This past week was National Save for Retirement Week. This is something that didn’t get a whole lot of play. However, it is still an important topic. According to the 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey presented by the Employee Benefits Research Institute, 53% of all workers have less than $25,000 in savings and investments, excluding home ownership and defined benefits plans.
This lack of savings is a real issue for the future. It should be noted that Social Security was never meant to replace income — merely supplement it. And it may not even be available to do that for younger workers. …read more

The economic downturn created a very scary environment for workers who had been diligently saving for their retirements, as suddenly the value of portfolios came crashing down and the amount of money they could siphon off to retirement savings grew smaller. However, with the stock market recovering, now is as good a time as ever to jump back onto the saddle of saving for retirement.
While you may have been cautious about putting money into your 401(k) plan at the depths of the recession, you should now try to return to investing your maximum annual contribution to your retirement accounts. You …read more

A new study entitled “Bridge Employment and Retirees’ Health: A Longitudinal Investigation” has found that seniors that continue to work in the same field in the same capacity during retirement may actually enjoy better physical and emotional health than seniors that undergo full retirement. The results of this study may come as good news to potential retirees that may, because of the recession, may have to work into retirement age.
The study looked at 12,189 participants between the ages of 51 and 61 who were interviewed every two years over the six years starting from 1992. They were asked about their …read more

Many retirement surveys have been released recently that have cast a dark cloud over the prospect of retiring in the middle of the economic downturn. According to these surveys, retirement has been pushed out of reach for several years, or even indefinitely, for millions of Americans. However, the gloomy forecasts do not necessarily mean that retirement is no longer attainable because for several reasons.
First of all, surveys only account for what people think they will be capable of doing. Many surveys show a large gap between when a person says he or she will retire and when he or she …read more

Very rarely will you find anyone whose retirement funds are all consolidated into a single account, as such an arrangement is difficult to manage in the first place and could potentially be disastrous. Instead, you will probably find that your retirement funds are spread across a variety of 401(k) plans, IRAs, profit sharing plans, and taxable investments. As such, you will need to tap all of these funds in a way that extends the life of these funds and reduces the amount lost to taxation.
The first funds you withdraw should come from taxable investments that were set aside for retirement …read more

Tim Gierke at postcrescent.com has written a column that gives every retiree and future retiree hope that the looming process of retirement does not actually have to be frightening. While we are living in some tough financial times and the huge variety of retirement rules and options continues to frighten us, we do not have to succumb to a feeling of dread for retirement.
One good way to lose your fear about retirement is to determine exactly how large your Social Security benefit will be. You can find this by looking at your Social Security statement, a document that arrives in …read more

Planning for your retirement is certainly very important, as you will need to make sure that you squirrel away enough money throughout your working years so that you can retire in luxury. However, reaching retirement age does not mean that you can stop being so vigilant about investing your money in the right places. Various economic factors can add up to make how you invest after you retire just as important as pre-retirement investment.
For example, rising inflation can have a significant impact on the value of your assets. Even a modest rise in inflation over the next twenty to thirty …read more

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

The Motley Fool Staff at Fool.com has compiled a list of six ways that even the most cautious penny-pincher can end up ruining his or her retirement. Here are six things to avoid as you plan for your comfortable retirement:
Missing out on easy opportunities. Most employers provide a variety of ways to help you save for your retirement, such as through offering a 401(k) plan and employer match programs. Participating in your workplace savings program is an easy way to set aside money for your retirement.
Thinking you’ll get to in next year. Retirement has a way of sneaking up on …read more

Bankrate has released a new retirement study that has a number of interesting statistics. The study, which was completed by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, illustrates changes in how people are now viewing retirement.
Here are some of the numbers in the new Bankrate retirement survey:
-75% of Americans plan to work as long as they can.
-55% of American retirees worry about their finances.
-40% of Americans plan to delay their retirement due to the economic downturn.
-26% of American retirees rely on Social Security for their monthly income.
“Seventy-five percent of today’s generation plan to work as long as possible, a far cry from …read more