Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki6EJJ43KPE

14-09-2012 03:08 In this edition, we have a question from Charlotte, in Marseille: "I am a Belgian citizen and I currently reside in France. However, during my whole life career I also worked in Spain, France and Belgium. I should retire in two years. How will my pension be calculated?" The answer is brought to us by Vassela Stoyanova, Communication Officer at Europe Direct: "As you have worked in several EU countries, you may have accumulated pension rights in each of them. When the time comes for you to claim your pension, you normally have to apply in the country where you are living or in the country where you last worked. That country is then responsible for processing your claim and bringing together records of your pension contributions from all the countries you have worked in. If you've never worked in the country where you now live, you should apply to the relevant authority in the last country where you worked. Your application will then be processed there. You can only apply for your pension from the country where you now live once you have reached the legal retirement age in that country. If you have pension rights from other countries, you will only receive that part of your pension once you have reached the legal retirement age in those countries. You should apply for your pension at least six months before you retire because receiving your pension from several countries can be a lengthy procedure." For more information about the EU, call 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 ...

See more here:
euronews U talk - European pensions rights when retiring abroad - Video

By Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) Most financial rules of thumb have been around for decades, offering guidance like Subtract your age from 100 to determine the percentage of assets you should hold in stocks, or To retire comfortably, your investments must generate 75% of your final salary.

The advice is more imprecise than incorrect, but it frequently is used as gospel. As the late Lynn Hopewell, former editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, once told me: Rules of thumb are for people who want to decide things without thinking about them.

While the market may be welcoming a new round of easing, there was no joy among savers. Chuck Jaffe reports. (Photo: Getty Images)

This week, however, Fidelity Investments unveiled what amounts to a new financial rule of thumb, in the form of retirement-savings guidelines based on its research, effectively laying out a road map that allows workers to check their progress at key points along the way.

The take-away on the research is likely to be considered the next financial axiom: Employees need eight times their ending salary to meet basic retirement income needs. That is the target that people will now be setting and the number they will be aiming for, rather than making decisions about a personalized, appropriate savings level.

Before Fidelitys research moves from suggestion to perceived financial guideline and, potentially to rule of dumb, its important to understand what the company was attempting and how it intends its numbers to be used.

For starters, Fidelity didnt just give the final target number, but rather set up checkpoints markers on the road of life where someone might want to measure their progress toward the ultimate goal. While acknowledging that every individual situation differs based on someones desired retirement lifestyle, Fidelitys target is replacing 85% of pre-retirement income.

Right off the bat, that means they have changed the older rule of thumb that talked about needing your investments to generate three-quarters of your pre-retirement income.

Having sufficient funds to generate 85% of your final salary by age 67 will require hitting the benchmark number of eight times final salary, Fidelity said.

Continued here:
Chuck Jaffe: New rules for a rewarding retirement

(MoneyWatch) Is your retirement on track? Fidelity Investments has a simple retirement savings check-up to help you figure that out.

Based on the Boston-based investment company's calculations, the average person who needs to replace about 85 percent of their working wages, would need to accumulate a nest egg worth eight times their ending salary. This 85 percent figure is a relatively common assumption, which assumes that you don't dramatically change your lifestyle in retirement. Naturally, if you're a big spender, you could need more. If you're someone who spends only a fraction of your wages and expect to pay off your mortgage and other debts before retirement, you could need considerably less.

How do you know if you're on track to hit this eight-times wages goal? By age 35, you should have saved an amount equivalent to one-times your annual salary. So, if you earn $50,000 annually, you'd want $50,000 in your retirement savings plan. By age 45, you'd want three-times your salary. Assuming you now earn $80,000, that means you need $240,000 in savings. By age 55, when you're (maybe) earning $100,000, you should have $500,000 invested for retirement.

More Americans living paycheck to paycheck4 money-smart things you're doing now What are the best retirement calculators?

Sound impossible? Not if you start saving just 6 percent of your income at age 25 and boost your contributions by just 1 percent per year until you're contributing 12 percent of wages, according to Fidelity. Fidelity also assumes a fairly conservative long-term portfolio growth rate of 5.5 percent annually; that your wages will increase by 1.5 percent per year; and that you'll receive Social Security benefits to defray some of your income needs in retirement. The fund company figures you'll retire at age 67.

