Mar
31
Filed Under Retirement Money | Comments Off
Newretirement.com asked:
The Cons of Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
Depending on the size of your business, the biggest drawback for offering a retirement plan is that these plans can be costly, time consuming and complicated. As a small business owner you need to balance the needs of your business against so many competing priorities. There are many ways to use your time and resources.
However, there are many high quality alternatives to plans with high costs and complexities – especially if you have fewer than 100 employees. And, if you are a sole proprietor or self employed, there are very affordable retirement plans for you.
The Pros of Retirement Planning for Small Businesses
The advantages of retirement planning for a small business owner are both long and short term:
Secure Your Retirement: Achieving retirement security is the most important long term goal of retirement savings.
Many small business owners believe that the sale of or other exit strategy for their business will be enough to fund retirement. In fact, only about 16 percent of businesses with less than 50 employees have 401k plans. (What percentage of businesses ultimately get sold?)
However, it is probably not wise to bank on an exit strategy to fund retirement. After all, most business owners know that every wise owner has a Plan B. Saving for your retirement should be an important priority and an essential part of your overall financial goals.
Save Money on Taxes: Most people think of retirement planning as a long term wealth management solution. However, there are yearly benefits to investing in a retirement planning solution. The biggest short term benefit is tax savings.
Qualified retirement contributions are tax deductible. And both the biggest and smallest small businesses can reap the benefits.
A sole proprietor with modest yearly income might drop into a lower tax bracket with a Retirement Plan contribution. While a large firm with sizable revenue – could reap significant tax savings with the right benefits plan.
Many Different Options are Available: Whether you work for yourself and make a modest income or have lots of employees and a large budget, there is probably a retirement planning product available to fit your exact needs and goals.
And the really good news is that the wide variety of plans and the competition between firms to earn your business mean that:
The types of investments available are wider The costs of these plans are getting cheaper The complications of running the programs are getting simpler.
Continue here to learn more about which Retirement Plan is best for you and your business.
Can Help You Attract and Retain Employees: Employees are more and more aware of the benefits of retirement planning. And many of the brightest workers know to look for retirement benefits as an important part of their overall compensation package.
A company Retirement Plan can help you hire and – perhaps more importantly — retain the best employees.
A study published in National Small Business Week reported that the overwhelming majority – 80 percent — of small businesses who offer Retirement Plans believe that they help with employee retention. And, 76 percent of respondents feel that a Retirement Plan helps attract new employees.
Back Up Savings Plan: In addition to enabling you and your employees to save for retirement, money in your retirement account can act as a back up savings plan. In general, retirement savings plans can be borrowed against – up to half the value. You pay the money and interest back to yourself over time.
This is a good resource to have in an emergency – you can save for your retirement as well as for the proverbial “rainy day.”
Get Liquidity: Some company retirement plans — like an employee stock purchase plan – enable the company to raise funds for the business or the owner since the employees are buying the stock from the business.
Do You Have a Retirement Plan? Is it Adequate for You, Your Family, Your Business and Your Employees?
While many people think that they have adequate resources for retirement, few actually do. A recent study found that 45 percent of all U.S. households have less than $25,000 in savings excluding their home), yet two-thirds of all workers expect to live as comfortably in retirement as they did when they worked. The reality is that the average person would use up that $25,000 in just a few years – even with their Social Security benefits.
Longer life spans, increasing medical costs, fluctuations in financial markets and other pressures are making significant retirement savings ever more important. And, Small Business Owners are in a unique position to create a tax efficient plan tailored to their needs and goals.
Connect with a Small Business Retirement Planning Expert
Continue here to speak with a Small Business Retirement Planning Professional who can help you find the right plan for you and your business.
CONN
The Cons of Retirement Plans for Small Businesses
Depending on the size of your business, the biggest drawback for offering a retirement plan is that these plans can be costly, time consuming and complicated. As a small business owner you need to balance the needs of your business against so many competing priorities. There are many ways to use your time and resources.
However, there are many high quality alternatives to plans with high costs and complexities – especially if you have fewer than 100 employees. And, if you are a sole proprietor or self employed, there are very affordable retirement plans for you.
