(MoneyWatch) 

As an actuary, I'm a numbers guy. That's why most of my posts offer analyses, strategies and insights from my 35-plus years of actuarial experience to help you make the best of your retirement.

But many people need more than facts and figures to get them to take action to improve their lives -- they need inspiration. And motion pictures often tell the stories that move us to make changes in our lives.

With Oscar night approaching, it's a good time to watch a few movie clips that will inspire us to take charge of the rest of our lives. All of these clips except one come from movieclips.com, a fun website that organizes a treasure trove of clips from the classics and beyond. One clip comes courtesy of YouTube.

With all the bad news about retirement -- inadequate savings, stock market meltdowns, layoffs, retirement benefits cutbacks, and the threat of reduced Social Security benefits -- it's understandable if you're mad as hell about retirement. If it helps to get it out of your system, go ahead and shout out your frustrations, like Peter Finch's character did in the movie "Network," when he yelled, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"

But just being mad won't change the reality of the retirement challenges that boomers face today. So redirect that energy and take action steps that will make your life better. Believe that failure is not an option, and develop a plan that will work, as shown by this scene from "Apollo 13."

Some movie clips offer examples of what not to do, such as this scene in "Shrek Forever After," when Shrek meets up with the retired cat Puss in Boots, who had lost purpose in life, and had degenerated into a fat cat. Instead, you'll thrive in your retirement years if you enter them with a spirit of renewal and transformation, as shown in this scene from "Man of La Mancha."

Speaking of contrasts, one thing you may want to avoid is adopting Billy Crystal's cynical attitude about aging, as shown in this clip from "City Slickers." Instead, look no farther than the tale of reinvention in one of this year's nominees for best picture, "The Artist."

While planning for your retirement years, don't forget to make plans to ensure that your spouse or partner will be secure after you've gone to the great cutting room floor in the sky. In this famous scene from "Gone With the Wind," Clark Gable's character, Rhett Butler, gives us an example of how not to think about the future. Instead, it's better to be sure you'll never be sorry about the plans you've made for your spouse's future, as illustrated in this equally famous scene from "Love Story."

The people who do best in their retirement years are the ones who commit to making a difference in their lives and the lives of others. Need some inspiration for that? Watch this scene from "Star Trek: Generations," and you'll see what I mean.

Motivated to learn more about retirement planning? These posts are a good start:

Retirement planning: How to do it right
Women: Don't go broke in retirement

So what are you waiting for? It's time to start planning for the rest of your life. May the Force be with you!

Link:
Retirement planning inspiration from the Oscars

What does race have to do with retirement? Apparently plenty. A new study, Retirement Revealed,  from ING U.S. examines how cultural environment can affect one's financial situation and behavior.

While no one in America seems to be feeling terribly confident about retirement, not even those who are a lot closer to the lofty 1% than the rest of us, there remain significant differences among ethnic groups. The Retirement Revealed study shines the spotlight on the differences between Asians, African Americans and Hispanics (as compared to an overall set of 4,000+ U.S. respondents), when it comes to retirement saving, planning and preparedness.

ING's research showed that Hispanics feel the least prepared, with 54% indicating that they feel "not very" or "not at all" prepared. This compares with 50% of African-Americans, 48% of whites and 44% of Asians polled who said they don't feel prepared. The feelings make sense when you look at the amount save in employer-sponsored retirement plans, where Hispanics reported having the lowest average balance ($54,000) in their retirement plans. This amount was notably lower than the average balance across all groups, ($69,000). The top savers were Asians, who had the highest average balance of $81,000.

Savings shortfall

What's getting in the way of saving?

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed admitted having barriers to saving. Among the groups, African-Americans said debt was their biggest obstacle. More than 60% of African-Americans said that whittling away their debt was their most important short-term financial goal. Needing to know more about their savings options is a greater barrier to savings for Hispanics than for any other group.