Not satisfied with Fidelity's analysis, or not certain how to get back on track if your savings fall short of these benchmarks? Check out Kiplinger.com's Retirement Savings calculator. It's the best of the many dozens of retirement savings calculators that I've tested over the years. What makes it better than the rest is that it's simple to use, but also allows you to factor in all your potential sources of retirement income, which can include company pensions and home equity. Better yet, if your savings fall short, it tells you just how much you need to save each month now to have the amount you'll need when you stop working.

Read the original here:
How to do a simple retirement savings check-up

Most experts agree that your retirement portfolio's asset allocation--its mixture of stocks, bonds, and cash--will have the biggest impact on how much it grows, as well as its risk level.

Unfortunately, retirement savers seeking guidance on formulating an appropriate asset allocation may have a hard time knowing where to look. Sure, you could certainly do worse than adopting Jack Bogle's simple formula: 100 minus your age equals how much you should hold in stocks. But what if you want to come at the problem with a greater sense of precision? What if your personal situation puts you outside the norm--perhaps you're lucky enough to have saved far more than you'll ever need, or you've not saved enough and are playing catch-up?

Thankfully, you don't have to fly blind. Here are some key information sources you can turn to when crafting your own asset-allocation plan. You may find it useful to sample an array of different opinions; you're apt to find a comforting convergence among various sources of guidance on this topic.

How the Pros Do ItTarget-date funds, which are designed as one-stop investments appropriate for your retirement date, are incredibly handy for do-it-yourself investors interested in building their own portfolios. Target-date funds offer a shortcut for helping to figure out how much is appropriate for someone like you to invest in different asset classes.

Looking at target-date fund holdings is like peering into what professional managers would do with your money. Once you have a sense of how different professionals would invest, you can take the parts you like and leave what you don't. It's important to take a look at target-date offerings from a couple of different fund companies--funds for the same retirement date can vary substantially based on glide-path philosophy and types of holdings.

Morningstar's Target-Date Fund Series reports do a good job of summarizing the glide paths, as well as the pros and cons, of various target-date series. Some target-date programs maintain very high equity allocations before and even during retirement, a stance informed by the view that longevity risk--that is, the chance that you'll outlive your assets--should outweigh concerns about short-term fluctuations in an investor's principal.

Funds in T. Rowe Price's Retirement series, for example, generally have above-average equity weightings relative to other target-date funds in that same age band. Meanwhile, other target-date fund series have steered a more conservative, bond- and cash-heavy course, in the view that big stock weightings add more volatility than most people need or want, which in turn could lead to panic-induced selling amid stock market downturns. American Century's LIVESTRONG series, for example, is generally lighter on equities during the accumulation phase than most target-date series, though its portfolios maintain relatively higher equity weightings for those nearing or in retirement. Thus, sampling an array of opinions from target-date funds geared toward investors in your same age band can help get you in the right ballpark; Morningstar analysts' favorite series are those from T. Rowe Price, American Funds, JP Morgan, and Vanguard.

Morningstar's Lifetime Allocation Indexes, informed by the research of Ibbotson Associates, provide another vantage point on the asset-allocation question. In addition to providing separate asset allocations for various time horizons, the indexes also allow customization by risk profile for each age band: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. In addition, the indexes also show suballocations for various asset classes--they recommend percentage weightings in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities and commodities, for example.

The Customized View Morningstar's Asset Allocator tool provides another, goal-based view of asset allocation, harnessing your own portfolio information if you've saved one on Morningstar.com. The tool calculates how likely you are to meet financial goals based on your current portfolio value, monthly investments, time horizon, and asset mix.

For example, how much would someone retiring in 2045 need to invest each month to accumulate $1 million? Set the number of years to 34 and financial goal to $1,000,000, and enter your current savings and monthly investments.

Visit link:
Is Your Retirement Portfolio's Asset Allocation on Track?

In June, Robert Benmosche, the chairman of the insurance giant American International Group, said an increase in the retirement age was unavoidable. What surprised many is how high he predicted the age would go.

"Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old," Benmosche told Bloomberg. "That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth."

Currently, Americans are eligible for early retirement at 62, and full retirement at 66. The loss of retirement funds during the economic downturn forced many to acknowledge that they would have to work longer. But Benmosche's statement shocked many. Will people really have to work a decade or more longer than they expected to make ends meet in retirement?

The answer is yes, according to some retirement experts. A number of factors, accelerated by the Great Recession, are now forcing people to change the ways they save for and think about retirement.

"Most people didn't have enough retirement savings before the downturn. The downturn was the two-by-four hit over the head that made them realize this result," says Steve Vernon, the president of Rest-of-Life Communications, a company that helps people adjust the way they save for their post-work years.

The U.S. government has already acknowledged that the official retirement age will need to increase further than the already-revised 67 years. But doubts about the long-term solvency of Social Security linger. And the need for retirees to find funding beyond the government entitlement is making the official age obsolete anyway.

"The idea of retirement is morphing into a period of time where you work for an extended period, perhaps not making as much money or as many hours, but you still bring in money and keep going," Vernon says.

He says there are two primary reasons for the change:

Read more here:
The escalating retirement age

MAN of the match Craig Holloway said after his side's 3-0 win against Faversham that he was very happy with his own personal performance but also paid credit to Faversham for the way they played.

Holloway produced a string of fine saves, especially in the second half, to keep the score at 2-0 before Gate wrapped the game up late on.

Sat 11 Aug 2012. - Football - Margate FC 2012-2013 Squad Photo Shoot. - Hartsdown Stadium, Hartsdown Road, Margate. - Craig Holloway.

Holloway said: "It's good feeling to get man-of-the-match. A couple of the saves I would have expected to make, the one from Wayne Wilson's effort was not too bad and then my mate Danny (Hockton) as well. He text me earlier in the day saying he would score so I had to keep him out.

"They came at us and it became very open in the last 20 as they had nothing to lose, they were throwing bodies forwards. Our centre halves and full backs put their bodies on the line and kept them out, it was a great performance from them.

"Our second goal was a special goal, it was a great counter attack. Rooky did well but I think Longy (Sam Long) gave him some info to let it go before he smashed it in.

"There is a good team ethic here at the minute. We are very organised and when we go into games we don't want to lose, we must be hard to beat and express ourselves."

Carl Rook was also on target on Tuesday but also had a contender for miss of the season when he scooped over from about a yard out with the goal at his mercy.

He said: "How I missed that I'll never know. I was on the line and I took a lot of stick off the fans which I deserved for that one, it was shocking. God knows how it went over the bar but it was harder to miss than score.

"We want easy draws but Aveley is not a very nice pitch. Faversham's pitch was OK but the last time I played at Aveley it was awful. It's the beauty of the FA Cup, seeing non-league teams go far."

See the original post:
Holloway eyes long stay in competition

Social Climate By Mahar Mangahas Philippine Daily Inquirer

Not only President Noynoy Aquino but also other top officials achieved new personal bests in public satisfaction in the third quarter 2012

Social Weather Survey, which was conducted last Aug. 24-27 and released through BusinessWorld the last two Fridays.

The President. Compared to the second quarter 2012 survey of May 24-27, the percentage satisfied with P-Noys performance rose to 77 from 63, and the percentage dissatisfied with him fell to 10 from 21.

Consequently, his net satisfaction rating rose from +42 in May to +67 in August, topping his previous best of +64 in November 2010. Both his old and new personal bests are classified by SWS as Very Good (+50 to +69).

P-Noys net rating rose most of all in the National Capital Region, from merely +18 (Moderate) in May to +59 in August. It also rose significantly in Balance of Luzon, from +41 (Good) to +70 (Excellent), and in the Visayas, from +41 (Good) to +76 (Excellent). In Mindanao, it was at a Very Good + 61 in both May and August.

Everyone is entitled to do her/his own analysis of the survey findings. Personally, I do not emphasize too much the timing of the interviewsthat is to say, during the tragic week of mourning for the lost Interior Secretary Jesse Robredobecause I prefer to look at the total picture encompassing the two successive quarters, in which the obvious big difference was the ouster of Chief Justice Renato Corona. For that very popular move, the people apparently give credit not only to P-Noy but also to other top officials.

