TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Michael Reese, CFP, CLU, ChFC, a seventeen year veteran of the financial services industry and one of the most successful retirement planners in the country, is the founder of Centennial Wealth Advisory in Traverse City, Michigan. He has trained over a thousand financial advisors across the country in post-retirement financial strategies and is often referred to as Americas Retirement Expert. Reese spent several years hosting his own financial planning radio program and now hosts The Michael Reese Show on television every Saturday morning on NBC.

Reese specializes in creating innovative tax and investment solutions to help his clients live well during their retirement years. The strategies Reese created and proved through successful financial planning with hundreds of clients over the years has catapulted him into the national spotlight. He is the featured educator at the Advisors Excel IRA College which attracts the top financial planners in the country. He has been a featured speaker at the Senior Market Advisor Expo as well as a multitude of other venues across the country. He is often the expert guest invited to financial radio and television programs across the country and has been quoted by leading publications such as Kiplingers, U.S. News and World Report, Bank Rate, Reuters, Life Insurance Seller, Senior Market Advisor, and Yahoo Finance to name a few.

Reese is the author of the book, The Big Retirement Lie: Why Traditional Retirement Planning Benefits the IRS More Than You. In addition to his current book read by retirees and financial planners alike, Reese is also working on another book, Reeses Retirement Rules 5 Simple Rules to Enjoying Financial Security in Any Economy, that will be published this year. He has also been recruited to write a chapter in Jack Canfields upcoming book, The Success Secret. A documentary about Reese is also in the making and is scheduled to be released later in the year. Reese continues to expand the geographic reach of his audience and aspires to bring his expertise to a national television audience. Reese emphatically states his mission, I want to change the way Americans invest their money during their retirement. Contact information for Reese is available at his website, http://www.michael-reese.com.

Read More: http://michael-reese.com/about-mike-2/who-is-michael-reese/

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Michael Reese – America’s Retirement Expert

(MoneyWatch) Baby-booomers who are retiring with only their 401(k) balances to live on and no lifetime pension benefits face a daunting challenge: How do you turn your 401(k) funds into a retirement paycheck that lasts for the rest of your life?

As I previously wrote, the good news that many 401(k) plan sponsors are considering adding retirement income options to their plans in which the plan sponsor shops for viable products and services that will help participants generate a retirement paycheck. But the flip side is that more than half of all 401(k) plan sponsors won't be adding any retirement income options to their plans anytime soon. If you're in that boat, don't despair -- you still have two effective ways to develop a long-lasting retirement paycheck:

1. Generate a retirement paycheck directly from your employer's 401(k) plan, or 2. Roll your balances into an IRA that offers effective retirement income solutions.

In this post, I'll describe the first option; my next piece will describe the rollover solution.

401(k) retirement income options coming your way Active managers lag index counterparts - again IRA and 401(k) drawdown: Just tell me what to do for managed payouts

Getting a retirement paycheck from your employer's 401(k) plan

This option can be effective if your employer's 401(k) plan includes low-cost index funds that are balanced between stocks and bonds -- target date funds are a good example of this type of fund. Look for funds whose annual investment expenses are well below 50 basis points (0.50 percent). New 401(k) fee disclosure rules can help you more easily make this determination. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to use actively managed, high-cost funds that shoot for exceptional returns (My CBS MoneyWatch colleague Larry Swedroe has demonstrated repeatedly that this is a loser's game.)

Most 401(k) plans allow you to take installment payments when you retire instead of getting a lump-sum check for the value of your entire account balance. These installments are typically paid either monthly or quarterly. All you have to do is tell your 401(k) plan administrator the amount of each installment payment you want, either in dollar terms or as a percentage of your account balance, and specify the investment funds from which the payments will be made. You can make it easy on yourself by having the payments sent electronically to your checking account.

You'll want to be cautious in determining the amount of each installment payment -- withdraw too much money early in your retirement and there's a good chance you'll outlive your savings. Determining a safe withdrawal amount is the subject of much debate and analysis among financial writers and analysts. My prior post provided simple guidelines for determining appropriate withdrawal amounts, including satisfying the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules once you reach age 70-1/2. (If you have the mathematical appetite for digesting the best thinking on safe withdrawal rates, check out financial expert Wade Pfau's excellent Retirement Researcher blog.)

You should know, however, that even with supposedly safe withdrawal rates, there's always the chance that you'll outlive your savings if you live well past your projected life expectancy or if there are severe economic meltdowns in your future. If you really want the guarantee of a lifetime retirement income, no matter how long you live, then you'll need to buy an annuity from an insurance company. If that's not offered in your 401(k) plan, you'll need to use the IRA rollover solution, which is the subject of my next post.