Fail to plan, plan to fail

The Hispanics said they were less focused on their future retirement goals — well over half (57%) have never done the math to come up with a figure for how much money they'll need to mirror their current lifestyle later down the road. Seventy percent didn't have a formal investment plan to reach their goals. In fact, only 29% of all who shared their thoughts said they had a formal investment plan. African-Americans are most likely to have one (32%) and whites are least (28%).

No safety net

Nearly half of all participants have too little savings to amount to much (one month or less). The number increases to 47% for Hispanics, 50% for African-Americans, while only 25% of Asians have one month or less saved for hard times.

Cart before the horse syndrome

While Asians win the trophy for being most prepared for retirement, they seem to have their priorities somewhat misplaced. Lifestyle matters much for Asians, who put a higher priority on purchasing a nice house or car, than planning for retirement, according to the survey.

What's the takeaway?

Truth is, the survey shows that everybody on the planet could likely benefit from professional planning advice. "Having a road map to retirement will increase one's probability of achieving one's goal," says Fred Makonnen, vice president of Multicultural Sales at ING. Universally, there is a need for a stash of at least six months worth of expenses. Then too, across the board there is also room for improvement in getting life insurance coverage. However, there is one group that stands out: nearly one-in-four African-Americans have life insurance coverage equal to four to five times their salary, higher than the total population (18%).

Makonnen, has this advice for African-Americans, "Tackle debt. Write your goals on paper and create a plan to get there. Start with reducing your debt. It may require cutting your cable or other expenses. African-Americans also incur higher levels of late fees. You can avoid unnecessary penalties by setting up an automatic payment account." Once the debt is paid off, the next task should be building an emergency and stepping up retirement savings at work.

For Hispanics, his words of wisdom are  simple, "Get focused. Create a comprehensive plan that takes into account shorter-term goals like weddings and college and longer-term goals like retirement."

Although Asians are strong savers, they are the least likely to have a last will and testament (26%), compared with 31% for Hispanics and 37% for whites. Makonnen urges Asians to put creating a will high on the to-do list.

While the research reveals cultural differences, I'm left wondering why? The intersection of culture, tradition and money is fascinating. How much of one's financial personality and attitudes can be attributed to upbringing, environment, culture and tradition? No one can say for sure yet. I'm waiting for that study.

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Race And Retirement: Who’s Saving The Most, Least?

Retirement planning is full of rules of thumb. The 4 percent rule can help you to decide how much to withdraw from your retirement savings each year, and aiming to replace a certain percentage of your pre-retirement income can give you a rough idea of how much to save. However, this well-intentioned advice sometimes gets slowly twisted into something else that does more harm than good. Here are some ways following expert advice can actually harm your financial future.

[See 10 Important Ages for Retirement Planning.]

You are unlikely to implement the 4 percent rule. The 4 percent rule is based on withdrawing 4 percent of your assets annually and adjusting the amount based on inflation every year. So even if the market does really well or drops precipitously, you stick with a 4 percent withdrawal based on the original nest egg and ride out the bumps. But can you imagine anyone actually doing this throughout retirement? Say you are 20 years into retirement. By then, even the most stubborn and disciplined person has probably come up with a new percentage to draw based on market performance and personal circumstances. In reality, people end up twisting the 4 percent rule, perhaps to withdraw more money when they incur an unexpected expense or skip a withdrawal while the market is down. This may or may not work for them, but it's not the 4 percent rule.

Everyone doesn't need the same percentage of pre-retirement income. Some studies have calculated that most people will need a specific percentage of their pre-retirement income to live comfortably in retirement, such as 75 or 80 percent of working income. This is another rule that could help you get a sense of how much is needed for your retirement years, but it may not work in practice. There are just too many expense variables to say that everyone will be able to get by on a given percentage of their pre-retirement income. For example, many people have a mortgage payment that consumes around 25 percent of their income. Obviously, people who pay off their house before they retire will have a vastly different expense situation than those who are still making payments. Therefore, the only way to come up with any realistic retirement budget is to know your own situation and track your expenses. There's no other way to determine how much you need to save for retirement.

[See The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012.]