The Pros of Retirement Planning for Small Businesses
The advantages of retirement planning for a small business owner are both long and short term:
Secure Your Retirement: Achieving retirement security is the most important long term goal of retirement savings.
Many small business owners believe that the sale of or other exit strategy for their business will be enough to fund retirement. In fact, only about 16 percent of businesses with less than 50 employees have 401k plans. (What percentage of businesses ultimately get sold?)
However, it is probably not wise to bank on an exit strategy to fund retirement. After all, most business owners know that every wise owner has a Plan B. Saving for your retirement should be an important priority and an essential part of your overall financial goals.
Save Money on Taxes: Most people think of retirement planning as a long term wealth management solution. However, there are yearly benefits to investing in a retirement planning solution. The biggest short term benefit is tax savings.
Qualified retirement contributions are tax deductible. And both the biggest and smallest small businesses can reap the benefits.
A sole proprietor with modest yearly income might drop into a lower tax bracket with a Retirement Plan contribution. While a large firm with sizable revenue – could reap significant tax savings with the right benefits plan.
Many Different Options are Available: Whether you work for yourself and make a modest income or have lots of employees and a large budget, there is probably a retirement planning product available to fit your exact needs and goals.
And the really good news is that the wide variety of plans and the competition between firms to earn your business mean that:
The types of investments available are wider The costs of these plans are getting cheaper The complications of running the programs are getting simpler.
Continue here to learn more about which Retirement Plan is best for you and your business.
Can Help You Attract and Retain Employees: Employees are more and more aware of the benefits of retirement planning. And many of the brightest workers know to look for retirement benefits as an important part of their overall compensation package.
A company Retirement Plan can help you hire and – perhaps more importantly — retain the best employees.
A study published in National Small Business Week reported that the overwhelming majority – 80 percent — of small businesses who offer Retirement Plans believe that they help with employee retention. And, 76 percent of respondents feel that a Retirement Plan helps attract new employees.
Back Up Savings Plan: In addition to enabling you and your employees to save for retirement, money in your retirement account can act as a back up savings plan. In general, retirement savings plans can be borrowed against – up to half the value. You pay the money and interest back to yourself over time.
This is a good resource to have in an emergency – you can save for your retirement as well as for the proverbial “rainy day.”
Get Liquidity: Some company retirement plans — like an employee stock purchase plan – enable the company to raise funds for the business or the owner since the employees are buying the stock from the business.
Do You Have a Retirement Plan? Is it Adequate for You, Your Family, Your Business and Your Employees?
While many people think that they have adequate resources for retirement, few actually do. A recent study found that 45 percent of all U.S. households have less than $25,000 in savings excluding their home), yet two-thirds of all workers expect to live as comfortably in retirement as they did when they worked. The reality is that the average person would use up that $25,000 in just a few years – even with their Social Security benefits.
Longer life spans, increasing medical costs, fluctuations in financial markets and other pressures are making significant retirement savings ever more important. And, Small Business Owners are in a unique position to create a tax efficient plan tailored to their needs and goals.
Connect with a Small Business Retirement Planning Expert
Continue here to speak with a Small Business Retirement Planning Professional who can help you find the right plan for you and your business.
CONN
Mar
30
amiga2000 asked:
Funny letterman skit after Gates announced his retirement … microsoft letterman bill gates founder software windows powerpoint office retire late night vista 2007 iphone leopard os
DUNNING
Mar
28
Filed Under Retirement Money | Comments Off
Justin Lukasavige asked:
Last week I talked about the ideal time in your life to start investing for retirement. Ideally, for everyone that time is as soon as possible. If you already missed that landmark, then the answer is NOW! Once you have a budget in place, have no consumer debt (credit cards, student loans, etc.) and have between 3 and 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund, then your time is here. Let’s invest!
One of the most important things to understand when you start deciding on where to place your future retirement money (and money for kids college savings) is the difference between savings vehicles.
The places you can park your money range from the ultra-conservative bank savings account (now averaging 1.4%) to the much higher possible returns (and higher risk) of the blackjack table in Las Vegas.
Obviously neither of these are a good long range place to hold your retirement savings. As you can see, many times higher payoffs come with higher risks. The vehicle I advise all clients to invest in for the long run (any amount of time greater than 5 years) is the stock market.
