It’s never too early to get ready for retirement. I know that I won’t be “retiring” (how do you retire from writing?) for at least 20 years, but five years ago I opened a Roth IRA. My husband plans to work for 25 years (he should start working next year, after he finishes his Ph.D.), and we plan to take advantage of whatever employer-sponsored retirement plan is offered. We’re not putting in a whole ton of money in right now, but we are putting in some every month, and once we have a little more income, we’ll put in more, …read more

I’ve been sick this past week, and I really needed a laugh. So I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this ETrade commercial on ESPN. The commercial, of course, isn’t just about golf. It makes an important point about personal finances and retirement planning. You have to take charge. Or at least you have to know what is going on with your finances. It is vital that you understand how your finances are doing, and that you make an effort direct them with a plan.
In the case of a 401k, it is important that you check the investments in it to make sure …read more

Saving for retirement can be difficult and it could cost you quite a bit to get quality retirement planning advice. However, at Mint.com their free service includes helpful tools that allow you to easily save for retirement.
Once you have your free Mint.com account, you can set your retirement savings goal. Mint.com will even help you figure out what your retirement savings goal should be by utilizing expert calculators.
You can also get help when it comes to investing your retirement savings and also keeping track of your investments. If your investing isn’t going smoothly, Mint.com will offer alternatives to help energize …read more

On Fidelity.com, you can find a retirement planning section that has a lot of useful tools. If you are new to retirement planning, this website is helpful. Even if you are a retirement expert, the Fidelity.com section is worth checking out.
From the retirement planning section of the website, you can open an IRA, contribute to an IRA and roll over an IRA. There is also an IRA center that has a list of retirement solutions for those unsure of how they should proceed.
If you like quick answers, the myPlan Snapshot can tell you how much you’ll need to save for …read more

For years, individuals planning for retirement simply relied on do-it-yourself 401(k) plans as their way to build money for the future. However, after the recent stock market struggles and global economic crises, many individuals started to second-guess how they are saving for retirement. This is especially true for those individuals who saw thousands of dollars go down the drain when the stock market went south.
If you are one of those individuals, you should know of the alternatives. For example, Financial Engines is a company that offers independent investment advice. Their customized plans can include investments, savings and retirement.
Jeff Maggioncalda, Financial …read more

When saving for retirement, every penny counts. If you don’t want to hire a financial advisor, there are other avenues to take. One such avenue to get advice from someone like Joseph Latour.
Latour, a financial advisor who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, offers $99 consultation service that can help you understand anything from the best plan of action for a 401k to how an annuity should be handled.
Said Latour: “Too many retirees are finding out too late, that because of poor planning or stock market down-turns coming at the wrong time, they cannot afford to retire, but many could have been …read more

Retirement can have a lot of variables. But most people have one main goal in retirement — to be happy. What steps can you take to be happy in retirement? Here are a few keys to success:
Money
Money might not be able to buy happiness but not having money will make it more difficult to achieve a happy retirement. With that in, be sure to start saving for retirement as early in life as possible.
Activities
If you are retiring from a job you love, you’ll need to find new activities to keep from getting board. Activities can include anything from traveling to …read more

ING has put together an interesting microsite that can help you plan for your retirement. By answering a few questions at INGyouranswer.com, you can lean how much money you need to retire.
Once you are on the INGyournumber.com website, simply click on the “Find your number now” link. On the next page you will be asked about your age, your marital status, your household income, the age you plan to retire, the income you want during retirement and how long you want that income to last.
Once you enter all the numbers, you click on the “calculate now” link and you will …read more

Yet another survey has been released that points to more and more people delaying retirement due to the current economic downturn. This survey, by Watson Wyatt, has a number of interesting numbers.
34% – The percentage of workers who have delayed their retirement plans in the last year.
40% – The percentage of workers over the age of 50 who have delayed their retirement plans in the last year.
50% – The percentage of workers over the age of 50 that plan to retire at age 66 or later.
54% – The percentage of workers aged 50 to 64 that say they will now …read more

Retirement is on the mind of many people across the country. Because of the economic crisis, more and more people are putting off retirement and working longer, while others are scrambling to find ways to achieve financial security as they near retirement age. Let’s take a look at some of the top retirement news stories from around the internet this week.

Ranks of Older Workers Swell as Losses Shorten Retirement – The Wall Street Journal
Men and Women Face Distinct Retirement Challenges – Planning to Retire (US News & World Report blog)
Senior citizens await $250 stimulus – The Republican
NY Common Retirement Fund …read more