Retirement
When planning for retirement, one of the fundamental decisions you’ll face is how to invest within your individual retirement account (IRA). There are several approaches to selecting investments and managing your account. You could pick individual securities yourself, employ a robo-advisor or work with a financial advisor to construct your…
Social Security survivor benefits provide essential financial support to eligible family members and help ensure stability during challenging times. Understanding eligibility criteria, benefit calculation and strategic claiming options can significantly enhance the financial security of survivors. Whether you’re a spouse, child or dependent parent, knowing how to maximize Social Security…
Many teachers in the U.S. retire with pensions that provide a stable source of income during their golden years, but that doesn’t mean they can ignore retirement planning. In fact, teachers face unique retirement challenges, including the absence of Social Security benefits in some states. Education retirement planning requires a…
The Roth IRA stands out among other types of retirement accounts due to its unique tax advantages and withdrawal rules. But is a Roth IRA a qualified retirement plan? While Roth IRAs offer significant benefits and are regulated by the IRS, they do not meet the technical definition of a…
Taxes can be a big concern in retirement because no matter how well you’ve saved and invested during your working years your challenge is to keep as much of it as possible. That means structuring your finances, withdrawals and income in a way that minimizes how much you fork over…
At its most basic, creating a retirement budget is all about money in vs. money out. You figure out what kind of income you can reliably generate from your combined assets, then compare it against your household spending. If income surpasses spending, you’re set. If not, you need to make some…
When it comes to evaluating your retirement options, this might be the single most important question in finance. Your age will determine how close you are to needing this money which, in turn, will change almost everything about how you evaluate your taxes, returns and other options. For example, say that…
Saving for retirement is a project that spans around four decades, and progresses through multiple stages. It’s not necessary to have saved enough to fund a comfortable retirement by age 25. Nor is it feasible to wait until you’re about to turn 65 to start putting money away. Mid-way through…
Men and women save for retirement differently. There’s a persistent and significant gender gap in the average retirement savings women have versus men, with women more likely to have nothing saved for retirement while men are over-represented among savers with the largest retirement account balances. Men and women have similar…
When companies offer a pension, it’s common to give retirees two options: collect the pension as a lifetime monthly payment or receive it as a lump sum at retirement. Monthly payments over time are the format that most people associate with pensions. However, a lump sum payment can, sometimes, be the…