Historically speaking, the US stock market has averaged nearly 11% since 1926. Note that this high rate of return includes the Great Depression, the impeachment of 2 US presidents, the Bay of Pigs in 1961, the oil crisis of 1973, the stock market drop in 1987 (double that of the great depression), and two wars in Iraq.
This should illustrate to you the importance of investing your money and not taking it out. The point is not to invest your money and try to time the market by pulling your money out and putting it back in based on a hunch. If “market timing” actually worked, then everyone would be doing it and we’d all be rich.
I stated that I do suggest to clients that they invest in the stock market, but I do not own any single stocks. The way I believe you should invest your hard earned money is in mutual funds. A mutual fund is basically a fund either run by managers that pick stocks based on many hours of research (do you have that amount of time to devote to picking a single company?), or is set up to track an index, like the S&P 500 (which tracks the 500 largest stocks on the stock exchange).
MERRICK
Last week I talked about the ideal time in your life to start investing for retirement. Ideally, for everyone that time is as soon as possible. If you already missed that landmark, then the answer is NOW! Once you have a budget in place, have no consumer debt (credit cards, student loans, etc.) and have between 3 and 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund, then your time is here. Let’s invest!
One of the most important things to understand when you start deciding on where to place your future retirement money (and money for kids college savings) is the difference between savings vehicles.
The places you can park your money range from the ultra-conservative bank savings account (now averaging 1.4%) to the much higher possible returns (and higher risk) of the blackjack table in Las Vegas.
Obviously neither of these are a good long range place to hold your retirement savings. As you can see, many times higher payoffs come with higher risks. The vehicle I advise all clients to invest in for the long run (any amount of time greater than 5 years) is the stock market.
Historically speaking, the US stock market has averaged nearly 11% since 1926. Note that this high rate of return includes the Great Depression, the impeachment of 2 US presidents, the Bay of Pigs in 1961, the oil crisis of 1973, the stock market drop in 1987 (double that of the great depression), and two wars in Iraq.
This should illustrate to you the importance of investing your money and not taking it out. The point is not to invest your money and try to time the market by pulling your money out and putting it back in based on a hunch. If “market timing” actually worked, then everyone would be doing it and we’d all be rich.
I stated that I do suggest to clients that they invest in the stock market, but I do not own any single stocks. The way I believe you should invest your hard earned money is in mutual funds. A mutual fund is basically a fund either run by managers that pick stocks based on many hours of research (do you have that amount of time to devote to picking a single company?), or is set up to track an index, like the S&P 500 (which tracks the 500 largest stocks on the stock exchange).
MERRICK
Mar
28
Successful Aging: Retirement – The Next Great Adventure
Filed Under Retirement | Comments Off
uctelevision asked:
As you plan for—and live—your retirement, taking care of your emotional and physical needs becomes as important as managing your finances. Noted author and humorist Natasha Josefowitz addresses the personal aspects of retirement: how the changes affect you, your spouse or partner, and your family. You’ll find lots of good advice on making the most of your retirement years. Series: Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging (SIRA) [8/2005] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 9127]…
EASTMAN
Mar
27
Filed Under Retirement | Comments Off
Cindy Heller asked:
Investing for retirement is not something everyone does ahead of time. Many people do not get started because they feel that their retirement is several decades away and they can get to it in good time. Almost everyone under estimates the resources, mainly cash, that are required to retire with a certain quality of life. With better health management and medical technology, many people are beginning to live beyond the previous general estimates for human life spans. The result is that many people run the risk of running out of money before their time is up.
Since few people are motivated in investing for retirement early enough, it has become a serious issue for governments in many developed countries. In some of these countries their welfare systems are straining from the demands put on them by the growing numbers of elderly living beyond the estimates of previous human longevity models. In these countries governments have warned their citizens that their social security systems may not have enough funds to go around.
In order to face our retirements more confidently, it has become necessary for us to not rely on state-sponsored programs; but increasingly on self-managed initiatives.
