Posts Tagged ‘retirement’
The Pig in the Python
For decades, those Americans born right after world war II have been tagged as “Baby Boomers”. Per the U.S. Census, a Baby Boomer is “someone born during the demographic birth boom between 1946 and 1964″.
This classification includes roughly 80 million people with amazing buying capability.
A lot of us, particularly marketers, consider this body of people to be a uniform one; but doing so is really a bad strategy. Traditionally the class has been considered to be made up of heretics, as evidenced by the period of the sixties (e.g., free love, peace-niks and war protesters), but large numbers of constituents are actually quite mainstream in their beliefs and way of acting.
People born within this timeframe are quite different in many respects: many (but not all) have children; some are grandparents and/or “empty-nesters;” others are never married, taking care of an aged parent, divorced, gay, or belong to multi-generational or alternate lifestyle families. Some are actively employed, some already retired, others addressing significant analysis to retirement.
Transformers Change All That They Touch
There is however, one particular that has tagged this cohort – they are transformers. Because of their numbers, and relative wealth, they have had a renewing effect on living conditions and economy in the US over the past 6 decades. In fact, writer Doug Owram has called them “a shockwave,” and writer Landon Jones has described Boomers as “the pig in the python”.
This group has modified almost everything as they have moved thru their teen years, early adulthood, their roles, the economy, etc. – and there isn’t any cause to believe that they have terminated their morphing of our economy.
I’m betting that the next sphere to be altered by this generational cohort is retirement.
I remember that as a kid, I believed any one aged fifty, or more, was “old” but present-day, demographers consider 50 to be the start of Early Middle Age, and propose that Old Age doesn’t start until age seventy five. Now, Americans at age fifty will probably live 35 more years, and therefore, be “retired” for twenty years or more – so what are they about to do with all that time?
During the past, the time of retirement was often comparatively fleeting and identified by poor healthiness, little money, and few choices; however, for this group of nearly 80 million Americans, those limits don”t pertain. In their thirties, they bragged about “never growing old,” and now, it’s up to them to prove that claim.
What are they intending to do with an additional 20 or 30 years of active aging? Modern diet and medical care have greatly extended that period when people stay healthy and active (for instance, my mom is in her 90s, lives alone, and still drives her own car).
Ways that Retirement Is Being Altered
Are the “Boomers” going to be willing to pull out the rocking chair, nap on their veranda, and see the world pass them by? I suspect not!
Generally, members of this generation are on the path to self-actualization (as Maslow defined the term):
- A lot of them have tons of things they want to attain yet in their lives.
- Considering they will have 20-30 years of time to fill, they will have an interest in a wide selection of leisure activities (e.g, travel, golfing, at-home entertainment).
- As a consequence of all this time, they also need to stay fit enough to like that time – so they will be extremely interested in services and products that may help them keep healthy and robust.
- A lot of them will really “reinvent” their jobs – starting that job or occupation they have always fantasized about, but had to put off due to family or other needs.
- A lot of Boomers will begin their own enterprises, and the web provides them with many possibilities they have never had previously.
- Education, acquiring knowledge and things that will provide them with time liberty will be important for this group of affluent Americans.
How will you apply that time between work and play? Are there goals that you have postponed for much of their lives but want to accomplish throughout your “retirement”?
If you’re among those folks wanting to launch your own firm, think about beginning an affiliate or other web business – but be advised that the problem with most online programs is that their training tends to be superficial. Sadly, you will need more training than they commonly provide. One very good place to start picking up the knowledge that you’ll need is to enroll in the Online Success for Beginners course.
When people start to think about their retirement years they often think that retirement is all about spending a lot of leisurely hours doing nothing other than enjoying some golf or visiting their friends or simply relaxing with a pile of books to keep them company. Today, people are in fact also living longer and so there is much to look forward to as far as spending one’s retirement years goes. However, creating the best retirement plan is something that many people also feel will prove to be very tedious because it would mean having to spend long hours poring over all sorts of statements and preparing budgets and taking care of insurance policies.
Be Careful When It Comes To Choosing Best Retirement Plan
The truth of the fact is that if you are not careful then creating the best retirement plan can easily drain all the fun out of life. The good news is that up until the recent financial meltdown began many people have earned a lot of money in the bull market and given the fact that there are several tools available that you can use to create the best retirement plan – things are not quite as bad as they might seem.
However, remember that in order to create the best retirement plan requires doing more than a lot of number crunching or poring over numerous mutual fund ratings. You need to identify how you plan to live your retired life and also how long should you consider continuing to work before taking retirement.