Another remarkable thing is that this new personal best has happened as late as the ninth quarter of P-Noys term, when the honeymoon should normally be over. In the surveys closest to their ninth quarters, the net ratings of Presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos were +64 and +55, respectivelyalso Very Good, but below P-Noys nowwhile that of Joseph Erap Estrada was merely +13 (Moderate). Their respective personal bests of +72, +69 and +67 happened much earlier in their terms. (Comparing with Gloria Arroyo is no use, since her personal best in nine years as president was a mere +30.)

The Vice President. Vice President Jojo Binay likewise scored a new personal best in August, with 82 percent satisfied versus only 6 percent dissatisfied, for a net rating of +76, after already having posted successive excellent +70s in both the first and the second quarters. His previous best was +74 in March 2011.

To me, it is proper to compare a vice president not with a president but with previous VPs. As popular as Jojo Binay presently is, some past VPs were even more popular. In FVRs time, his VP

Read the rest here:
Second honeymoons

The Daily Drivers | By Peter Couture and Lyra Solochek, Times Staff Writers

By Peter Couture and Lyra Solochek, Times Staff Writers Peter CoutureLyra SolochekTampa Bay Times In Print: Saturday, September 15, 2012

Audi gives its A5 a gentle facelift for 2013 that keeps it one of the more striking coupes on the road. The midsize A5 is more about style and personal luxury than performance, but that doesn't mean it suffers in the get-up-and-go department. Audi also makes a cabriolet, a convertible A5.

Appearance: Audi has remade the A5 with sleeker designs, with crisp body creases and yet more flowing lines than the previous model. The biggest change comes in the headlights that bookend the now single-frame grille. They are more angled and carry Audi's iconic light strips as daylight running lights. It's both an aggressive and elegant look very R8. The taillights also now have LEDs.

Performance: The turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder produces 211 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, which may not be performance-car numbers, but still makes for some fun acceleration. We noticed turbo lag only when really stepping on it. The electromechanical steering is responsive, with good feedback. The A5 has Audi's quattro all-wheel drive, which makes for a composed ride and handling. We think the 8-speed tiptronic automatic is one of the smoother transmissions on the market its shifts are almost imperceptible and it helps the A5 get decent fuel economy.

Interior: The A5 is more about personal luxury for the driver and front passenger. There's ample headroom and legroom, as well as power leather seats (12-way for driver and eight-way for the passenger). Its low roofline doesn't allow much headroom or legroom in the rear. Better leave the back seats for kids. Elsewhere, the cabin has Audi's usual fine fit and finish, even though there's a little more plastic than we'd like in a luxury model. Lyra found the front seats to be plush and comfortable, but Peter would have liked more lumbar support after taking the A5 on a jaunt to Orlando. Audi seems to be making its multimedia interface a bit more intuitive, but the A5's controller knob is far forward on the dash's console. We remain annoyed that Audi builds in an extra step to control the AC fan speed. Peter also found the placement of the button for the in-dash driver information display confusing. Why is it on the tip of the windshield washer stalk? Instead of a push button, you press the key fob into the dash to start the car. The panoramic sunroof brings in lots of light, but the shade screen is opened and closed manually.

Our 3 favorites

Peter Couture

Sleek styling: A coupe should attract attention. It does.

Driving modes: You can choose from four settings.

Read more:
The Daily Drivers car review: 2013 Audi A5 Coupe

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Just the idea of a big 160-pound fight had promoter Bob Arum reminiscing about the 1980s, when Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns took on all comers and middleweights ruled the boxing world.

Saturday night's fight between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez isn't exactly Hagler-Hearns, but it is intriguing enough to get boxing fans excited about the middleweight division again.

Chavez defends the piece of the 160-pound title Martinez believes should still be his when they meet in a fight that seems quite personal to both. There's a good chance the fight could turn into an old-fashioned brawl, the prospect of which was enough to sell out the 19,000-seat UNLV campus arena for the Mexican Independence Day weekend bout.

