the first part of this article, we discussed several elements that often comprise the shape and tone of a retirement picture, and stressed the importance and absolute need to put some serious thought into how important each element is to you if you want to achieve a pictureperfect retirement. With the guidance of the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) “Retirement Expectations Checklist,” we have already explored several needs you must weigh as you think about and ultimately set into motion a solid and realistic plan. But we also acknowledged that determining how much you would need to save — and later, to earn — to reach your retirement number, how old you wanted to be when you left the workforce,how you planned to treat investments and guarantees were just the beginning of several considerations you must ponder. And just for perspective, we noted how the baby boomer generation weighed in on the importance of these topics. In keeping with that tradition, we’ll now list a few more issues for you to place in your retirement picture — you just need to determine how prominently featured they will be. Your Debt Situation: The past several years have not been economically kind, and many Americans have been forced to incur more debt than they would like. In fact, for a whopping 48 percent of boomers, even the essentials, things such as food, medication, and gas, often had to go on the old credit card. Do you have any debt resultant from the recent economic strain or any other reason? No one wants to retire in debt, so start paying down what you can, and start now. You may find it helpful to ask an advisor to help develop a budget (that includes retirement savings) to which you could adhere until your debt is eliminated. Leaving a Legacy: Have you given any thought to whether you’d like to bequeath any funds to your loved ones after you pass away? How important is that, and importantly, how much money would you like to leave behind? Many baby boomers (62 percent) feel that leaving an inheritance is either “very” or “somewhat important.” If you are of a similar mind, you would do well to mention that goal to your retirement planner. Considering Long Term Care: To avoid burning through your savings or burdening one of your children should you become ill or somehow impaired, long term care insurance is one type of coverage worth exploring. The earlier you plan the better, since 47 percent of boomers worry they won’t have enough funds to cover the expenses associated with long term care. Talk to a professional agent or advisor to determine if long term care insurance will complement your plan. To Work or Not to Work: When you reach retirement age, do you intend to leave the workforce for good and good riddance, or are you someone who would prefer to work part time for a while to keep yourself occupied? Neither situation is better than the other, especially if money is no object. But what if you must work during retirement? A full 57 percent of the baby boomer cohort anticipate that due either out to personal choice or need, they’ll need to work at least part time beyond age 65. Preparing for retirement takes just that — preparation. Preparation, prioritization, and not a little bit of planning. Spend some time thinking about these plan elements, and then review your list with a financial professional to ensure your retirement picture is shaping up nicely and make adjustments where necessary.
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Are you Gambling or Investing?
We’ve all heard the old adage that investing in the market is the same thing as gambling. With America’s #1 wagering event, the Super Bowl, still fresh in our memories, it seems like a good time to take a look at the truth behind that statement. According to mint.com, $87.5 million worth of legal bets…
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4 Common Retirement Blunders
The prospect of finally retiring can be an exhilarating one, and saying goodbye to the daily grind can be immensely gratifying. But that’s only if you do it right. Overlooking even just one key component of a wellrounded retirement plan can create a hole that’s difficult to fill. Don’t make any plans on quitting before considering these four common retirement regrets and blunders. 1. Failing to establish a health insurance plan: If you plan on retiring before age 65, there are a number of things to consider, as that’s the age at which you become eligible for Medicare. If you plan on retiring more than a couple of years early, it’s worth looking into being added to your spouse’s companysponsored health insurance plan (provided he or she isn’t retired as well). Other options include exploring selfinsurance and whether you might be eligible to join a state insurance pool. And come next year, you’ll be able to buy health insurance from a state insurance exchange, and you could be eligible for a tax break on the cost if this coverage if your income is comparatively low or moderate. You may also turn to your employer for shortterm health care solutions. For example, even though it’s not as common as it once was, some companies do offer retiree health benefits to employees. What’s more, you should be able to retain the benefits of your employer’s group medical plan by using COBRA; however, you can usually only keep COBRA in play for 18 months. To avoid a health care nightmare, make sure you’ve determined how much time between your retirement and Medicare you need to cover, and put those plans in place now. 2. Overlooking required minimum distributions: If you have a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k), then you also have an obligation to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) by age 70 ½. Check your account disclosures to verify when you’re required to take your first minimum withdrawal and how much that minimum is. Failing to take your RMDs on time or not withdrawing enough funds from the account will have serious punitive repercussions. In addition to paying income tax on the amount of money you should have taken, you could also be slapped with an additional 50percent tax penalty. This is not an auspicious way to kick off retirement, so stay on top of your RMDs! 3. Leaving before becoming fully vested in your retirement plan: The time it takes to become fully vested in your company’s retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or if you’re lucky, a pension, differs widely from employer to employer, so do a little research to find out precisely when you are fully vested. If you only have a few more months to go, it’s worth sticking it out until you’ve hit that magic date, or risk losing out on extra money. If you leave your job before you’re fully vested, you may not be able to exercise stock options, maintain all of the 401(k) contributions your employer may have made, or be eligible for payouts from a pension. 4. Overspending on retirement hobbies and travel: Odds are good that you’ve been dreaming of the day when you’ll be free to travel whenever you like and finally have the time to indulge in your hobbies and passions. Unfortunately, travel and hobbies can consume cash faster than you might anticipate, and having more free time may compel you to find ways to fill that time with things such as meals out, shopping trips, home improvement projects, or entertaining — activities that often include spending money. Your spending habits and needs will change once when you retire, so begin planning a budget now that includes the little extras like travel, rounds of golf, buying items for your hobbies, gifts for spoiling the grandkids, etc. Retirement should be an exciting time — after all, you’ve worked your whole life to get there. So why risk slogging your way through common retirement challenges that can easily be avoided? Don’t take any chances with your retirement future. As you plan and prepare for your grand exit, remember to keep these four key considerations in mind.
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Simple Strategies for Beefing up Your Savings
If you’re like most Americans, no matter how old you may be, you’ve had the importance of saving money beat into your head ever since childhood. Even now, as an adult, you can almost hear your parents voicing didactic phrases like, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” or “A…
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How Retirement is Changing
Fast Forward: How Retirement is Changing Predicting the future is a rough sort of business to find yourself in, particularly with a world that’s begun changing more and more rapidly with every passing day. Unfortunately a lot of people on all sides of retirement find themselves having to do this very thing, having to try…
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The Tax Season Is Here: Putting your refund to work for you.
With tax season just around the corner and the IRS having just released information that it plans to issue refunds about as quickly as it did last year (9 out of 10 refunds released in under 21 days (www.irs.gov)), now is the time to start considering what you’re going to do with your refund. While…
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Stockpicking?
There are so many unknown variables when picking individual stocks (literally trillions), that is why it is impossible to consistently guess which ones are going to go up or when they are going to go down. The lure for stock speculators is similar to the gambler… the excitement that is felt and experienced when they…