Blog — retirement planning RSS

(Use three distinct accounts, or buckets, to build your financial foundation: IRA, long-term holdings, and cash accounts.) In my previous post, I shared some reasons why my IRA is my largest bucket of financial investments. Why the retirement account grew to be a substantial amount is noted in the post. The other reason it is a...

In my last post, I offered five questions—an assignment, really—for your consideration. Several questions were nonfinancial-related, which sometimes are the hardest to answer. If you’re still thinking about those five questions, stick to it and give them more consideration until you are satisfied with the answers. Having the confidence to enjoy your retirement is often about...

I haven’t retired, and I don’t plan to; maybe I never will, if I can pull it off. So, what do I know about retirement? For nearly four decades I’ve worked with, counseled, and watched hundreds (maybe thousands) of people as they stepped into “life after work,” which is commonly called retirement. Sometimes it’s awesome;...

If you are eligible for Social Security retirement income (SSI) benefits, you have some choices to make. If you’re hazy on this subject, read on; it could be worth a few hundred thousand dollars in additional lifetime income. For the purposes of this “introduction” to the SSI claiming decision, understand that this is an overview,...

Too many people downplay the importance and value of Social Security retirement income (SSI) or take a casual approach to electing their distributions. Let me be clear that SSI might be the best pension ever created (that’s my opinion, not my employer’s). Here’s why. One can claim SSI at retirement age, early at 62 or...