Key Issues Regarding Investing For Retirement
Investing for retirement requires us to prepare a retirement plan early – the earlier the better. Unfortunately, when you are young it is very difficult to imagine life as a retiree. What can we do? Perhaps we should initially discuss it with our parents. Many of them would have experienced the positive and negative elements of investing for retirement. Next you may wish to a financial planner. Do not commit to any investments until you feel that you have done enough research, clarified your doubts, identified your key goals and estimated what portion of your salary you are prepared to save for the long-term.
During your discussions with your financial planner regarding investing for retirement, you are likely to be surprised how much you will need to set aside for the golden years when you would have stopped working. Many people tend to extrapolate their planned savings linearly and find that achieving their investment goals are near impossible. Your financial planner should be able to enlighten you regarding some essential concepts of investing like the time value of money, the effect of compounding interest, the benefits of a diversified portfolio with a spread among asset classes with varying risk and return profiles and pre-tax investment programs made possible by your employer or government.
When you have done sufficient research, understood key investment concepts and got sound advice from your financial planner, you will realize that if you start early enough and do the right things, you should be able to retire rather comfortably with sufficient funds to last your lifetime. Investing for retirement is not difficult if you start sufficiently early and act on sound financial planning advice.
The Advantages Of 401k Retirement Plans
A 401k retirement plan allows a worker to save for retirement while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal. Many people today are relying on 401k retirement plans to support their needs during their retirement. The funds from this retirement plan can be used to pay regular bills and in some cases if the funds are substantial, help us retire in style and luxury. In these uncertain times fraught with economic and political uncertainty and health scares, it pays to plan ahead for our future when we may not be economically very productive by saving with a 401k retirement plan. The 401k retirement plan is a flexible program that has substantial benefits for retirees.
Of all the advantages of a 401k retirement plan, they key advantage are the tax benefits. Companies you work for are responsible for creating and designing the plan. Some companies may restrict the amount set aside to match what the employer sets aside.
The tax benefit arises from the fact that you will only be taxed on the remaining amount of your salary after the savings into the 401k retirement plan. The return on investment from a 401k retirement plan may be higher than many other competing retirement investment plans. The flexibility advantage is that you may transfer the funds from the retirement fund initially setup with your former employer into the new employer’s 401k retirement plan. You may also choose to transfer the funds to a personal 401k retirement fund account.
Use Your 401k Funds To Build A Diversified Financial Portfolio
The 401k retirement fund plan is to a large extent a self-directed investment program. You can choose to assign the funds into a wide variety of financial assets like stocks, bonds, money market investments, mutual funds or some of them. You can choose to re-allocate the funds among these investment choices at any time. It is critical to get some information and advise regarding these financial instruments if you choose to invest and re-allocate the funds yourself.
Saving and investing with a 401k retirement plan is a great way to ensure that you have sufficient funds to live on long after your retirement from full-time employment. The funds can be withdrawn if they are needed in the event of an emergency. If necessary, you may also take out a loan against your 401k retirement funds. This should only be done after much careful thought and consideration. The funds in your 401k retirement plan are for your retirement. If you squander the money, you will just be postponing your agony into the future.
BYNUM
Investing for retirement is not something everyone does ahead of time. Many people do not get started because they feel that their retirement is several decades away and they can get to it in good time. Almost everyone under estimates the resources, mainly cash, that are required to retire with a certain quality of life. With better health management and medical technology, many people are beginning to live beyond the previous general estimates for human life spans. The result is that many people run the risk of running out of money before their time is up.
Since few people are motivated in investing for retirement early enough, it has become a serious issue for governments in many developed countries. In some of these countries their welfare systems are straining from the demands put on them by the growing numbers of elderly living beyond the estimates of previous human longevity models. In these countries governments have warned their citizens that their social security systems may not have enough funds to go around.
In order to face our retirements more confidently, it has become necessary for us to not rely on state-sponsored programs; but increasingly on self-managed initiatives.
Key Issues Regarding Investing For Retirement
Investing for retirement requires us to prepare a retirement plan early – the earlier the better. Unfortunately, when you are young it is very difficult to imagine life as a retiree. What can we do? Perhaps we should initially discuss it with our parents. Many of them would have experienced the positive and negative elements of investing for retirement. Next you may wish to a financial planner. Do not commit to any investments until you feel that you have done enough research, clarified your doubts, identified your key goals and estimated what portion of your salary you are prepared to save for the long-term.