Several younger generation start their retirement planning at their early stage as they understand the importance of retirement planning. This also means that in order to create the best retirement plan you need to understand that it does pay to take calculated risks and to also realize that if you start out when you are still young you will have enough time to recover from any setbacks that you might encounter along the way.
It also pays to identify your goals vis-à-vis retirement and an ideal age to begin seriously planning for your retirement is when you are still in your middle forties. The best retirement plan for you might involve having to invest say fifteen percent in old-age accounts and in addition you should know how best to allocate your various assets. Finally, don’t forget to project the health of your portfolio carefully and to ensure taking a conservative approach that in turn will mean for example having to boost your bonds to about half of your total holdings. In addition, it also will pay to use a computerized calculator in order to find out what the exact odds of getting targeted returns on investments are.
Today, more and more Americans are self employed which means that the need to create the best retirement plan for self employed persons is greatest today than at any time in the past. It is easy to select the plan which returns high amount on your investment as lot of beneficial plans are available today.
Risks to Your Retirement Income
If you’re a member of the Baby Boomer Generation, you’re likely pondering stopping work – if you haven’t already started your retirement. And if you have already retired, you’re probably considering if you’re financially able to remain comfortably retired.
Recent economic crisis aggravates the retirement question considerably by compounding some significant retirement oriented risks:
1. Average Life Expectancy Is Longer
Current life expectancies are longer than their parents. For example, in 1970, a 60-year old Caucasian male would have had a life expectancy of only 16.2 years; but, by 2008, his life expectancy had climbed to twenty more years of life.
So how is the Boomer going to afford retirement during those bonus 3.8 years? Following are several possible solutions:
> Add to pre-retirement savings
> Work more years
> Move in with children or other family members
> Get by with a reduced lifestyle
2. Health Care Costs Keep Rising
Predicting and planning for ways to cover one’s health care costs are some of the most difficult financial planning tasks, mostly because requirements are so individualistic, with needs varying substantially between spouses. Long-term care requirements are even harder to plan for and arrange adequate funding.
Health care expenses have risen at a rate greater than 5% (inflation adjusted) for the past 15 years – and that is greater than the increase in family income. Medicare costs will probably rise as well at a comparable rate.
3. Legislative Changes May Limit Retirement Income & Supplemental Programs
It is well known that the costs of major entitlement programs (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) are growing more rapidly than other parts of the economy, and some experts challenge the long-term feasibility of these programs because of the cumulative effects of increased life expectancy, size of the retiring population, and increasing health care expenses in general.
Further, immediate questions concerning ongoing health insurance throughout retirement, and at what benefit levels, are rampant in today’s depressed economy – and these questions are further fueled by auto industry, and other, corporate reorganizations.
We are still witnessing much conversation concerning a national health care system – but such discussions have been ongoing for decades, with few results to show for those efforts. Although President Obama will be leading such efforts this year, many people anticipate a lot of opposition from Congress.
Many think that seniors past age 55 will be protected from reductions in these social programs, but providing full coverage for them is a two-edged sword – doing so increases the likelihood of a new value-added tax, which would effectively add to retirement tax burdens.
4. Retirement Dates Are Frequently not a Free Choice
Per the 2004 Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), 37% of seniors are forced to retire due to poor health or downsizings, etc.
5. 401Ks Became 201Ks
Were your savings (including your 401k) devastated with the stock market meltdown in 2008? My savings took a major hit. Many people saw their 401k and other stock market accounts take a 50% hit, which has led many comedians to rename them “201k”. For many people, their 401k was the bulk of their retirement savings, so this stock market meltdown has really damaged their retirement plans.
Humpty Dumpty Was Not a Retirement Expert
But there is some good news. Luckily, you can repair a broken “Nest Egg”.
You can work an extra year or two, take a part-time job or work from home to supplement your earnings, start your own business, etc.
If you’d like to start an online business, but are hesitant because you’re not an internet expert, a very good place to start for gleaning all the knowledge about internet marketing that you’ll need to be successful is to join the Online Success for Beginners program.
A study by Butrica, Smith and Steuerle (2006) indicated that working just one (1) extra year can augment annual retirement income by 9%, while working a total of five (5) extra years can generate an additional 56% annual retirement income.
If you’d like to learn how to generate a second income, so that you can have a comfortable, financially secure retirement, check out Darren Salkeld’s new MaxPro Marketing System and get his FREE Report and FREE Audio describing the age-old secrets of creating wealth.