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Do-it-yourself retirement income

Gradually increasing retirement ages may be the only way governments can keep up with people living longer, a report said on Monday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As life expectancy continues to rise, a new report suggests that governments need to raise the age of retirement in order to keep up.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said that by 2050, the average woman and man can expect to live roughly 24 and 20 years beyond retirement age respectively, up from 20 and 17 years in 2010. At the same time, retirement ages across many countries have stayed the same.

Without a change, the Paris-based economic think-tank said governments won't be able to pay for more people needing retirement funds for longer periods of time.

"Extending working lives in a situation of slowly growing or declining workforces should provide an important boost to economic growth in aging economies," according to the report, which was released Monday.

The United States could use a boost. Social Security has already begun paying out more in benefits than it takes in from workers' payroll taxes. The trustees of the Social Security program reported in April that the program projects a $165 billion deficit in 2012. Social Security could pay promised benefits in full through 2033, the report said.

Raising the full retirement age gradually to 70 years-old could help plug this deficit by reducing Social Security outlays by 13 percent, the Congressional Budget Office reported in January.

"With the fact that people are living longer, they should be partly responsible for meeting the cost of longer life expectancy," said Juan Yermo, head of the private pensions unit at OECD.

Today, the full retirement age in the United States is 66, up from 65 a decade ago. It is scheduled to increase by two months a year starting in 2017 until it reaches 67 in 2022. Meanwhile, 62 remains the age at which those who retire early can collect a percentage of their full benefits.

The OECD suggested, however, that "67 or higher is becoming the new 65."

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Retirement age must rise

By Mark Miller

June 12 - So much for the notion that workers will drop out of their workplace retirement savings plan if employers automatically enroll them at aggressive contribution rates.

That's been the often-heard excuse for auto-enrollment rates in 401(k) plans averaging 3 percent. But a study released on Tuesday by New York Life Retirement Plan Services found that workers in plans with higher default initial contribution rates are more likely to stay in their plans, increase their contribution rate and personally manage their investment choices.

Plans with less than 4 percent default rates experienced a 14 percent opt-out rate, compared with 10 percent for plans with greater than 3 percent default deferrals, the study said.

Automatic enrollment has exploded since the passage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which contained provisions aimed at boosting participation rates. It's having a positive impact. A record 76 percent of U.S. workers participated in a defined contribution plan during 2011, according to a new report released on Tuesday by Aon Hewitt.

Retirement readiness also is improving, Aon Hewitt found. The study projects that the average worker will need 11 times his final pay in retirement resources; average workers are on track to accumulate 8.8 times final pay, leaving a shortfall of 2.2 times pay. Still, that was a small improvement compared with 2010, when the shortfall was 2.4 times pay.

But low default initial contribution rates are a persistent problem. Sixty-six percent of workplace plans with automatic enrollment set a default contribution rate of 3 percent or less, according to Aon Hewitt. Employers know there's a problem here: 70 percent of plan sponsors recommend that workers contribute at least 9 percent of income.

WHY THE GAP?

One reason may be employer caution, says David Castellani, CEO of New York Life Retirement Plan Services. "In the early days of default enrollment, there has been some timidity - plan sponsors decided to start off with lower numbers," he said.

But a more important factor is the increased cost of employer matches that accompanies higher worker contributions, says Robyn Credico, leader of the defined contribution practice at Towers Watson, the benefits consulting firm.

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Retirement savers stay put when employers boost contributions

By Randy Lewis Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES Neil Young Journeys, the new concert film reuniting the idiosyncratic Canadian rocker and director Jonathan Demme, raises the notion of spitting distance to a whole new level.

While filming Young in concert last year at Massey Hall in Toronto, Demme employed microphone-mounted cameras to capture the performance from unusual angles, including close-ups of Youngs mouth. In the middle of the song Hitchhiker, which traces the musicians life story from his early years in Canada through rock stardom in the U.S., saliva lands directly on the camera lens.