There's inflation between now and retirement too. While most people consider how inflation will impact their nest egg during their retirement years, not enough people account for inflation eroding their purchasing power from now until the day they decide to start their retirement. Of course, this problem is worst for younger folks who have decades until they retire. But workers nearing retirement should acknowledge that they will probably need a bigger nest egg to account for inflation. Once you figure out your expenses, you need to remember to add inflation into the calculation too. For example, if your expenses are currently $40,000 a year, the same level of consumption could cost as much as $54,000 in 10 years.

Social Security is a big help. It's true that the Social Security system has a long-term deficit. But there is almost no chance that the program will be eliminated in its entirety. This means that, for the vast majority of Americans, there will be some sort of check coming to you on a monthly basis for the rest of your life, and it will be adjusted each year to keep up with inflation. The program won't replace all your working income, but the monthly payments will give your retirement standard of living a significant boost.

[See 7 Misconceptions About Retired Life.]

Instead of writing the whole scheme off completely, you should make sure that you are doing what you can to increase your retirement benefit. This means at least 35 years of paying into the system, and taking some time to figure out the pros and cons of claiming your benefits at various ages. Married individuals should explore ways to maximize their lifetime benefit as a couple.

David Ning runs MoneyNing, a personal finance site aimed at helping others change their habits for a better financial future. He suggests that everyone to sign up for an online savings account to get more out of our hard earned money.

Read more:
Retirement Gotchas Experts Rarely Talk About

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8gg4XQ5PMo

16-02-2012 11:46 News 8's Norm Karkos and Kristin Guibord take a look at the retirement market.

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Retirement Market - Video

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TheStreet) -- One would believe that the "foundation of retirement" is Social Security or a pension. Some may say it is the three-legged stool of Social Security, pension and savings. The reality is that the foundation of retirement is the same for all financial planning regardless of where you are in life: "What you think about money will determine everything you do with and for money." I have been in the financial advice business for 33 years, and for the first 15 of those years I was frustrated. I seemed to always give good advice, but I was getting mixed results. One person was aggressive on tax deductions, the other conservative. One person was an aggressive investor, the other conservative. One bought all the insurance they could get their hands on, the other never bought it. Neither was right or wrong. They were just acting out of what they thought and believed. As financial advisers we need to listen to our clients to understand what is driving them and their belief systems. Only by doing this can we be truly successful in working for them. For someone to get their "foundation" right requires a massive shift away from some universally accepted beliefs. The king of all beliefs is that money is powerful. Unfortunately, there is no basis to that common belief. Tell a trillion dollars to go do something really powerful and you know what? Nothing will happen. We must understand that money is an inanimate object that has no power. Money can buy a house, but it will never make it a home. Money can get you a child, but it will never make you a great parent. Steve Jobs was worth many billions, but he still died. The same will happen to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and any other very wealthy person. Money cannot keep us from the grave. Real power lies in relationships, and the No. 1 destroyer of relationships is money. Money is a very useful tool and too little of it is not healthy. But statistics show that when a family reaches $75,000 in annual income there is little change in the overall family level of satisfaction. The United States peaked in its citizens' level of contentment back in the 1950s and we have been declining ever since despite our vast growth in national wealth. Why have so many wealthy civilizations collapsed? I think you will find the answer in the deceitfulness of wealth. Money is no more powerful than the ancient idols that have been worshipped throughout history. As you head into retirement it is very important to set your feet upon a solid foundation so that you find fulfillment in retirement and leave behind a legacy. A legacy is the dreams, hopes, inspiration, and aspiration you leave behind to the next generation. >To submit a news tip, email: tips@thestreet.com.

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Foundation of a Happy Retirement Isn't Money

(MoneyWatch) 

When you're planning for retirement, your future self doesn't stand a chance battling your current self. That's the powerful message of an excellent video hosted by the Financial Security Project at Boston College. Let me show you what I mean.

Spend for today or save for tomorrow? Your present self is happy when you spend and unhappy when you save.

Take Social Security as early as possible to get the money now or delay it to let it grow? Your current self gives you a high five for taking it now!

In retirement, draw down your 401(k) retirement savings at a much faster rate than 4 percent to pay for the things you want? No worries, says your current self. Somehow it will all work out.

