in ho chi minh city, a local architecture practicehas fitted-out the interior of a yoga studio located on the top floor of a four-storey townhouse. completed by 69.a StudiO a firm led by nguyen xuan truong and ngo quang hau the design features curved yin-yang tiles, a readily available resource commonly used in traditional vietnamese architecture. the project was completed on a budget of just under 100 million VND ($4,500 USD).

all images courtesy of 69.a StudiO

the yoga studio, which has been designed to evoke a sense of comfortable domesticity, provides room for up to eight people. the space was conceived as a terracotta-clad attic with smooth, curved forms filling the entirety of the interior. as a local material, the tiles have numerous advantages such as sound insulation, warm colors, rustic style, lightweight profile, and are always available at an affordable price, explains 69.a StudiO.

the yoga studio is located in ho chi minh city, vietnam

a mirrored wall reflects the terracotta tiles, helping establish a greater sense of space within the compact studio. meanwhile, natural ventilation eliminates the need for air conditioning. for us, expressing the spirit of the brand was the key factor for the project, says the design team. we created our new space in a new way: the combination between a familiar traditional feeling and the unique brand identity.

the scheme is found on the top floor of a four-storey townhouse

the design features curved yin-yang tiles

the tiles are commonly used in traditional vietnamese architecture

the space was conceived as a terracotta-clad attic

a mirrored wall reflects the tiles, helping establish a greater sense of space

project info:

name: an yogaarchitect: 69.a StudiOdesign team: nguyen xuan truong, ngo quang hauclient: an yogalocation: hoa su street, ward 7, phu nhuan district, ho chi minh city, vietnamcompleted: march 2017

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philip stevens I designboom

aug 08, 2017

Read the original post:
69.a StudiO clads yoga studio interior in vietnam with curved yin-yang tiles - Designboom

Article date: Aug 8 2017

A Grand Junction yoga studio has a new name and will soon have larger quarters.

What was Yoga: Vinyassa is moving to a larger space in Unit A of the Redlands Marketplace at 2500 Broadway. The name of the studio has changed to yoga V. An opening is set for September. For more information, visit http://www.yogavstudio.com.

This has been a dream in the works for years. But as a mother to three young children, the timing had to be right, said Tessa Canterbury, owner of yoga V. The yoga V team is thrilled to be taking the next step and creating a place for even more people to call their yoga home.

In addition to heated power yoga, workshops and teacher trainings, yoga V will offer in its larger quarters non-heated yoga, gentle yoga and kids yoga. Infrared heat and a new ventilation system will be added, as will a second, non-heated studio and a larger area selling yoga apparel and accessories.

Yoga V offers a variety of memberships and packages. The studio will continue to offer $5 community classes, a $5 rate for Colorado Mesa University students and discounts to seniors and veterans.

Expanding the studio means providing a place for more people to come out of their day-to-day lives, to relieve stress, move their bodies and find a sense of well-being, Canterbury said.

More:
Yoga studio announces new name and larger quarters - Business Times of Western Colorado

INDIANAPOLIS It will be difficult if not impossible for any Indianapolis Colts pass rusher in the foreseeable future to escape Robert Mathis oversized shadow.

So it seems noteworthy that Jabaal Sheard is actively seeking it out.

One of first-year general manager Chris Ballards biggest offseason acquisitions, Sheard has spent nearly every free moment at Mathis side since practice began in the spring.

Its not uncommon to see the franchises all-time sacks leader donning conical pads on both arms while sparring with Sheard on the sideline. The excercise is designed to improve Sheards hand quickness one factor that could further amplify the 28-year-olds natural power.

But theres another move Sheard would love to master.

First, Im trying to learn that spin from him, the outside linebacker said with a laugh. Thats a whole other ... hes a freak of nature at that.

Sheard might not soon be bending his 6-foot-3, 265-pound frame perpendicular to the turf as he turns the corner in attempt to beat an offensive tackle.

But he is picking up tricks from Indianapolis most famous volunteer assistant coach.

Being around a GOAT like that, somebody thats been around the game and whos led the team in sacks, led the league in sacks (is a big help), Sheard said, using a popular acronym to identify Mathis as one of the greatest of all time. Any time you get a chance to work with him one on one, you want to.