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The 25th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert featured guest performers Beck, Mumford & Sons, Los Invisibles with Carlos Santana, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and of course organizer Neil Young. Photos by Shawn Parker, heyreverb.com

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The 25th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert featured guest performers Beck, Mumford & Sons, Los Invisibles with Carlos Santana, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and of course organizer Neil Young. Photos by Shawn Parker, heyreverb.com

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The 25th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert featured guest performers Beck, Mumford & Sons, Los Invisibles with Carlos Santana, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and of course organizer Neil Young. Photos by Shawn Parker, heyreverb.com

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Neil Young documentary gets up close and personal … literally

INDIANAPOLIS, June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds surveys of students who had received personal finance education through their college or university disclose that nine of 10 respondents changed how they manage their personal finances and college life.

Among the 1,522 students who responded to the quarterly surveys, 90 percent reported changing at least one financial or college success behavior after completing lessons of USA Funds Life Skills, an online financial literacy and student success curriculum for college students. Of those students reporting changes in their personal finance behaviors, the respondents reported making an average of 10 behavioral changes.

The five behavioral changes most frequently cited by the survey respondents along with the number of respondents citing each change are as follows:

USA Funds invited all students who had completed at least one USA Funds Life Skills lesson between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, to complete an online survey. Respondents could choose from a list of 25 possible personal finance behavior change statements, including topics related to managing school life and student loans, managing student finances and managing personal life issues.

"These results indicate that regular exposure to personal finance education can help college students adopt habits that promote completion of their college programs, as well as sound spending and saving practices and wiser use of credit," said Denise B. Feser, USA Funds senior vice president, School and Student Services.

In addition to quarterly follow-up surveys, USA Funds assesses the impact of USA Funds Life Skills lessons in the following ways:

USA Funds Life Skills is a Web-based financial literacy and student success program designed to help students learn to manage their money and time wisely while in school and after graduation. The curriculum includes 34 lessons that cover a range of topics, including paying for college, managing student loans, managing money and credit, living on a budget, setting goals, preparing for graduation and balancing school and personal life.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that works to enhance postsecondary education preparedness, access and success by providing and supporting financial and other valued services. For more information about USA Funds, visit http://www.usafunds.org.

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College students report changes in money management and college success behaviors

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire -06/12/12)- If you dream of turning for love for health and fitness into a career, now could be the time to make that change and find the job of your dreams.

Hiring a personal trainer is no longer a service exclusive to the rich and famous. Millions of people in the UK and around the world want to tone up their bodies, lose a bit of weight and just generally introduce a more healthy and active lifestyle into their daily routines.

This "fitness boom" has meant personal training has become one of the fastest growing industries in the world. If you're looking into personal trainer courses, now's definitely the time to follow your dream.

Personal Training Courses from the Training Room

At the Training Room, there's a variety of personal trainer courses to set you on your way for your perfect career change; including:

With the range of personal trainer and gym instructor courses available at the Training Room, you can select the best method of study to fit within your busy schedule.

It's time to keep up with the fitness boom and change your career today.

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Now's the Time to Follow Your Dream

Hacking Hollywood The Dos and Donts for Actors Websites

By Taryn Southern

June 12, 2012

Taryn Southern

Im always a fan of the DIY mantra, but unless youre super skilled like Ben Whitehair or Ethan Newberry (actor/web designer/programmer extraordinaires), youre going to have to hire a web designer. Or start dating one. Both are acceptable solutions.

Either way, you still need to know exactly what your site needs, what to avoid, and most importantly, how to communicate these needs to your web designer.

Hopefully the following advice will help you avoid some of the more common website-related pitfalls. Happy web designing! Top 5Mistakes Actors Make on Their Websites

1. Amateur Design - Theres a lot of crap out there. ALWAYS look at a portfolio of someones work before hiring them. If their sites look like something straight out of Youve Got Mail, steer clear. An outdated website is worse than any website at all.

2. Third person blogs - Unless youre a huge star, its just plain weird to write your news and/or blog updates in the third person. Its YOUR website, so people expect for it to be personal. The exception with this is your bio, which can be written in first or third person, but avoid mistake #3 3. Overly pompous language - It is incredibly annoying to read bios peppered with cheesy self-importance, i.e. With her incredible work ethic and talent, Taryn is on the rise to becoming Hollywoods next big starlet! Barf. Think like a journalist and stick to facts. What are your credits? Hobbies? Feel free to be funny, just not egotistical.

4. Flash website - Ten years ago, flash was the bomb diggity. Unfortunately, its quickly becoming a useless format because its not compatible with smart phones and iPads. (Not to mention the loading times can often be quite annoying.) Make sure your website is being built in HTML5, the most common and adaptable mark up language on the web. 5. Un-updateable website - If you cant update your website with new photos, videos, bios, and/or news on your own, you have a major problem. Make sure that however your website is built - Joomla, WordPress, etc. - that you have access to a backend and you understand how to update the website elements. Have your designer walk you through the process when the site is complete so you can avoid having to email him/her with annoying updates.

