Retirement Planning and Lack of Trust
December 9, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Retirement Planning
I don’t trust many of the institutions and individuals who operate in the financial world. It recently occurred to me that much of my retirement planning is based on that lack of trust. There are plenty of examples of this.
Are You Part of the Great Retirement Rethink?
October 28, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Retirement Planning
Bloomberg today published yet another article on the sad state of retirement affairs for many baby boomers. The point of the article is that things have changed for our retirement – and they are not going back. The author characterizes this as “the great retirement rethink.”
You Have Alternatives to Big Banks and their Fees
October 10, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Mortgages, Debt, and Credit
After more than two decades as customers, Mrs. P and I dropped Bank of America completely – including mortgages – in 2010. Even if we hadn’t changed then, BOA’s announcement that it will begin charging a monthly fee for using a debit card would have caused me to dump them now. Citi is moving in the same direction with more fees and all of the other big banks are sure to follow.
Will You Leave Your Children an Inheritance?
October 7, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Retirement Planning
Is the baby boomer generation concerned about leaving an inheritance to their children? A recent article discusses that topic and interviews boomers who have considered the issue themselves. My speculation and belief is that: (a) many boomers won’t have anything to leave, even if they wanted to; and (b) they shouldn’t worry about leaving an inheritance anyway. Personally, I have adopted a hybrid position on this issue.
Is Your Retirement Calculator Telling You Lies?
October 5, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Planning Tools
There are dozens of retirement calculators available online for the casual user. Some of them are published or sponsored by companies that want to sell you stocks or stock mutual funds. Because of this, retirement calculators may give you feedback that is overly optimistic. This false optimism arises because the calculator plugs in expected market return data that probably is no longer valid.
Boomers Trapped by Mortgages
September 7, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Mortgages, Debt, and Credit
The news continues to be bad about folks who are close to retirement age and their debts. It seems that some boomers are just slow to understand that the more they borrow now, the longer they will have to work to pay it off, if they can keep working. I don’t get it. Maybe some of you can explain it to me, after considering the recent statistics.
Reverse Mortgage Risks and Benefits in a Nutshell
September 1, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Mortgages, Debt, and Credit
Much continues to be written about the use of reverse mortgages as a source of retirement income. Also, reverse mortgage products are aggressively promoted by the companies that offer them. That by itself should raise a red flag for those considering them. With so much invested in marketing these products, you have to suspect that a reverse mortgage is a much better deal for the lender than for the homeowner-retiree. That means, of course, that they are a very expensive way to generate retirement income.
Stash Cash for a Down Market
August 29, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Retirement Income
If you are a baby boomer contemplating retirement, stock market gyrations are bad for your fiscal and mental health. A common reaction in recent years is to leave the market entirely and put your nest egg in cash and cash equivalents. Regular readers may recall that I agree with this strategy but only in part. More about that in a minute. Read more
Small Tricks to Boost Your Retirement Savings
August 2, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Planning Tools
Last week I wrote a post for the U.S. News On Retirement blog about different mind tricks you can use to help your retirement planning. Three of the tips involved thought strategies that can help us save more by avoiding discretionary purchases and/or by motivating us in very specific ways. For example, setting aside extra cash is a lot easier when that cash is for a “go on a yearly cruise when I retire” fund.
New Social Security Calculator for Estimating Retirement Benefits
July 26, 2011 by MJP
Filed under Social Security
The questions and debates about when to start receiving Social Security retirement benefits continue to rage. The news coming from DC about deficit reduction and increasing the debt ceiling has made things worse. While this is going on, new concerns have arisen about changes that may come to the Social Security Retirement System.