The Colts are hoping all of those private lessons pay dividends.

Ballard has remodeled the Indianapolis defense into a younger, faster and more athletic unit. But there still are questions about where the primary pass rush will come from.

Sheard had a career-high 8.5 sacks as a rookie with Cleveland in 2011, and he had a combined 13 sacks in a rotational role with New England over the past two seasons.

The seventh-year veteran signed with the Colts in part because of the scheme. He wants to see what he can produce in the rush linebacker role popularized by Mathis in Indianapolis and Terrell Suggs in Baltimore.

Training camp is just a week old, but Colts head coach Chuck Pagano who coached both Mathis and Suggs in this scheme likes what hes seen thus far from Sheard.

He doesnt say a whole lot, Pagano said of the soft-spoken defender. He demands (a lot), in his own way, of himself and his teammates. But hes a big, physical guy. Hes a good pass rusher. I wouldnt be surprised to see him have double-digit sacks for us this year.

Sheards size and physicality also should make him a force in the run defense.

And the Pitt product isnt interested in individual numbers.

He was a part of Patriots teams that went to the AFC Championship Game and won the Super Bowl in the past two years, and winning is the only measurement hell use for success.

If statistical glory comes along with that, all the better.

I think every defensive ends goal is to get double-digit sacks, Sheard said. Since Ive been in the league, thats been one of my goals. If that helps the team win, hopefully (it will be achieved). But if it doesnt and thats not my job; my job is stopping the run thats what Im gonna focus on.

Anything I can do to help the team, thats what Im here for.

Pagano figures that will be plenty.

He raves about Sheards length and leverage. And he dreams of setting the big man loose on third down to chase opposing quarterbacks.

Hes hard to block, Pagano said.

If Sheard gets his way, that task eventually will become even more difficult.

Hes been watching film of Mathis and former running mate Dwight Freeney since he came into the NFL as a second-round draft pick.

And hes not giving up on discovering the secret to their success.

That spin move is gonna take a lot to learn, Sheard said. And Im gonna keep working at it.

See the original post here:

New spin on old tricks - The Rushville Republican

INDIANAPOLIS It will be difficult if not impossible for any Indianapolis Colts pass rusher in the foreseeable future to escape Robert Mathis' oversized shadow.

So it seems noteworthy that Jabaal Sheard is actively seeking it out.

One of first-year general manager Chris Ballard's biggest offseason acquisitions, Sheard has spent nearly every free moment at Mathis' side since practice began in the spring.

It's not uncommon to see the franchise's all-time sacks leader donning conical pads on both arms while sparring with Sheard on the sideline. The excercise is designed to improve Sheard's hand quickness one factor that could further amplify the 28-year-old's natural power.

But there's another move Sheard would love to master.

"First, I'm trying to learn that spin from him," the outside linebacker said with a laugh. "That's a whole other ... he's a freak of nature at that."

Sheard might not soon be bending his 6-foot-3, 265-pound frame perpendicular to the turf as he turns the corner in attempt to beat an offensive tackle.

But he is picking up tricks from Indianapolis' most famous volunteer assistant coach.

"Being around a GOAT like that, somebody that's been around the game and who's led the team in sacks, led the league in sacks (is a big help)," Sheard said, using a popular acronym to identify Mathis as one of the greatest of all time. "Any time you get a chance to work with him one on one, you want to."

The Colts are hoping all of those private lessons pay dividends.

Ballard has remodeled the Indianapolis defense into a younger, faster and more athletic unit. But there still are questions about where the primary pass rush will come from.

Sheard had a career-high 8.5 sacks as a rookie with Cleveland in 2011, and he had a combined 13 sacks in a rotational role with New England over the past two seasons.

The seventh-year veteran signed with the Colts in part because of the scheme. He wants to see what he can produce in the rush linebacker role popularized by Mathis in Indianapolis and Terrell Suggs in Baltimore.

Training camp is just a week old, but Colts head coach Chuck Pagano who coached both Mathis and Suggs in this scheme likes what he's seen thus far from Sheard.

