Nobody wants to retire broke, but it’s an unfortunate reality many Americans will face. Today’s workers face a unique struggle in that the majority of their retirement income will need to come from their personal savings. Previous generations were able to receive the bulk of their income from pensions and Social Security benefits. Today, though, […]
Are you in the “retirement bubble”? The retirement bubble are the few years leading up to retirement and the first few years in retirement when your retirement nest egg is most vulnerable to market shocks. Why? It is because of sequence of investment returns risk. Sequence of investment returns is most dangerous when you are withdrawing […]
Many of us would be in trouble if we had to foot the bill for an unplanned expense. Bankrate’s January Financial Security Index survey reveals that just four in 10 U.S. adults (41 percent) would cover the cost of a $1,000 car repair or emergency room visit using savings. The findings echo what previous Bankrate studies […]
If you’re behind on saving for retirement, moving to a cheaper state is one way to stretch your nest egg as far as it can go. Your retirement dollars will last the longest in Mississippi, according to a recent study by personal finance site GOBankingRates. There, you can expect to live off $100,000 for 946 […]
Social Security provides an incentive to workers who choose to hold off on taking their retirement benefits. You can claim your Social Security as early as age 62, but if you do, you’ll have to accept smaller monthly checks than you’d get if you waited until your full retirement age. Conversely, if you wait beyond […]
Every parent knows that kids cost a lot of money, for everything from food, clothing and shelter to child care, education and health care. They’re right: studies show that a two-parent family with two kids devotes between 31% and 47% of total household spending to its children. And at the same time that parents are […]
When it comes to retirement, there seems to be no middle ground. Younger generations, studies have shown, are behind in wealth accumulation compared to previous generations and have paltry retirement savings. It’s made some realize they may never be able to afford to retire, experts say. On the other hand, others have saved enough to […]
Student debt is consuming an ever larger share of household budgets. Today, more than two-thirds of college graduates have student debt, compared with less than 50% in the early 1990s. And, back then, the average balance was $9,000 – now it’s $30,000. The typical monthly bill is nearly $400. Americans are more burdened by student […]
Your senior income will need to come from somewhere, and unless you’re privy to a pension, which many workers today are not, you’ll most likely rely on a combination of Social Security benefits and retirement savings to cover your bills once your time in the workforce wraps up. Social Security will probably replace around 40% […]
How do you see yourself in retirement — the simple, quiet retiree who takes neighborhood walks and always gets the early bird dinner special? Or are you the carefree retiree who runs 5Ks, meets friends for champagne brunch, and takes cruises to exotic places? Both are stereotypes, of course, but they represent the difference between […]
Millions of seniors collect Social Security in retirement, and for many, those benefits serve as their primary source of income. But that’s not what they were intended for. Social Security is really only meant to supplement additional income streams. By itself, it generally won’t sustain the average senior. That’s because it only replaces about 40% […]
Retirement is a milestone that many people plan for diligently. But sometimes, the best-laid plans can be upended when life throws a curveball your way. The result? You might wind up retiring sooner than you’re ready to, which really isn’t a good thing at all. Forced retirement probably happens more often than you’d think. In […]