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The Do’s and Don’t’s for Actors’ Websites

They are easily angered and often turn ugly when challenged. Could it be due to our education system, poor grasp of language and misplaced priorities?

We consider those who have completed secondary schools to be educated and those who have studied in higher learning institutes as being well educated.

True, they may have studied a wide variety of subjects in school, and pursued a chosen field in universities. However, while those with high academic qualifications may have superior intelligence quotient (IQ), their emotional intelligence (EI) can be below par.

As such, the learned are not necessarily educated and this is evident when they unleash their emotions to the detriment of others and themselves.

They have not learnt to love and respect themselves and so cannot do the same to others. Those who are learned in their field of studies may be quite ignorant about themselves.

Many of our citizens are quick to proclaim "proud to be Malaysian" but are unable to substantiate it other than feeling nationalistic.

It is common to see egoistic people proud of themselves even when doing a lousy job or behaving badly. They should, instead, be proud of their work and do a great job.

Those with supremacist feelings or who champion causes without positive benefits are doing more harm than good for their country, race, religion or language.

Nationalism is ugly when it is merely to put others down. Instead, we should be patriotic and do something good for our country that even foreigners will be proud of us.

Patriotism can be studying or working hard to be productive and contributing to society; protecting the environment and the weak; keeping ourselves healthy and not be wasteful; and respecting others and showing courtesy.

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THE EDUCATED UNEDUCATED: Personal development lacking in society

STAMFORD, Conn. and PENSACOLA, Fla., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --ed2go, part of Cengage Learning, has recently launched the new "Bridge to Start" career online high school program as a means of enabling millions of students to graduate from an AdvancED/SACS accredited career online high school and continue their education in a post-secondary institution. ed2go is a leading provider of online courses for adult and continuing education students with over two million students enrolled in various courses.

In March of 2011, Smart Horizons Career Online Education (SHCOE) and ed2go joined forces to launch Career Online High School (COHS). COHS was established as an AdvancED/SACS accredited career online high school division within ed2go's global online network and now serves as the foundation for the new Bridge to Start program.

Due to changes in Federal legislation that will become effective on July 1, 2012, students without a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent (GED) will no longer be allowed to receive Federal Financial Aid to attend college. This legislation will affect millions of U.S. students, including approximately 25 percent of the student population currently enrolled in post-secondary career training programs. Without funding, nearly all of these students will no longer be able to enroll in coursesa hardship for both the students and the schools they attend.

COHS provides a cost-effective, fast-track, AdvancED/SACS accredited, online high school program that is specifically designed to re-engage adults who never earned their high school diploma back into the educational system, giving them a Bridge to Start post-secondary education and new career opportunities for a better future.

"The "Bridge to Start" career online high school program is designed as a complete turnkey solution to assist post-secondary institutions in retaining students who did not complete high school and, upon the completion of their high school diploma, make them eligible for Federal funding," said Jerry Weissberg, Vice President and General Manager, ed2go. "The Bridge to Start program also gives post-secondary institutions a vehicle to market and appeal to a new audience of students who are not eligible to enroll in college due to their not having a high school diploma or GED."

"Because COHS is easy-to-implement, very affordable and flexible via online anytime-anywhere access, this is an ideal AdvancED/SACS accredited academic solution for post-secondary institutions seeking to get these students enrolled and started on their path to more successful careers," said Dr. Howard A. Liebman, Superintendent of Schools for SHCOE.

For more information, please feel free to visit http://ed2golive.com/cohs/pages/career-online-high-school/home.php

About Cengage Learning and ed2go

Cengage Learning is a leading provider of innovative teaching, learning and research solutions for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide. ed2go, part of Cengage Learning, is the largest provider of turnkey online training and education solutions serving the adult education, career, and corporate training markets. With over 2,000 colleges, universities, community based organizations and other training providers, ed2go has served more than 2 million students. ed2go's ever-growing catalog of Online Courses and Career Training Programs makes it simple for students to enrich their lives or reach professional goals in a supportive and engaging environment. ed2go also can help educational institutions jump-start their online education programs or augment existing distance learning options. For more information visit http://www.ed2go.com or http://www.cengage.com.

About Smart Horizons Career Online Education (SHCOE)

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A Solution for Changes in ATB Legislation -- ed2go Announces the "Bridge to Start" Career Online High School Program ...