"He doesn't say a whole lot," Pagano said of the soft-spoken defender. "He demands (a lot), in his own way, of himself and his teammates. But he's a big, physical guy. He's a good pass rusher. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have double-digit sacks for us this year."

Sheard's size and physicality also should make him a force in the run defense.

And the Pitt product isn't interested in individual numbers.

He was a part of Patriots teams that went to the AFC Championship Game and won the Super Bowl in the past two years, and winning is the only measurement he'll use for success.

If statistical glory comes along with that, all the better.

"I think every defensive end's goal is to get double-digit sacks," Sheard said. "Since I've been in the league, that's been one of my goals. If that helps the team win, hopefully (it will be achieved). But if it doesn't and that's not my job; my job is stopping the run that's what I'm gonna focus on.

"Anything I can do to help the team, that's what I'm here for."

Pagano figures that will be plenty.

He raves about Sheard's length and leverage. And he dreams of setting the big man loose on third down to chase opposing quarterbacks.

"He's hard to block," Pagano said.

If Sheard gets his way, that task eventually will become even more difficult.

He's been watching film of Mathis and former running mate Dwight Freeney since he came into the NFL as a second-round draft pick.

And he's not giving up on discovering the secret to their success.

"That spin move is gonna take a lot to learn," Sheard said. "And I'm gonna keep working at it."

Originally posted here:

Colts' Sheard attempting to put new spin on old tricks - The Herald Bulletin

In response to the Department of Labors conflict-of-interest rule aka the fiduciary rule firms in the financial services industry are rolling out two new classes for mutual fund shares: T shares and clean shares.

These new shares are designed to help advisers comply with the requirements of the fiduciary rule which will start being enforced unless something happens in the meanwhile on Jan. 1, 2018. The fiduciary rule requires, among other things, that financial advisers to put their clients best interest ahead of their own compensation when selling investments and products inside a retirement accounts such as an IRA.

Read: The fiduciary rule is about more than adviser pay. Heres why that matters

Read: 6 key points on the fiduciary rule

Read: Morningstar comment letter on COI examination

And that means financial advisers would be hard-pressed to comply with the Labor Departments (DoL) rule given that the earn commission and 12b-1 fees on the load class of shares they often sell to clients for their retirement accounts. Those would include according to the 2017 Investment Company (ICI) Fact Book:

Front-end load shares, which are predominantly Class A shares, and were the traditional way investors compensated financial professionals for assistance;

Back-end load shares, often called Class B shares, where investors pay for services provided by financial professionals through a combination of an annual 12b-1 fee and a contingent deferred sales load (CDSL); and

Level-load shares, which include Class C shares, where investors compensate financial professionals with an annual 12b-1 fee (typically 1%) and a CDSL (also typically 1%) that shareholders pay if they sell their shares within a year of purchase.

Enter T shares and clean shares

T shares (or transactional shares) will help financial advisers maintain their traditional business modelselling mutual funds on commissionwhile complying with new rules, according to a paper published by Morningstar in April. The second new share class, clean shares, could help financial services companies that wish to shift to a level fee model in which advisers compensation only comes from a level charge on a clients assets and not from any varying third-party payments.

And the early evidence is that these new share classes should reduce conflicted advice and likely improve outcomes for investors, according to the Morningstar report.

T shares eliminate some but not all conflicts

T was originally said to stand for transactional, and then later, transitional, and we think there is truth in both those claims, said Paul Ellenbogen, head of global regulatory solutions at Morningstar and co-author of the report, Early Evidence on the Department of Labor Conflict of Interest Rule.

The T share, he said, is designed to replace the A share, which had become the workhorse of retail brokerage, but has two fatal flaws in the post-DOL, or best-interest world: its load structure, and varying revenue sharing arrangements. The load structure, which can vary across funds, fund companies, and investors, creates an incentive for an adviser to choose one fund over another based on their own interest, rather than the best interest of the client, Ellenbogen said. Revenue-sharing arrangements, which are more opaque, put certain fund families ahead of others, again based on the business interests of the provider and not the financial interests of the investor.