In order to provide for your retirement investing has become increasingly important over the years, as the future of social security benefits becomes unknown. There are of course many forms of investment, but the main two that are available to the average man in the street are real estate and stocks. If you are interested in investing in the stock market maybe you should read some of Warren Buffet books!.
It is a very normal need for people to want to insure their futures, and they know that if they are depending on Social Security benefits, and in some cases retirement plans, that they may be in for a rude awakening when they no longer have the ability to earn a steady income. Investing wisely is the answer to the unknowns of the future because it has been shown that most people need much more money to live on in retirement that they think.
You may have been saving cash in a low interest savings account over the years. Now, you want to see that money grow at a faster pace. Perhaps you’ve inherited money or realized some other type of windfall, and you need a way to make that money grow. Again, investing can be the answer.
Leaving money a safe bank account earning maybe 5% a year, if you are lucky, is considered investing by many, but in general it’s a pretty poor deal, after accounting for inflation you are growing your money very little in real terms.
Investing is also a way of attaining the things that you want, such as a new home, a college education for your children, or expensive ‘toys.’ Of course, your financial goals will determine what type of investing you do.
Trading stocks can also be a form of investing if you have a medium to long term outlook, but make sure that you get some good trading education 1st.
If you want or need to make a lot of cash fast, you would be more interested in higher risk investing, which will give you a larger return in a shorter amount of time. If you are saving for something in the far off future, such as retirement, you would want to make safer investments that grow over a longer period of time.
The overall purpose in investing is to create wealth and security, over a period of time. It is important to remember that as you get older you will not always be able to earn an income… you will eventually want to retire.
You also cannot count on the social security system to do what you expect it to do. As we have seen with Enron and other frauds, you also cannot necessarily depend on your company’s retirement plan either. So, again, investing wisely is the key to insuring your own financial future, but you must make smart investments.
When considering investments you have also got to be very carefull to avoid investment trading scams, things to look out for are unrealistic rates of return.
Pension experts have revealed that the scheme set up to protect final salary pensions could be in trouble.
Pension shortfalls recently hit a record high which has put the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) in danger of being submerged from a significant increase in claims being made from companies that have gone bust.
It has been revealed that up to 91% of final salary schemes cannot afford to pay out benefits, with the under-funded schemes carrying deficits of over £228 billion.
The PPF takes around £700 million from companies every year, but this has proved too little and doesn’t cover its liabilities. The PPF has a deficit of around £550 million.
The PPF has already carried the weight of 62 schemes that failed, which include Woolworths, and Lehman Brothers.
This has sparked growing concerns that the failure of more schemes could result in the PPF collapsing, leaving companies at risk of bankruptcy and vulnerable to loss of employee pensions.
The National Association of Pension Funds has called on the government to back the scheme and act as a safety net.
NAPF Chief Executive, Joanne Segars, said: “In these exceptional times, maintaining confidence and security in pensions is vital so it would be a sensible measure for the Government to be the ultimate guarantor of the Pension Protection Fund.”
Vince Cable, Treasury spokesman for the Party, said: “I get a very strong sense that this is the Titanic hitting the iceberg. It is potentially very vulnerable in a serious recession, which is what we are now getting into. Companies won’t be able to sustain the fund in its present form. The Government has to be explicit that it is standing behind it.”
The potential issues were raised after a new survey from Punter Southall revealed that 60% of pension schemes are unaware of how the recession is affecting their funding position.
UK Price Comparison website Which4U – Compare Credit Cards, Savings Accounts, Fixed Rate Bonds, Bank Accounts, ISAs, Loans, Mortgages, Insurance, TV & Broadband and Gas/Electric bills to find the best UK deals
A report card on poverty has revealed that Australia's retirees are the 4th poorest in the developed world, and our unemployed people are the poorest.
According to The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, 50% of single Australian retirees live in poverty - defined as less than 50% of average earnings. This figure has risen by 4.8 percent over the last 10 years. Other figures show that a worrying 27 percent of all aussie retirees live in poverty.
One way to avoid becoming a victim of poverty is to open a high interest savings account and deposit whatever money you can afford. This can then be used as an additional monetary resource to keep you above the poverty line.
Jenny Macklin - Families and Community Services Minister, said the figures from the report are "shameful" and underlines the 12 years of neglect from the former Howard government.
“This is a searing indictment of the Opposition’s record in government on older Australian,” she said.