During your discussions with your financial planner regarding investing for retirement, you are likely to be surprised how much you will need to set aside for the golden years when you would have stopped working. Many people tend to extrapolate their planned savings linearly and find that achieving their investment goals are near impossible. Your financial planner should be able to enlighten you regarding some essential concepts of investing like the time value of money, the effect of compounding interest, the benefits of a diversified portfolio with a spread among asset classes with varying risk and return profiles and pre-tax investment programs made possible by your employer or government.
When you have done sufficient research, understood key investment concepts and got sound advice from your financial planner, you will realize that if you start early enough and do the right things, you should be able to retire rather comfortably with sufficient funds to last your lifetime. Investing for retirement is not difficult if you start sufficiently early and act on sound financial planning advice.
The Advantages Of 401k Retirement Plans
A 401k retirement plan allows a worker to save for retirement while deferring income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal. Many people today are relying on 401k retirement plans to support their needs during their retirement. The funds from this retirement plan can be used to pay regular bills and in some cases if the funds are substantial, help us retire in style and luxury. In these uncertain times fraught with economic and political uncertainty and health scares, it pays to plan ahead for our future when we may not be economically very productive by saving with a 401k retirement plan. The 401k retirement plan is a flexible program that has substantial benefits for retirees.
Of all the advantages of a 401k retirement plan, they key advantage are the tax benefits. Companies you work for are responsible for creating and designing the plan. Some companies may restrict the amount set aside to match what the employer sets aside.
The tax benefit arises from the fact that you will only be taxed on the remaining amount of your salary after the savings into the 401k retirement plan. The return on investment from a 401k retirement plan may be higher than many other competing retirement investment plans. The flexibility advantage is that you may transfer the funds from the retirement fund initially setup with your former employer into the new employer’s 401k retirement plan. You may also choose to transfer the funds to a personal 401k retirement fund account.
Use Your 401k Funds To Build A Diversified Financial Portfolio
The 401k retirement fund plan is to a large extent a self-directed investment program. You can choose to assign the funds into a wide variety of financial assets like stocks, bonds, money market investments, mutual funds or some of them. You can choose to re-allocate the funds among these investment choices at any time. It is critical to get some information and advise regarding these financial instruments if you choose to invest and re-allocate the funds yourself.
Saving and investing with a 401k retirement plan is a great way to ensure that you have sufficient funds to live on long after your retirement from full-time employment. The funds can be withdrawn if they are needed in the event of an emergency. If necessary, you may also take out a loan against your 401k retirement funds. This should only be done after much careful thought and consideration. The funds in your 401k retirement plan are for your retirement. If you squander the money, you will just be postponing your agony into the future.
BYNUM
Mar
27
Joe Sakic Announces Retirement (Full Press Conference 9th July 2009)
Filed Under Retirement | 22 Comments
HockeyWebCast asked:
Colorado Avalanche centre Joe Sakic address family, friends and the media at his retirement announcement. (July 9th 2009)
MEEK
Mar
26
Filed Under Retirement | Comments Off
Helen Smith asked:
Retirement is one of the most significant changes that any of us will ever experience.
Everyone approaches retirement differently and with a mix of emotions, some of us can’t wait and others of us will be worried or even fearful.
Planning for retirement courses are more important today than they have ever been. We are much healthier, much more active and can expect to live much longer – a whole new phase of life and opportunity is opening up. Unlike other phases of life, this time there is less structure. For the first time we are faced with a period of maybe 30 years when we essentially write our own ‘job description’. That requires plenty of thought and planning, to avoid pitfalls and to ensure we make the most of it and enjoy a balanced retirement.
You can take a big step by getting some expert advice through a retirement course on how to make the most of your retirement, thereby making your remaining time in employment as stress-free and productive as possible.
It is important to recognise that many retirement courses still focus far too heavily on just the financial side of retirement, even if lifestyle aspects are in theory covered. Although finance is important it should not be dominant because the lifestyle aspects of retirement and decisions about them are fundamental to making the most of retirement.
In the past many retirement courses have also focused too much on information giving. A good course will also include methods that cause the individual to examine each aspect of retirement from their own point of view and encourage discussion between delegates.