The T shares address these two challenges, he said, by levelizing loads (generally, at 2.5%), and otherwise removing inducements to offer one fund versus another. So far, our database shows nearly 1,000 T shares registered, but only about 125 actually operating, that is, holding assets and posting a daily price, said Ellenbogen. From the perspective of a broker-dealer, T shares have some operational advantages. As with A shares, the fees charged to the investor are collected by the fund company. Then, one part the management fee is kept by the asset manager, another part generally the 12b-1 fee is paid to the distributor; and some goes to the transfer agency and the sub-transfer agent. This collection and reallocation of fees is compatible with the business models of most brokerages.

However, T shares still include inducements that make them more attractive to brokers than other investments, said Ellenbogen. Specifically, all of the other fees beyond investment management included in the expense ratio, and paid by the investor, go to pay for some elements of the brokerage business, he said. Hence, funds with these other non-management fees serve the interest of the broker but not necessarily the investor.

To be fair, Ellenbogen and his co-author, Aron Szapiro, director of policy research, noted in their paper that that the move to T shares from A shares may not only reduce what some investors pay directly for advice in the form of commissions, but could also reduce other costs of investing, including fees for asset management and other services.

They estimated a savings of 50 basis points (one-half of 1%) to investors from reduced conflicted advice. Precisely how much T shares will save investors is an open question that we will be able to address more authoritatively after we have some experience with the new regime, they wrote.

Clean designed to eliminate conflicts

Clean shares, which are coming to market slowly, are meant to eliminate conflicts of interest altogether, said Ellenbogen. In our view, a clean share has fees only for investment management, he said. The investors money goes straight to the asset manager; no fees are redistributed to the broker. Of course, there are still fees that an investor has to pay, for administration, operations, distribution, and perhaps financial advice. But with a clean share these expenses are externalized, not part of the expense ratio, but billed separately and paid directly by the investor to the service provider.

Given that, Ellenbogen said clean shares have the advantage of being lowest cost, and being directly comparable to other investment only options, such as ETFs. That said, investors still need to consider the total costs of ownership: transactions, account fees, custodial charges, and the cost of financial advice still fall to the investor, he said. While T shares offer the convenience of all-in-one pricing; clean shares enable clearer disclosure of who pays how much to whom for what.

Advice worth more than the cost of the advice?

To be sure, its worth discussing the fees and commissions that come with T and clean shares. But its just, if not more important, to consider the quality of the financial advice retirement account owners receive.

The implementation of the fiduciary rule should focus on what kind of advice individuals will receive and whether it is reasonably priced, Ellenbogen and Szapiro wrote. We do not believe that fees are inherently problematic, as long as investors get advice that is worth more than the cost of the advice.

In fact, Morningstar research into the value of high-quality financial advice finds that it can improve a retirement savers financial well-being by as much as the equivalent of a 23% increase in lifetime income.

To the extent that the shift to T or clean share classes enhances fee transparency for investors by making it clear what they are paying for advice, it should encourage financial advisers to provide high-quality advice to remain competitive, Ellenbogen and Szapiro wrote. Shifting to a T share structure could potentially align advisers incentives with investors interests, particularly compared to the uneven and opaque fee structure we observe with A share classes.

In the long term, however, they wrote that clean share classes represent the best way to enhance transparency, which is why countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia have moved toward a clean share model.

Although T shares are a step in the right direction, the authors noted that the loads could induce advisers to rebalance unnecessarily. Further, they wrote that T shares impede advisers from trying innovative ways to charge for advice. Using a clean share model, advisers can align the level of advice they provide to their fee, and clients can choose how they would prefer to pay for advice: a flat dollar amount, a commission, or a level fee on assets under management, wrote Ellenbogen and Szapiro.

So, what do others say? Should investors use T or clean shares or something else in their retirement accounts if thats what their financial adviser recommends?

Well, for starters, there is much uncertainty with T shares as well as the future of the Labor Departments fiduciary rule right now, according to Avi Nachmany, an independent consultant and author of A Perspective on Mutual Fund Share Class Development.

Investors will be offered T shares in a wrap account

But assuming T and clean shares and the Labor Departments fiduciary rule are here to stay, Nachmany said its worth noting that the great majority of fund purchases today are inside some sort of asset allocation construct: a mutual fund wrap account, for instance, where there is a fee-for-service relationship, or a single balanced fund including target-date funds and their many permutations.