National Seniors chief Michael O'Neill said the report only reiterate what Australian pensioners already knew.
“The single pension is inadequate and needs to be increased to two thirds the rate of the couple pension,” he said.
However, the report has also revealed further figures indicating that those without a job in Australia are suffering even more than the retired, with unemployed ranked as the poorest of all developed nations.
Sydney's Welfare Rights Centre policy officer Gerard Thomas said this was a serious message, the number of unemployed people is expected to rise by another 200 thousand as a result of the economic slowdown.
“The Government has recognised that pensioners are doing it tough but they appear to have blinkers on when it comes to understanding the real situation that unemployed people find themselves in,” he said.
The Rudd Government has introduced a $500 allowance this year in an attempt to boost pension incomes, and will be raising the telephone allowance to $132 a year.
In October 2008, the Government unveiled plans of a one-off lump sum Christmas bonus of $1,400 for single pensioners and $2,100 for couples, in an effort to increase consumer spending.
An inquiry is also under-way to increase the single pension, which currently stands at $281 a week.
The unemployed are provided with $50 a week less and they were not included in the Government’s recent economic rescue package.
Australian Money Comparison website - http://www.Which4U.com.au – Compare Credit Cards, Savings Accounts, Bank Accounts, Loans, Mortgages and Insurance to find the best OZ deals
Now that I am no longer young, I’ve decided that I really need to start saving some money for retirement. I am already in my mid-thirties, but I don’t even have as much as a single IRA in my name, so I’m definitely behind in the game of retirement planning. I have consider working part time in insurance or bank but not sure of the require financial advisor certification that I need to start.
I’ve been reading news articles about how Social Security isn’t likely going to be around when I retire, so I know I can’t count on the government to take care of me. Plus, the cost of living just continues to skyrocket, which means that financial planning is even more important now than ever before.
While I never was in the hurry to do financial planning, I think it is better late than never. I do not have any trusted personal advisor over my financial, so I’ve been doing a little research on the Internet to try to find out how other people are saving up for retirement. I was pretty overwhelmed by the amount of financial planning information out there, so it’s definitely going to take me some time to weed through it all.
I’ve learned that the most important financial planning decision I have to make is what kind of investment vehicles to put my money into. There are plenty to choose from, of course, so I really need to be aware of the return rate I’d be getting before I part with my money. Or I could start some online business or data entry work such as those job from legitimate paid surveys
For example, simply keeping my money in a savings account that yields 3 percent annually isn’t the smartest financial planning move I can make. That rate of return doesn’t justify tying up my money, so I’d be better off putting it in stocks or bonds that can yield two to three times the interest.
Another thing I learned from the various financial planning website I visited was that it might be helpful to sit down with a professional planner to go over my current situation. Together, we could discuss my goals for the future, calculate how much money I think I’ll need for retirement, and work out a viable investment plan to help me reach my goals before age 65.
This is a great idea, so I’m currently looking for someone near me who is qualified to help me with my financial planning needs.
I am happy that I have finally decided to do something for my retirement. I do hope that with proper financial planning, I can have something comfortable to live on when I am old! And maybe I should consider opening setting up a coffee shop business
Unlike women, who prefer lifetime membership at spas or having a ticket in a trip across the world, men simply have different tastes when it comes to retirement gifts. Women want to be pampered and bath in luxury, while men just want something that affirms their virility.
They want nothing more than to be a young and energetic young man again, where they can play sports all day and eat anything they want without thinking of the health risks associated with it. In other words, a good retirement gift must make them almost kind of like relive those times.
Tips
When it comes to sports, nothing says “still playable by old people” other than the century-old sport, golf. So gifts like personalized golf sets (if he’s left handed, give a customized golf set for left-handed men), monogrammed golf balls and gloves are perfect gifts not only to encourage him to be active once again, it also helps when it contributes to his declining health.
If golf sets are a tad too expensive, you may opt for squash or tennis racquets along with customized polo shirts with the family logo (if they have one). What is important is that you rekindle the sports loving gent inside of him. These kind of gifts always work—has anyone heard of a man who doesn’t watch ESPN or isn’t addicted to Monday night Football or Friday night Basketball?
A good alternative to sports-related gifts are expensive alcohol. The brands don’t have to be too extravagant. A huge bottle of J&B or the commonplace Blue Label Johnnie Walker may suffice. It is always good to let him remember the good old times in the bar where he and his friends can do no better than drink the night away. But giving these kinds of gifts doesn’t mean you’re promoting that again, most men have a wine or alcohol collection stored away in a cabinet, or for the true aficionado, cabinets.
