Considering Annuity Investments for Retirement
As baby boomers enter retirement age, estate planning and sound investing loom large as they plan for a happy retirement and for leaving their children a legacy. Annuities offer a way to invest your money [more…]
Deciding When to Cash In Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
Social Security taxes cover five categories: retirement, disability, family, survivors, and Medicare. At this time, workers with earnings of less than [more…]
Using the Quicken 2006 Retirement Calculator
Imagine that you decide to jump into your employer's 401(k) thing (a type of profit-sharing plan) and that it allows you to plop $6,000 into a retirement account that you think will earn about 9 percent [more…]
Why Retirees May Want — or Need — to Work
Many newly retired people find they must face a difficult truth — their retirement nest egg just won't go as far as they thought it would, especially with healthcare costs rising twice as fast as incomes [more…]
What Does Retirement Mean to You?
Picturing yourself in retirement may be difficult. Retirement may feel so many years away that you can’t even fathom the idea of ever being able to retire. Or possibly you’re middle-aged and feel that [more…]
How Much Money Do You Need to Retire?
If you’re wondering how much money you need to retire, the quick answer that most financial advisors would tell you is 60 to 80 percent of your final working years’ income to maintain your standard of [more…]
Estimating (Or Ignoring) Your Social Security Benefits for Retirement
All your retirement income may not have to come from your savings. Do you have a company pension, did someone leave a bunch of money in a trust fund for you, or are you eligible for and planning to receive [more…]
The Best Places to Save for Retirement
You have many options for saving for retirement. However, 401(k), Roth IRAs, and other retirement plans have different strengths and weaknesses. The following is a listing of retirement savings options [more…]
Establishing Automatic Investment Programs for Retirement
You may want to consider establishing automatic investment programs to save for your retirement. Several automatic savings programs may be available to you. You need to determine how much you can direct [more…]
Carefully Timing the Start of Your Social Security Benefits
Most of us look forward to the time when we can retire. Retirement often comes with a steady paycheck from the government in the form of Social Security. Collecting Social Security may seem as easy as [more…]
How to Use the Retirement Calculator in Quicken 2010
Maybe you want to do some financial planning for retirement. Quicken 2010 provides the Retirement Calculator to help you figure out how long till you can retire and live the good life. [more…]
Four Financial Planning Steps for Women
Many women seem comfortable leaving their long-term finances and retirement planning to their husbands. If in the past you've taken a backseat to your husband in terms of your family's finances, it's time [more…]
Personal Finance For Seniors For Dummies Cheat Sheet
You work hard for your money. In order to enjoy an enjoyable and stress-free retirement, you need to make the most of your finances and retirement planning. You can get on the right track by determining [more…]
6 Steps toward Retirement Savings for the Late Starter
It’s never too late to start saving for retirement. If you feel like you're getting a late start and need to catch up on your retirement savings, here are six things to remember: [more…]
How to Survive a Surprise Early Retirement
A surprise early retirement is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. The challenging economy has forced many companies to lay off workers. One strategy for cutting back on expenses is to offer early [more…]
8 Financial Steps to Take before Retirement
Retiring from a career can seem like a daunting task. Retirement planning with the help of a professional is always advisable. However, if you want to start getting your finances in order on your own, [more…]
When Should I Begin Collecting Social Security Retirement Benefits?
For many Americans, when to begin collecting Social Security retirement benefits is the $64,000 question — only that number may greatly understate the amount of money that rides on your decision. Depending [more…]
How Much Will I Get from Social Security?
The average Social Security retirement benefit is more than $1,200 per month ($1,229 in 2012), and the maximum at full retirement age is more than $2,500 [more…]
How to Appeal a Social Security Decision
If you’ve applied for Social Security disability benefits and you’ve been denied, don’t give up. You can challenge a benefits decision by Social Security — you just have to take certain steps in a certain [more…]
Social Security For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Social Security is part of virtually every American’s life in retirement, if not sooner. If you’re like most people, you’re aware that when you start collecting retirement benefits affects how much money [more…]
Life Changes the Social Security Administration Wants to Know About
You need to inform the Social Security Administration (SSA) when something happens that may have an impact on a payment going to you or to dependents who are getting benefits based on your earnings record [more…]
What Is Social Security?
Social Security is the foundation of long-term financial support for almost every American. If you’re like most people, you’ll depend on Social Security to help you survive in your later years [more…]
How (and How Much) You Pay into Social Security
Social Security is paid for through taxes. (No surprise there.) But you’re not the only one paying into the Social Security pot: Your employer also pays a portion of your Social Security tax. All that [more…]
Who Qualifies for Social Security Retirement Benefits?
Social Security retirement benefits were created to help older Americans live in dignity and independence after a lifetime of work. To qualify for these benefits, you have to meet certain earnings requirements [more…]
How Much Do Social Security Retirement Benefits Pay?
Although you have to rack up 40 credits to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, that doesn’t determine the size of the payment that goes to you or your dependents. The Social Security Administration [more…]