Given that, and given that financial advisers earn money on the wrapper fee, then actively managed mutual funds need to be entered into such wrappers at the lowest fee, said Nachmany. Thus, the shifts to lower fee classes and the early interest in clean, he said.

In other words, its likely most retirement account owners will find themselves being offered not just one clean share fund, but many clean share funds inside a mutual fund wrap account or target-date or target-risk fund.

T shares in a holding period

Its also likely that investors wont have much chance to invest in T shares. According to Nachmany, commissionable classes of shares represent less than 10% of fund transactions today. Ts are addressing the DoL conflicts, he said. But naturally until you get a critical mass of participation and DoL uncertainties settle down we are in the holding period.

Others take a different approach

While many firms are going down the T and clean shares route, some are taking a different approach to complying with the Labor Departments fiduciary rule, which among other things suggests that advisers receive levelized or standardized compensation on the products they recommend to retirement account owners.

For instance, LPL Financial announced in July plans to roll out its Mutual Fund Only (MFO) platform, a platform designed to improve the way advisers offer mutual funds in brokerage accounts with participating fund companies, according to a release.

The platform includes load-waived shares from 20 mutual-fund companies, a consistent trail commission, and free exchangeability across fund companies. According to LPL, MFO accounts will be subject to a maximum upfront commission of 3.5% and a 0.25% trail payment. Investors will be eligible for discounts based on the combined amount of brokerage assets held at LPL that are invested in MFO-eligible mutual funds.

The most unique aspect of the mutual fund only platform is the ability to exchange across funds and fund families without transaction fees, said Rob Pettman, an executive vice president with LPL Financial. This means that investors wont be charged for activities like regular rebalancing, changes to improve performance, and reallocations if their needs change or they decide to go to cash temporarily.

In addition to the cost savings for transactions, Pettman said the platform also offers quantity-based discounts, no IRA maintenance fees or ticket charges.

Finally, investors can move existing A share positions from participating companies into the account at no charge, he said. This movement adds incremental value given it expands their investment choice from one to 20 fund companies. It also does not require the use of a new share class which may result in the confusion of having different share classes of the same fund within one account.

Time to address pros and cons in public way

Other experts, meanwhile, say retirement account owners should approach T and clean shares with caution. Theres always two questions for miracle solutions, said David Snowball, publisher of Mutual Fund Observer. One, do they address the underlying forces that led to the original problem? And, two, what the likely cost of their unintended consequences? Theres so much cheerleading for the new share classes that Im not sure those questions have been much addressed, in public anyway.

The rest is here:
Are 'clean' shares best for your retirement account? - MarketWatch

Netflix just announced the latest addition to its roster of originals: a longform talk show from David Letterman. The six-episode series, which doesnt yet have a name, will feature Letterman having lengthy conversations with people he admires. Hell also leave the studio and do some real-world reporting, according to Netflix.

Letterman retired from hosting The Late Show in 2015, and has managed to stay relatively under the radar since then. But one of Netflixs go-to moves, at least when it comes to comedy, seems to be bringing A-listers back into the spotlight they once avoided. Dave Chapelles recent standup specials for Netflix were his first in more than a decade, and this past winter, the company announced that it was working on a stand-up special from Ellen DeGeneres. Jerry Seinfelds web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is also leaving Crackle this year for Netflix.

I feel excited and lucky to be working on this project for Netflix, Letterman said in a statement. Heres what I have learned, if you retire to spend more time with your family, check with your family first. Thanks for watching, drive safely.

Lettermans series is set to premiere sometime in 2018.

Read the original:
David Letterman is leaving retirement to host a Netflix series - The Verge

NerdWallet Published 10:00 a.m. ET Aug. 8, 2017

Millennials, this is how you can fix your YOLO financial mindset. USA TODAY

At the risk of sounding like a Facebook friend trying to fold you into my latest direct sales venture: Early retirement is possible.

If you read the Internet, you might already know this is true. Its been done; in fact, retirement at age 30 or 40 has become a trend of sorts, largely led by financial bloggers. But you might not know what it takes. Do you need a blog? To live with your parents for the next 10 or 15 years? To join a direct sales company yourself and pitch life-changing leggings, essential oils or protein shakes?