Or it could be as simple as planning a retirement/”bachelor” party for him, where he could simply have a good time with friends, chatting and drinking the night away and enjoying their other company at the gentlemen’s club.
No matter what your gift may be, make sure that is true to the fact that it’ll make the retiree feel as young as possible.
Alternatives
With these general guidelines, it doesn’t necessarily mean that one should forsake personalized gifts. One should always take into account the personality and interests of the retiree. If he loves to read about current events and blogs about it in the internet, then probably a lifetime subscription to The Economist or The Wall Street Journal will be a perfect fit for him. One mustn’t forget that very important and universal rule: suit the gift to his tastes.
Conclusion
Making retirees forget about everything about their age and the limitations that come with it must the premise behind your gift-giving decisions to these retirees. Once you find the perfect blend wherein you mix sports, leisure and fun, then rest assured that you have found the best gift possible for him.
If that cannot be achieved, then simply follow a rule that has stood the test of time. In the end, it’s all about knowing what the person wants and giving it to him.
Go to marc ecko men’s watch for tips on buy marc ecko watches and more advice on perfect gift for men.
Social Security is a great safety net and helps many retired people to survive in their old age. But Social Security was never meant to be the sole source of income for retirees. That’s how the 401k plan came about. It was a way for the federal government to encourage people to save money for their retirement years by giving them certain financial incentives.
But what is 401k plan? A 401k program is a retirement investment plan available to employees of companies. The company administrates the plan but employer and employee both are allowed to add funds to the plan. The all important, and huge, reward of a 401k plan is that you are able to invest using pre-tax dollars.
What this means is that the money that you set aside for the 401k is invested into the plan prior to it being taxed. Also, the monies are able to persistently earn tax-free interest on your contributions until you withdraw the money – typically at retirement. And even then, only the money that you withdraw from the fund is taxed. Presumably, since you’ll be at a lower income level when you retire, the amount of money that you will be taxed will be lower as well.
Many companies lure workers into joining their organization by touting their ample 401k packages. In more pleasing economic times, it was not unusual for an organization to match the contribution of the employee with an equal amount of their own money. So if you kicked in a hundred dollars to your 401k plan, they would kick in another hundred dollars. This in effect gives you a 100% profit on your money even before your investments kick in. In the current recessionary economy, however, those generous packages have become more difficlut to come by. But even without that benefit, if a 401k plan is offered by your employer, you should take advantage of it.
Despite widespread knowledge of the 401K retirement plan, fewer are aware of the Federal 403B retirement plan. The 403B plan offers some lucrative potential, and should be invested in if the cash can be at all spared. Government workers like teachers, school personnel, and librarians usually qualify for benefits under 403B. Although eligibility varies, the plan is typically aimed at assisting those in the educational field. Some nonprofits are also eligible for benefits under the 403B plan.
The details of the plan are intricate, but tax exemption acts as the primary draw of the plan. All contributions made to a 403B are exempt from Federal taxes until retirement. In addition to the savings made on the contribution itself, the sum of tax paid is also reduced, as your whole pretax income will be lower. This plan is available to the majority of people in any organization that qualifies under the IRS 501(c)(3) tax provision.
Employers create an agreement with their employees to take out a set amount of their income each paycheck, reserving it for their 403B retirement plan.You are no taxed on the contributed amount and the pretax amount of your check is reduced so you pay less in taxes for the week. Despite pretax income reductions, FICA related taxes are not affected, leaving your social security benefits at the same level they would be without 403B. The contribution is entered into an investment account, where a vendor of the employee’s choosing will ensure a certain rate of return.
With the universal availability clause, almost all employees of a 501C eligible organization can contribute.You can only be denied for the program if you work less than 20 hours per week or if you already have an alternative retirement plan.You can elect to put in up to $15,500 a year into the 403B plan or 100% of your compensation. The deferral limit can be raised if the employer makes matching contributions, increasing the cap to $46,000 or 100% of compensation (the lesser of the two).
The 403B retirement plan is a great investment that every eligible employee should consider. The tax deferral status alone makes the 403B plan an lucrative investment. If your employer is matching any or your contributions, that is even more of a reason to start making contributions. If you are worried about the safety of your investment, check into fixed annuities. Under a fixed annuity program, your investment is guaranteed to maintain a minimum level of growth. Post retirement payments are also guaranteed by fixed annuity insurance programs.