Value to the individual of Retirement Courses
A retirement course that provides the right balance will lead to a number of benefits for attendees including
• Overcoming concerns and fears, making retirement an opportunity to look forward to.
• Making attendees of the retirement course consider retirement in a way they won’t have done before and as a result clearly identifying both the issues that need to be addressed and the opportunities. Raising new areas to consider even for those who have done a lot of thinking about retirement. Making them aware of common pitfalls.
• Making the level of change they are about to undergo clear and the retirement course will enable them to produce a personal plan which makes their transition to retirement smooth
• Generating lots of ideas for enjoying retirement – their own, their colleagues’, and the tutor’s. Different perspectives help them develop their own plan.
• Understanding how their relationship with their partner and others may be affected and the importance of planning this together (ideally attending the retirement course together)
MEDINA
Retirement is one of the most significant changes that any of us will ever experience.
Everyone approaches retirement differently and with a mix of emotions, some of us can’t wait and others of us will be worried or even fearful.
Planning for retirement courses are more important today than they have ever been. We are much healthier, much more active and can expect to live much longer – a whole new phase of life and opportunity is opening up. Unlike other phases of life, this time there is less structure. For the first time we are faced with a period of maybe 30 years when we essentially write our own ‘job description’. That requires plenty of thought and planning, to avoid pitfalls and to ensure we make the most of it and enjoy a balanced retirement.
You can take a big step by getting some expert advice through a retirement course on how to make the most of your retirement, thereby making your remaining time in employment as stress-free and productive as possible.
It is important to recognise that many retirement courses still focus far too heavily on just the financial side of retirement, even if lifestyle aspects are in theory covered. Although finance is important it should not be dominant because the lifestyle aspects of retirement and decisions about them are fundamental to making the most of retirement.
In the past many retirement courses have also focused too much on information giving. A good course will also include methods that cause the individual to examine each aspect of retirement from their own point of view and encourage discussion between delegates.
Value to the individual of Retirement Courses
A retirement course that provides the right balance will lead to a number of benefits for attendees including
• Overcoming concerns and fears, making retirement an opportunity to look forward to.
• Making attendees of the retirement course consider retirement in a way they won’t have done before and as a result clearly identifying both the issues that need to be addressed and the opportunities. Raising new areas to consider even for those who have done a lot of thinking about retirement. Making them aware of common pitfalls.
• Making the level of change they are about to undergo clear and the retirement course will enable them to produce a personal plan which makes their transition to retirement smooth
• Generating lots of ideas for enjoying retirement – their own, their colleagues’, and the tutor’s. Different perspectives help them develop their own plan.
• Understanding how their relationship with their partner and others may be affected and the importance of planning this together (ideally attending the retirement course together)
MEDINA
Mar
25
Mission Retirement -Part 4
Filed Under Retirement Money | 2 Comments
Medialink asked:
touch his retirement next egg, but instead went back to work. The Crabbs, featured in segment four, had about $120000 saved in a company plan when they retired. They learned the hard way how important it is to carefully manage their retirement money. In short order their nest egg had shrunk to $20000 and at 68 they are looking for work. In this segment, AARP offers tips on spending money in retirement. Good news, bad news: we are living longer. In the final segment AARP offers steps, you …
PETERSEN
Mar
24
epson30 asked:
How does 401K and pre tax IRA work with max contributions for 2008 tax year? I know max 401k is $15,500 (Im only 40yrs). How much can be contributed to an IRA after 15500? How about a non working wife what can she contribute to a retirement plan?
RICKETTS
How does 401K and pre tax IRA work with max contributions for 2008 tax year? I know max 401k is $15,500 (Im only 40yrs). How much can be contributed to an IRA after 15500? How about a non working wife what can she contribute to a retirement plan?
RICKETTS
Mar
24
I am working in Japan for morethan 12 years and paying all taxes and retirement benefit money as like Japanese
Filed Under Retirement Money | 2 Comments
Saiful I asked:
Can I get retirement benefit money I paid in 12 years if I leave Japan?
WIGGINS
Can I get retirement benefit money I paid in 12 years if I leave Japan?
WIGGINS