Retirement

Maximizing Retirement Plan Contributions for Small Businesses

Along with making money with their business, most small business owners also try to minimize income taxes and grow their wealth. Qualified retirement plans present an excellent opportunity to accomplish…

Maximize the Value of Your IRA

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) continue to be one of the most powerful ways to accumulate funds for a financially secure retirement, for several reasons: IRAs are convenient ways to save…

Financial Factoids: Retirement Issues

Automatic Savings Plans for Your Retirement Your IRA – Transferring $458.33 each month will fund your 2015 IRA contribution of $5500 or $541.66 for a contribution of $6500 if you…

Is a Roth IRA Conversion Right For You?

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are part of a financially secure retirement for many people. Regular IRAs became popular in the 1980s and the Roth IRA was created in the late…

Taking Advantage of Non-Deductible IRA Contributions and Roth Conversions

Roth IRAs are often more attractive than regular IRAs because distributions are tax free and there are no required minimum distributions beginning at 72. The most common drawbacks with Roth…

When Should You Consider Starting to Take Social Security Retirement Benefits?

The answer to that question is not necessarily simple. There are several factors to consider: What is your age? Do you plan to continue to work? How badly do you…

Financial Test Q&A: Retirement Questions

The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for a retired couple is: a. about $900 b. about $1000 c. about $1400 d. more than $2000 d) In 2020, at…

Funding Your IRA the Easy Way With an Automatic Savings Plan

Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is one of the four main components of a financially secure retirement. Anyone with wages under the age of 70½ can contribute, the annual contribution…

Fund Your IRA the Easy Way With an Automatic Savings Plan (Calculator)

Your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is one of the four main components of a financially secure retirement. Anyone with wages under the age of 70 ½ can contribute, the annual…

Save for Your Retirement

Add $50,000, $100,000 or even $500,000 to Your Retirement Savings Your personal savings are one of the four building blocks of a financially secure retirement along with your company's retirement…

Podcast: Handling Your First Retirement Plan Distribution

https://financialfitnessassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/N8_FirstRetirementPlanDistribution.mp3 Welcome to the podcast series – Take Control of your Financial Future. In this session, we are going to review some of the decisions you must make when you…

Podcast: Fundamentals of Planning for Retirement

https://financialfitnessassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/F7_FundamentalsOfPlanningForRetirement-1.mp3 Welcome to the podcast series – Take Control of your Financial Future. In this session, we are going to review the fundamentals of planning for retirement. Most people…

Being Wise With Your Retirement Investments

Wise Retirement Investments The choice of investments for your retirement funds is never easy. The funds you have saved for your retirement deserve special attention. How much you save and…

Useful Income Tax and Retirement Planning Information

There have been several major tax law changes over the past few years with staggered effective dates. These laws have significantly changed the way you may want to consider your…

Understanding the Social Security System

The Social Security System has been a large and visible part of the American financial system since the 1930s. When President Franklin Roosevelt signed the law, it was designed to…

Taking Money Out of Your IRA

Most of us think of IRAs and retirement plans as financial tools for asset accumulation. We often pay little attention to how funds can be withdrawn from the accounts until…

Reviewing Your Options for a Retirement Plan Distribution

If you are changing jobs, retiring or being terminated from a job, it is natural to undergo stress and anxiety. Usually, these changes are also accompanied by receiving a distribution…

Review Your Social Security Record

Social Security benefits will probably be a major source of your retirement income. While there may be changes to the Social Security system over the coming years, all indications are…

Retirement Benefits From Social Security

Social Security benefits will probably be an important source of income once you retire. The amount you will receive is based on a number of factors including your earnings history,…

Rethinking Retirement – Coping With Stock Market Volatility

The volatility in the stock market over the past few years has resulted in many investors seeing their retirement accounts shrink in value. While the stock prices may rise over…

7 Ways to Take Advantage of Your 401(k) Plan And Additional Options

Accumulating the funds you will need for a financially secure retirement can be difficult. Even though your living expenses during retirement may only be 70% to 80% of those before…

43,500 Reasons To Make Your 2020 IRA Contribution

Putting off, or not contributing to an IRA can be easy. There may be other uses for the funds that seem more urgent – a vacation, a down payment on…

New Roth IRA Conversion Opportunity

Since 2010, individuals with Traditional IRAs have had the option of converting all or part of their funds in a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA regardless of how much…

Mistake to Avoid: Not Taking Full Advantage of Your Employer’s 401(k) Plan

Longer life spans, more active retirements, rising costs and uncertainty over Social Security make the need for a substantial retirement nest-egg greater than ever. Luckily, many corporate retirement plans offer…

Handling Your First Retirement Plan Distribution When Changing Jobs

If you have participated in a company retirement plan like a 401(k) plan and change jobs, you will probably receive a distribution of the funds you have accumulated in your…

Fundamentals of Retirement Planning

Fundamentals of Retirement Planning Most people identify a financially secure retirement as one of their primary financial goals. As you begin your financial life, retirement may seem to be…

Beginning to Think About Retirement Planning

Beginning to Think About Retirement Planning Retirement is probably many years, if not decades, in the future. Yet, being able to afford a financially secure retirement is expensive and…

IRAs for Teens

IRAs for Teens Few teenagers think much about retirement but funding an Individual Retirement Account may be one of the best financial steps they will ever take. The reasons are…

IRA or Roth IRA?

Individual Retirement Accounts can be part of the foundation of a financially secure retirement. For many years, millions of individuals have made annual contributions to IRAs or used them to…

Do IRA and 401(k) Contributions Still Make Sense?

In almost every case, the answer is a resounding YES. Planning for a financially secure retirement is most often ranked as the number one reason why people save and invest. Social…

Good Retirement Planning News

Changing the Social Security program continues to be a hotly debated topic. Some politicians want to make major revisions with individuals having the ability to manage a portion of their…

Four Components of a Financially Secure Retirement

Most people identify a financially secure retirement as one of their primary financial goals. Reaching that goal can be easier by examining the four sources of income you will have…

Do Not Ignore IRA Opportunities

Your Individual Retirement Account can be part of the foundation of a financially secure retirement. Many experts suggest that your living expenses after retirement to average 60% to 75% of…

An IRA Refresher

The almost-annual changes to the income tax laws have created confusion about Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). This confusion has caused many people to ignore one of the most powerful tools…

Add $100,000 to Your Retirement Savings

Determining exactly how much you need to save for retirement can be complicated. To do the perfect calculation, you need to know your level of expenses during retirement, your future…

Company Offered Dividend Reinvestment Plans

Many companies provide dividend reinvestment plans for their shareholders. The concept and mechanics are relatively simple. Each time the company pays a dividend, your dividend amount is used to buy…

Which Should You Do? – Contribute to an IRA or Participate in a 401(k) Plan

Ideally you should do both if you can afford it. Having enough funds to afford the retirement lifestyle you desire is an important goal for many. IRAs and 401(k)…

Can $6,00 IRA Contributions Really Add Up?

A wise person once said that humans tend to over-estimate what they can accomplish in the short-term and under-estimate what they can accomplish in the long-term. This holds very true…

Should You Borrow From Your 401(k) Plan?

Most 401(k) retirement plans allow participants to borrow from their accounts within the retirement plan. This source of funds can be helpful if you need money, but is not always…

How Much Can I Expect to Receive From Social Security During Retirement?

The Social Security System has become a visible political as well as financial issue. The system was started in the 1930s to provide a secure source retirement income and other…

Retirement

Resources