Retirement Watch Weekly
Savings Rates and 401(k)s
Over the years economists discovered that people would save more for retirement if 401(k) plans set a default initial savings rate instead of providing there would be no savings rate unless the employee selected one. There’s a lot of inertia in people. Many people will leave their contribution rate at the default, because they don’t […]
Small Number of Drugs Are Most of Medicare’s Cost
When people dig into the data on medical spending, especially government’s share of the spending, they always reach one conclusion. A relatively small number of people consume most of the medical care in this country. Most people are relatively healthy, don’t use much medical care, and don’t take many drugs. But people with chronic conditions […]
How to Minimize Taxes on Annuity Payouts
Annuities offer several benefits when you begin receiving distributions. You receive guaranteed income that lasts for life, no matter how long you live. The insurance company takes on the risks of low investment returns and a long life. You don’t have to worry about scheduling distributions or deciding which assets to sell to raise cash. […]
May 2015
May 29, 2015 04:15 p.m. Your Retirement Finance Week in Review There wasn’t a lot of news in this holiday-shortened week. It is a good time to review some remarks Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Funds made in his May 12 conference call. Gundlach said most of the analysts who appear in the financial media, especially […]
Getting Longevity Right
Underestimating longevity is one of the most common and costly retirement planning mistakes. People consistently underestimate how long they are likely to live. Your plans should have a realistic estimate of life expectancy. You should be conservative, meaning have a bias in favor of a longer life span. The Life Expectancy tables from the Society […]
Buildng the Complete Estate Planning Strategy
Many people think they have estate planing strategies but really don’t. I’m not talking about the many people who haven’t done any estate planning and don’t have even a basic will. I’m talking about people who have taken action on their estate planning and yet have plans that are woefully incomplete. There is more to […]
Determining the Best Age to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance
What’s the best age to buy long-term care insurance? I hear that question a lot. Let’s run through the factors. Most people are considering the lifetime trade off between the premiums paid and the benefits eventually received. They want coverage but they don’t want to begin paying premiums too long before care is needed. For […]
Avoiding Frequent IRA Rollover Mistakes
IRA rollovers at first seem commonplace and easy. There even are television commercials about them. Yet, there is a lot more to rollovers than many people realize. When you don’t know the details, you risk losing money to taxes, penalties, and bad decisions. There are 31 different types of rollovers in the tax code, says […]