The answers are pretty much across-the-board maybes. Retiring at a young age takes a commitment; how you make that commitment can vary. One thing you need for sure: money. Heres how to figure out how much, where to find it and what to do with it.

When youre sweating your way through another nine to five, sitting around watching Real World reruns sounds pretty ideal. After a few days of watching drunken teenage fights, you might find those reruns arent as fulfilling as you expected.

Retirement means something a little different to everyone, so the first stop on the early retirement journey is to figure out what youre after. If your goal really is to lounge for 50 or 60 years, no judgment here but youre going to need more money. If your goal is to travel work-free, you probably need even more.

More: Here's what Social Security pays the average American

On the other hand, you might be looking for something a little less drastic. Maybe you still plan to work but on your own terms, or you want to travel but plan to pick up work at each stop. In that case, you may be able to retire on less because youll have a continued source of income.

Knowing how you plan to spend retirement will give you an idea of how much of your current income you need to replace.

The general retirement rule of thumb is to replace 80% of your pre-retirement income. That 20% reduction accounts for payroll taxes youll no longer have to pay and the 10% to 15% of your income you were presumably saving for retirement. Early retirement shakes up that math. As youll find out in a minute, youll need to save much, much more pre-retirement, which means youll be accustomed to living on much less than 80% of your income.

Lets say youre 25 now, earn $50,000 a year and want to retire by age 40. According to NerdWallets retirement calculator, you can do that if youre willing, and able, to save 48% of your income for the next 15 years. That will give you roughly $1,333 a month in retirement, which is your current income adjusted down for taxes, savings and those general work-related expenses that will disappear.

More: 5 top habits of the best retirement savers

If youre doing one of those half laughing-half crying things right now, you might want to adjust your plans push out that retirement age a little bit or plan to continue bringing in some kind of income in retirement.

In other words, brush off your blogging skills. Everyone loves a good early retirement story.

Saving 15% of your income is hard. Saving close to half of it is a different game entirely. It requires major cuts to your spending.

To make those cuts, start with the big things. Can you lower your rent or mortgage payments by refinancing or moving or, yes, living with your parents, though be sure they understand the impact of a long-term houseguest on their own retirement. Can you trade in your car for a cheaper version that still gets you from point A to point B?

Then look at smaller, recurring expenses. The cable goes. (I did this and found it completely painless, thanks mostly to the Bravo app.) The internet speed gets downgraded. Running outside replaces the gym. Any debt that can be refinanced student loans, credit card balance transfers should be. And yes, you will probably never eat avocado toast or drink a latte again.

We are living in a time when its relatively easy to pull in money on the side. There are those direct sales jobs mentioned earlier, though the jury is out on how much they actually bring in for the people at the bottom of the pyramid. There are side gigs like renting out a room on Airbnb, dog sitting through a site like Rover, folding laundry via TaskRabbit or freelancing on Upwork.

More: Her parents taught her to save, now she plans to retire at 40

Also, consider whether youre being paid fairly at your day job and if the time is right to ask for a raise or to start shopping around for a company that pays more. No matter how the money comes in, the more you earn, the more you save. Every extra dollar goes toward retirement.

Finally, you need to make the most of the money you save. That means putting it into your 401(k), if your employer offers a match, so you can grab that free money. If you dont have a 401(k), max out an individual retirement account like a Roth IRA, then shovel money into brokerage accounts.

It also means investing. Millennials seem loath to jump into the stock market, but doing so is the way to build real wealth. A recent NerdWallet analysis found that avoiding the market could lead to $3.3 million in lost retirement savings over 40 years. Over a shorter time horizon, that number would be smaller but still significant.

More on retirement

This article was written by NerdWallet and was originally published by Forbes.

The article Millennials, Heres How to Retire By 40 originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2wpUfRy

Go here to read the rest:
Millennials, here's how to retire by age 40 - USA TODAY

Former San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers announced his retirement Tuesday.

He thanked the owners of the Chiefs and Chargers in an Instagram post and wrote that he's ready "for this next chapter in my life."