Can your future self ever win? It's not even here today to defend itself! The short answer is nope -- not unless you take special steps now to help your future self.

Daniel Goldstein, the noted psychologist in the above-mentioned video, suggests that you use "commitment devices," or schemes, that your rational, planning future self puts in place. These schemes force you to take care of your future self. Good examples of retirement planning commitment devices include:

-- Saving more with automatic payroll savings and auto escalation with 401(k) plans.
-- Throwing away credit cards that enable you to spend too much.
-- In retirement, using managed payout funds and immediate annuities that send you a monthly paycheck from your retirement savings, so that paycheck lasts for life.

Goldstein goes on to encourage you to imagine your future self being happy and financially secure and asks if you can find the discipline to take steps today to make that future self happy and secure. In a fascinating paper, Goldstein describes experiments where subjects "interacted" with their future self by seeing pictures of themselves that had been "aged." During these experiments, the future self smiled if their present self saved more for retirement and frowned if they saved less. Subjects report that they were more likely to plan for their future if they could see and interact with their future selves.

If you're not faint-hearted, try one of the online software programs that will age a photo of your face. I tried the iPad app AgingBooth, which added 30-plus years to my face. The first few photos of me that were aged were kind of scary, but were also deeply moving. I tried several photos until I found an older "me" that I liked. The exercise made me want to be sure that the older me is OK and doing well -- not only financially but with my physical health as well.

The retirement savings menu: A visual take on how much you should save
What a marshmallow experiment can teach you about retirement
IRA and 401(k) retirement drawdown: Don't die broke!

Unbeknownst to my wife, I ran the program on a photo of her, too. It made me compassionate for both of us. I know that our shared experience will only deepen as we age and that we'll take care of each other as we get older. I have no real worries because I know we'll be committed to make it all work out.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto contributor JJRD

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Retirement tips: Here's how to save more now

Eligibility for retirement benefits begins at different ages. Your age also plays a role in what you need to do to avoid retirement account penalties. Here are important ages to factor into your retirement plans:

[See The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012.]

Age 21. Employees can generally first join a 401(k) plan at age 21. Plan sponsors are allowed to exclude employees younger than 21 from 401(k) plans, and many companies do. A recent IRS survey of 1,200 401(k) plan sponsors found that 64 percent require employees to be at least 21 before they can participate in the 401(k) plan. And 61 percent of companies that offer a 401(k) match require employees to be at least age 21 to qualify. "If you can start saving this early, it can make a tremendous difference because you have the growth in your investments accumulating for more years," says Joe Tomlinson, a certified financial planner and founder of Tomlinson Financial Planning in Greenville, Maine.

Age 50. Beginning at age 50, you can defer paying income tax on more of your retirement savings in a 401(k) or IRA. The contribution limit for 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan is $22,500 for people age 50 and older in 2012, $5,500 more than younger people can deposit in these accounts. Older workers can also tuck away $1,000 more than their younger counterparts in a traditional or Roth IRA.

Age 55. Retirees who leave their job during the calendar year that they turn 55 or later can take 401(k), but not IRA, withdrawals without having to pay the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. Qualified public safety retirees can begin penalty-free withdrawals if they separate from service the year they turn 50 or later. "If you separate from your employer at 55 or later, you can take a lump-sum payment from your 401(k) and there is not penalty," says Erin Botsford, CEO of The Botsford Group in Frisco, Texas, and author of The Big Retirement Risk: Running Out of Money Before You Run Out of Time. "But you cannot roll that 401(k) into an IRA and take a lump sum out without penalty."

[See 401(k) and IRA Changes Coming in 2012.]

Age 59½. The 10 percent early withdrawal penalty on IRA withdrawals ends at age 59½. However, you are not required to take distributions until after you reach age 70½.