Chavez Jr. is fighting to escape from the shadow of his father, the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, and establish himself as one of the new stars of the sport. Martinez is trying to solidify his position as the best middleweight in the world, and dispatch a fighter he doesn't think even deserves to be in a title fight.

At the final pre-fight news conference, they traded verbal shots, with Martinez about as angry about an opponent as any fighter can get.

''It will not be an easy knockout,'' Martinez said. ''I will punish him a lot and after that I will knock him out.''

Martinez is a 2-1 favorite in the scheduled 12-round bout, which will be for the WBC title that Martinez held before being stripped of it by the ratings organization. Chavez ended up fighting for the vacated title against Sebastian Zbik, part of the reason Martinez says he has a lot of animosity toward him.

''It is very simple. I cannot accept the fact he is world champion,'' Martinez said. ''The only reason he is world champion is because he is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the son of the legend, and his mouth is so big - even bigger than his own brain - and he's talking too much.''

The fight is part of a big boxing night in this gambling city that also features Mexican sensation Saul ''Canelo'' Alvarez in a 154-pound title defense against Josesito Lopez a few blocks away at the MGM Grand hotel. The Chavez-Martinez fight will be broadcast on HBO pay-per-view at a suggested price of $49.95, while the Alvarez fight will be broadcast without an extra charge on Showtime.

Chavez, who has struggled in recent fights trying to make the 160-pound limit, was a surprisingly light 158 pounds at the official weigh-in Friday. Martinez came in at 159 pounds.

Link:
Getting personal: Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez in Vegas

DALLAS, Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Dr. Venus Opal Reese (drvenusopalreese.com), chief executive mentor, speaker, author, and entrepreneurial coach, announces that the next installment of her "Be a Business Bad-A$$" live event is scheduled in Dallas on September 27, 28, and 29. Dr. Reese has earned a reputation and a following for her unique approach to business success by helping professionals recognize the link between self worth and entrepreneurial progress. She has been featured on national news programs, consulted O Magazine, and her work has been produced in off-Broadway productions. Reese is known as the "defy impossible" expert because she has transformed her life from "the streets to Stanford," meaning she grew up literally living on the Baltimore streets to earning a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

This event is designed to benefit C-level executives, entrepreneurs, and other purpose-driven high achievers. Topics for discussion and analysis include strategies to strengthen the link between expertise and self worth, techniques to leverage confidence into true money-making success, and untapping hidden potential that comes from obstacles.

"Successful high-achievers are often the most driven and the most unfulfilled. They know how to make it happen but struggle with letting themselves feel good and proud. Trust me I know. Getting off the streets and through Stanford didn't mean I valued myselfparticularly from a money-making standpoint," Reese explained. "Like so many successful purpose-driven leaders, I looked impressive on the outside but felt bad on the inside. This is why I teach business professionals how to see themselves with compassionate eyesso they can take new, inspired actions that make them proud. My work is all about knowing your intrinsic worth, your game-changing genius, and leveraging that in the marketplace, rather than your survival masquerading as your title, bank account, or your credential."

The "Be a Business Bad-A$$," live event will take place September 27, 28, and 29 at the Luxe Stoneleigh Hotel and Spa in Dallas. Registration is available at http://www.beabusinessbadass.com/live or by calling 214.551.9233.

About Dr. Venus Opal Reese Dr. Venus Opal Reese is a speaker, author, chief executive mentor, "Business Bad-A$$" entrepreneur coach, and theatre artist. She has consulted O Magazine and has been featured on ABC News, CBS News, PBS, in Glamour magazine, Diversity Inc. and the Associated Press. Her keynotes, programs, trainings, services, and systems are based on more than 20 years of research, teaching, personal experience, and multiple branches of theoretical and philosophical training. She is a former Coast Guard Reservist, as well as an advocate for the Birdhouse for Women in Recovery, a nonprofit. More information on this dynamic entrepreneur is at drvenusopalreese.com.

For more information, please contact: Dr. Venus Opal Reese, dr.vor@defyimpossible.com, 214.551.9233

This press release was issued through eReleases Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

See original here:
Dr. Venus Opal Reese Unlocks Secrets to Business Success at Live Event