Flowers, who turned 31 in February, played the past three seasons with the Chargers but was placed on injured reserve in December 2016 after suffering a concussion in Week 10 against the Dolphins. In six games (all starts) last season, he finished with one interception and five passes defensed.

Flowers started 30 of the 31 games he appeared in with the Chargers, but was released by the team on March 7, freeing up $7 million in cap space.

Flowers had a tryout with the Arizona Cardinals recently, but the team decided to sign cornerback Tramon Williams instead.

He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Chiefs and was selected to his only Pro Bowl in 2013. He had 17 interceptions and 92 passes defensed in his time in Kansas City.

Original post:
Veteran CB Flowers says he is retiring from NFL - ESPN

Theres no shortage of retirement advice from financial professionals to regular folk whove retired and are now sharing their perspective on retired life.

5 ill-conceived pieces of retirement advice

With These Two Moves, You Can Retire Well No Matter What the Market Does

But heres the thing to keep in mind as you consider retirement recommendations. What seems perfectly logical on paper doesnt necessarily play out in person.

Thats the point Paul B. Brown of the New York Times makes in a recent post: Three Things I Should Have Said About Retirement Planning

I had co-authored a couple of books on the subject one when I was in my 30s and another in my 40s but now that I am north of 60 and retirement is a far less abstract concept, I look back on what I wrote in a different light, Brown wrote.

Hes got more perspective, he says. Hes more empathetic. Typical advice: You can work longer to save more. Browns take now: I wrote it was just a no-brainer to work until age 70, if you can. While my math was right, what I now realize is just how hard it is to keep working as you age.

Typical advice: Once you eliminate the expenses for raising your children, you can save more for retirement. Browns take now: I used to believe that people edging closer to retirement usually had the ability to save more, since child-rearing expenses were no longer a factor. So, I blithely wrote, you could take all that money you had been putting toward college, for example, and invest it for retirement. Well, our baby graduated five years ago, and now all that tuition money is going to home repair.

Typical advice: Spend on the big things now before you retire and transition to a fixed income. Browns take now: Our oldest got married 3,000 miles away in Sonoma Valley, Calif., a couple of years ago, and not only did we fly in various family members who would have otherwise been unable to attend, but we rented a huge house for a week and hosted anyone and everyone who wanted to come by. I wouldnt have had it any other way.

I loved that Brown revisited his advice acknowledging that life can get in the way of the best of plans. So as you prepare for retirement, factor in a lot of what ifs.

What if you cant or dont want to work until youre 70? I dont want to be tied down to a job until my 70s. Id like to spend my 60s, traveling and doing financial ministry work at my church and in prisons.

My husband and I are in our preretirement planning phase and have realized that our children are still going to need some financial assistance beyond the undergraduate college expenses weve saved. Starting this fall, we are covering graduate school for our oldest. Yes, thats money we could put toward our retirement, but we want to make sure she and her siblings should they also decide to go to graduate school dont start their young adult life off with debt.

When it comes to advice, I tend to put more weight on the wisdom from people whove been there and done that and have come out okay. So with that perspective, read this from NerdWallets Liz Weston: Retirement Advice From Retired Financial Experts

Retirement rants and ravesIm interested in your experiences or concerns about retirement. Did you retire early and if so, how did you do it?

Is retirement everything you hoped for? Are you scared youll run out of money?

Sharing your storymight help others. So send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please include your name, city and state. In the subject line put Retirement Rants and Raves.

I heard from a lot of you who were forced to retire.

Catherine C. from Gaithersburg, Md., wrote, I retired early at age 58 due to my mothers failing health stroke and Parkinsons disease. I was the only one of her four children who lived near her and could help. She had been widowed at age 50 and went back to work as a legal secretary after having been a homemaker for 20-plus years. I had planned to go back to work once my mother was stabilized in a continuing care facility. However, her health was precarious and it fell to me to take her to medical appointments, fill her pill dispensers (morning, afternoon and evening), keep her apartment stocked with the foods she liked and wash and iron her clothes. I did this for 16 years. She died 1 week shy of her 97th birthday. I do not regret one moment of this. She was a spectacular mother who put four kids through college and encouraged each of us to follow our dreams.

Catherine and her husband saved well enough that retiring early didnt impact their retirement.