Age 62. Workers become eligible to sign up for Social Security benefits at age 62. However, your payout will be reduced if you begin payments at this age. For example, a baby boomer born in 1950 who signs up at age 62 will get 25 percent less per month that he would have gotten if he had waited until age 66 to claim. A worker eligible for a $1,000 monthly benefit at age 66 would get just $750 monthly at age 62. Also, people this age who work and receive Social Security benefits at the same time could have their payments temporarily withheld if they earn above certain annual limits.

Age 65. Medicare eligibility begins at age 65. The initial enrollment period starts three months before the month you reach age 65 and ends three months after your birthday. It's a good idea to sign up right away because Medicare Part B premiums will increase by 10 percent for each 12-month period you were eligible for benefits but did not enroll. If you or your spouse is covered by a group health plan based on your current employment, you should sign up within eight months of leaving the job or health plan to avoid the higher premiums.

Age 66. Baby boomers born between 1943 and 1954 qualify for the full amount of Social Security they have earned at age 66. For those born between 1955 and 1959, the full retirement age gradually increases from 66 and two months to 66 and 10 months. Once you reach your full retirement age, you will also be able to work and claim Social Security payments at the same time without having any of your payment withheld.

Age 67. The Social Security full retirement age is higher for younger workers. Eligibility for unreduced Social Security payments for workers born in 1960 or later begins at age 67.

Age 70. Social Security payments continue to grow by 8 percent per year for each year you delay claiming up until age 70. "The longer you can postpone it up until age 70, the better, especially if you have longevity in your family," says Botsford. Your spouse could also benefit if you delay claiming Social Security. "If someone waits until age 70, when they pass away, their spouse will be able to continue that higher benefit for the remainder of their life," says Tomlinson. After age 70, there is no additional benefit to delaying Social Security payments.

[See How to Finance Life Until 100.]

Age 70½. Withdrawals from 401(k)s and IRAs become required after age 70½. If you don't withdraw the correct amount, you will be required to pay a 50 percent excise tax on the amount that should have been taken out. The first distribution is due by April 1 of the year after you turn 70½. After that, annual withdrawals will be required by December 31 each year. If you delay your first withdrawal until April, you will need to take two distributions in the same year. "If you delay taking that first one, you are bunching up two years' worth of distributions into one tax year and you are going to have to be comfortable with whatever the tax impact of that is going to be," says Gerald Wernette, director of retirement plan services at Rehmann in Farmington Hills, Mich. In some cases, two distributions in the same year could push you into a higher tax bracket.

Twitter: @aiming2retire

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10 Important Ages for Retirement Planning

In a recent column, I asked you to complete a retirement checklist to create a big-picture strategy. The next step is determining your needs. You may find that your needs and your actual savings don't come together in a nice package. In that case, knowing there is a gap will help you better prepare.

[See top-ranked ETFs by category ranked by U.S. News Best ETFs.]

Since there are so many variables, turning your needs into your savings number can be complicated. There are online calculators, and retirement planning professionals should be able to help. Some things to consider as you work toward your number are:

Lifestyle. Do you plan to maintain your current lifestyle? Retire more frugally? Take on new expenses? Oftentimes, financial advisers figure monthly retirement needs in terms of current monthly income. However, your income replacement need could be 70 percent or 105 percent of your current income.

Long-term care. Do you have long-term care insurance? If not, decide whether to budget for long-term care.

Retirement age. Earlier retirement means fewer earning years and more spending years.

Living situation. If you plan to live in a home with a paid-off mortgage, budget for home repairs, updates, and insurance. Renters, ensure your budget includes monthly rental payments forevermore.

Transportation. If you'll own a car, you'll need to pay for gas, upkeep, and insurance--and you may want to purchase new cars periodically during retirement.

Gifting. Do you plan to give your children monetary gifts?

Employment. Do you plan to work as a consultant or start a new business? Maybe you'd like to have a part-time job during retirement. Account for any income you plan to have.

Inflation. The average inflation rate has historically been about 3.4 percent per year.

Health care. Your retirement age and employment situation will alter your health insurance options. Even if you'll immediately qualify for Medicare, you'll still need money to pay for care within that program as it currently stands.

