Credit card debt left unchecked can significantly hamper your efforts toward securing a comfortable retirement. Instead of contributing to your 401(k), you end up forking out precious dollars toward interest payments on revolving credit lines each month. Having an actionable debt pay-down plan can make the difference between a relaxing retirement and feeling the pinch.
It’s rarely the plan, but it happens — you’re faced with a financial crisis and have to find extra funds fast. The need may arise from many circumstances including a medical emergency, costly home repairs, job loss or escalating credit card debt.
Full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security benefits is currently between 66 and 67, depending on when you were born. Benefits are determined based on your 35 highest years of earning on record with the Social Security Administration, but will be higher or lower depending on when you file. If you file at FRA, you’ll get your full monthly benefit.
If you thought that retirement started at 65 for most Americans, think again — according to a recent Gallup poll, the average reported retirement age for currently retired Americans is 61. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person who has made it to their early 60s can, on average, expect to live another 23.3 years.
Sadly, finances are a very common source of worry for many Americans. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2018 Stress in America report, adult survey respondents ranked money and work as top stressors — even above concerns over health or the economy. Money worries can bring with them feelings of anxiety, depression, shame, guilt and inadequacy.
The arrival of spring has brought warmer weather, longer days, a renewal of life … and the yearly desire to clean out and get organized. It’s also the perfect time to get your financial house in order. Here are some housekeeping tasks you can tackle to help make sure you and your money are headed the right way in the year ahead.
401(k) plans were established by Congress to encourage individual savings towards retirement. Offered through employers, the plans are generally available to eligible employees who are allowed to contribute a percent of their salary to the plan.
The need for retirement planning didn’t really exist until well into the 1970s. Up to that point, people worked until age 65, spent a few years in leisure through their life expectancy which was about 69. Many retirees of that era were able to coast into retirement with a cushy pension plan.
Today’s retirees are finding that retirement requires at least as much psychological and emotional preparation as it does financial preparation. So, retirement planning needs to include a thorough assessment of human assets and liabilities along with an assessment of financial assets and liabilities.
Diversification is at the heart of a sound investment plan. An effective diversification plan helps manage risk by spreading funds across various asset classes and types of investments. The reasoning behind this strategy is that market conditions can affect each type of asset differently — through diversification, losses in one area can be offset by gains in another.
Perhaps you’ve lost a job, faced an illness or have been delt a family crisis that emptied out your emergency fund. What are your next steps?
You’re eyeing center-hall colonials in your neighborhood and dreaming about the garden you want to plant in the backyard and all the holiday celebrations you’ll host. You’ve saved toward this goal and think you’re ready to pull the trigger. But the real question is: How much house can I afford?
Or is it?
Social Security’s financial cliff is coming closer into view. Experts project that the fund that pays for government retirement benefits through FICA taxes will be depleted within the next 15 years.
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