We consider ourselves fortunate, she wrote. We learned a lot from our parents. My mother was Michelle Singletary before there was a Michelle Singletary! She believed in living below your means. We have followed in her steps in our home for 30 years, older cars on the driveway, no bling, no designer clothes. We do splurge on trips to see friends around the country and the occasional dinner out. We are in pretty good health, but we know that could change in a second. My husband retired four years ago at 63. His company was going through a reorganization and he took a buyout. We are enjoying retirement, but we keep a close watch on our pennies. Its wonderful to get up in the morning and have the day unfurling before us. We both do volunteer work, which keeps us busy and connected to our community. We have a dog and walk her several times a day. Have found some amazing parks that way. We are reconnecting with old friends from college and other volunteer work we have done in the past. At some point, we will downsize to a smaller place in a lower cost area ,but were not there yet.

Chuck Butler of Fenton, Mo.,was forced to retire. Hes 62.

The company that I helped start in 1999 was bought out and the deal closed this year, Butler wrote. I was told I was to retire the day the deal closed. I was no more ready to retire than the man on the moon, but I had prepared, savings and investments wise for this day for years, and I do not have a fear of running out of money before Im 95. I doubt I live that long, as I was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic renal cell cancer 10 years ago. I have battled cancer for 10 years, all the while working. I was given a fair severance that included some payment for continued insurance through COBRA. But that runs out in a year. The main problem I have is that at 62, my COBRA insurance will run out before I hit 65, and be eligible for Medicare. I have about a year of private insurance that Ill have to pay for my wife, and me and youngest son that is in college. And THAT is something I did not plan for. So, I would warn all people that are getting ready to retire early, to check out the cost of insurance before they make that move. Its an eye opener.

Retirement blog I believe that wealth happens intentionally and that means for me reading as much as I can about all things financial, especially retirement. In this section of the newsletter, Ill feature postings from various retirement blogs.

This post caught my eye: 5 Countries Where You Can Retire for $1,000 a Month

As my husband and I plan for retirement, we havent considered whether we would be willing to move overseas.

Id like to hear from any readers who have made the move to live abroad. Hows it working out for you? Or are you planning to retire overseas? Tell me about it.

Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com

Newsletter comments policyPlease note it is my personal policy to identify readers who respond to questions I ask in my newsletters. I find it encourages thoughtful and civil conversation. I want my newsletters to be a safe place to express your opinion. On sensitive matters or upon request, Im happy to include just your first name and/or last initial. But I prefer not to post anonymous comments (I do make exceptions when Im asking questions that might reveal sensitive information or cause conflict.)

Have a question about your finances? Michelle Singletary has a weekly live chat every Thursday at noon where she discusses financial dilemmas with readers. You can also write to Michelle directly by sending an email to michelle.singletary@washpost.com. Personal responses may not be possible, and comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writers name, unless otherwise requested. To read more Color of Money columns, go here.

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What if the retirement advice you're getting isn't quite right? - Washington Post

The Office of Personnel Management saw an uptick in its retirement claims backlog in July after it broughtthe inventory down to its lowest point in the year just a month before.

The inventory of unprocessed retirement claims stands at 17,091, about 4,000 claims away from the agencys own steady state benchmark for its backlog.

OPMmade steady progress in reducing its claims backlog since February, when the backlog spiked at more than 23,000, the highest accumulation of claims since at least October 2015. The agency in June had brought the backlog down to 14,530 claims, the lowest point in 2017.

Processing times remained mostly unchanged since June. So far in fiscal 2017, OPM has processed 55 percent of claims within its 60-day standard timeframe, and in the month of July, the agency processed 59 percent of claims within the 60-day window.

Download our free ebook to find out how agency CIOs and CHCOs implementing the president's reorganization executive order.

It took OPM 98 days on average in July to process claims that took longer than its 60-day benchmark, one day shorter than the average calculated in June.

So far, OPM has followed the pattern that playsout every year, where the agency sees retirement claims peak in January and February since they are the most popular months for federal employees for retire thenspends the spring and summer months driving down the backlog, when fewer workers retire.

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OPM sees retirement claims backlog uptick in July - FederalNewsRadio.com