Post-retirement investing philosophy. Think about your risk tolerance during retirement. Your post-retirement investing plan may revolve around wealth preservation, or you may prefer to put your money to work, investing some portion in asset classes with more risk.

[See Using Brokerage Windows to Expand Your 401(k) diversification]

Social Security. Under the current structure of Social Security, how much income do you anticipate receiving? Do you believe Social Security will pay at that rate when the time comes? There are differing opinions about the future of Social Security. To be safe, some retirement planners assume they'll receive no Social Security income.

Spousal/partner income. Remember to account for your spouse or partner's employer-sponsored retirement plan or IRA income.

Other income. Don't forget pensions, annuities, inheritance, and other investments. Consider when you'll receive them and in what form.

Filling in the gap

Once you determine how much money you'll likely need to live the retirement lifestyle you prefer, calculate how much money you're currently on track to have at retirement. This number is based on your current and future rate of saving with your ongoing investing style. Remember that it's wise to gradually move toward a more conservative allocation as you near retirement.

[See Preparing for the Ultimate Vacation]

If your goal is higher than your actual expected savings, you have a gap.

There are online gap analysis tools to help, but filling the gap means making financial changes. If you're on track to earn less money that you'll need, you can:

--Save more money now. To increase your current retirement contributions, you may need to change your current lifestyle: Spend less so you can afford to contribute more, or earn more by changing your employment situation.

-- Change your investing strategy to be more aggressive. However, people who already have a suitable, well-planned investing strategy in place should not invest at an uncomfortably aggressive level.

--Postpone retirement in order to put more money into a retirement account and spend less money from that account.

--Change your retirement goals and expectations. If you're unwilling or unable to make enough changes to fill the gap between your expected retirement account balance and your desired retirement account balance, something has to give. You'll need to have a less expensive retirement. Perhaps you'll need to travel less and forgo financial gifts to your children. You could work during retirement and take up fewer hobbies. Many Boomers are choosing to work longer and retire later.

Everyone contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan has taken a step in the right direction. But anyone serious about retirement readiness has to dig into the numbers.

Scott Holsopple is the president and CEO of Smart401k, offering easy-to-use, cost-effective 401(k) advice and solutions for the everyday investor. His advice has been featured on various news outlets, including FOX Business, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. Keep tabs on Scott on Twitter and Facebook.

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Saving for a Comfortable Retirement

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I19SDkkbck

02-02-2012 15:21 403 b plans. What is a 403b? 80% of Teachers currently make a HUGE Retirement Mistake. Are you One of Them? Find out on this Teacher-Only Webinar: http://www.teachersretirementhelp.com This video goes over all the basics of 403b plans and the 403b contribution limits. Also discussed is 401k vs 403b, the different types of 403b teacher retirement plans, and the 403b maximum contribution. Best part of the video is it is all in easy to understand terms, none of that "finance speak". For more articles and videos to help you get more out of your money, visit TeachersRetirementHelp.com http

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403 b Plans. What is a 403b? - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csokGDVu2kU

05-02-2012 04:36 Nick Diaz to retire? Did he actually lose? retires "I'm not gonna accept the fact that this was a loss. That ain't right," a disappointed Diaz stated. "I pushed him back the whole fight, I walked him down, I got the takedown, I'm the guy who went on top. "I think I'm done with this MMA. It's been great out here. I've had a good career. You guys pay me way too much, but I don't think I'm gonna get enough to keep going in this." The 170-pounders competed in some very close rounds to score, specifically the first two frames. Diaz felt that because he consistently took the center of the cage and hunted Condit down, he was the one that dictated Octagon control. "I don't need this [expletive]. I pushed this guy back the whole time, he ran from me this whole fight," Diaz stated. "I landed the harder shots, he ran the whole time. He kicked me with baby leg kicks the whole fight. That was the way they understand how to win in here, I don't wanna play this game no more. "I'll help my team and my brother, I'm out of this [expletive]." When Diaz's temperature eventually cools, the 29-year-old will most likely compete again. Then again, we are talking about the most unpredictable fighter the sport has ever seen.

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Nick Diaz to retire? Did he actually lose? - Video