The best way to save for retirement is to follow the usual advice: save more, long longer, delay Social Security and so on. But experts also say there are many little-known retirement tips worth following, too. Here's a look at 10 such tips that advisers say you shouldn't overlook.

1. Forget 'The Number'

You are more than welcome to go about your life worrying whether you've saved enough -- say $1 million or $2 million -- to retire. But that's not the number you should focus on, said Wade Pfau, an economics professor at the National Graduate Institute for Public Policies in Japan and a frequent blogger on retirement issues. "There is no such thing as a specific wealth number that will suddenly allow you to retire," Pfau said. "The income stream your wealth can support matters much more than how much wealth you have. The income stream supportable by a given amount of wealth varies with interest rates and other factors."

2. Don't rely too much on the 4% rule

Speaking of income, David Blanchett, a research consultant at Morningstar Investment Management, said taking out 4% from your retirement accounts might be a good starting place for an initial withdrawal rate. "But revisit this withdrawal amount regularly, ideally on an annual basis, to make sure whatever the target income goal is still achievable," he said.

3. Think tax-efficient income

Think also about the tax efficiency of your retirement income, Blanchett said. Dividends, for instance, can be far more tax-efficient than bonds from an after-tax income perspective if they are qualified -- that is, taxed at a maximum rate 15% vs. 35% for ordinary income. That's yet another reason to hold them in an after-tax account.

But don't think only about generating tax-efficient income in retirement. Consider your withdrawal strategy from a "happiness" perspective. "Ignoring required minimum distributions rules, common tax wisdom suggests drawing from taxable accounts first, then a Traditional IRA, and finally from a Roth IRA," Blanchett said. "I think this makes sense and can definitely increase the available income, but it's also important to have some 'tax diversification' with respect to withdrawal moneys."

4. Social Security is a household decision

For married couples, research the various ways spouses can take Social Security, said Pfau. "The week spent studying this matter could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of extra lifetime Social Security benefits," he said, noting that it's not usually a good idea for both spouses to begin Social Security as early as possible.

Read the original post:
A Checklist for Retirement Savers

Investment losses were steep across the board during the Great Recession, but the downturn was especially hard on retirement accounts.

Pension funds, which primarily pay for the retirements of public-sector and manufacturing workers, lost hundreds of billions. State revenues fell from $1.6 trillion in 2008 to $1.1 trillion in 2009. The California Public Employees' Retirement System, one of the nation's largest, fell more than 25 percent, from $260 billion in October 2007 to $160 billion in March 2009.

[See 10 Places to Retire on Social Security Alone.]

Individual 401(k) accounts were also hit hard. According to Hewitt Associates, the average investor lost $10,000 in retirement savings in 2008. Fidelity reported that investors lost an average of $19,000 that same year. These losses caused many to postpone their retirement in order to save more.

At the same time, the future of Social Security is in serious doubt. According to recent reports, the Social Security disability program's trust fund, a program that supports people with disabilities and their families, will run out of money in 2016. In April, the federal government warned that all of Social Security would be insolvent by 2024 unless drastic changes are made to how the program is administered. Few believe that a deadlocked Congress will make any progress on improvements to the program.

"There's a great amount of skepticism when it comes to Social Security and government benefits," says Dave Vick, president of Vick & Associates, a company that teaches classes on financial planning. "There's a whole group of people who love those benefits who blindly believe it's not going to change. There's a whole group of people who refuse to believe the reports that Social Security is going to become insolvent," he says.

According to Vick and other retirement experts, steep losses in pension funds and 401(k)s are causing Americans to rethink the way they are planning for retirement. New investment instruments are being developed that provide more income security and make payouts in different ways. Without these new instruments, experts warn that many Americans will be ill-prepared for retirement.

[See 10 Ways to Boost Your Social Security Checks.]

Loss of faith in retirement traditions. Jerry Kalish, president of National Benefit Services, a firm that serves as a third-party administrator of pension plans, says the recent downturn has left the majority of Americans--not just older Americans close to retirement--unable to meet their retirement savings needs.

"As a country, we are woefully unprepared for retirement. Defined-benefit pension plans are, for all purposes, gone. A lot of them are frozen, meaning there are no benefits accrued and most are underfunded. It really leaves 401(k) plans right now," which suffered losses during the recession, Kalish says.

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Investors Seek Nontraditional Retirement-Savings Options

BOSTON (MarketWatch)The best way to save for retirement is to follow the usual advice: save more, work longer, delay Social Security and so on. But experts also say there are many little-known retirement tips worth following, too. Heres a look at 10 such tips that advisers say you shouldnt overlook.

1. Forget The Number

You are more than welcome to go about your life worrying whether youve saved enoughsay $1 million or $2 millionto retire. But thats not the number you should focus on, said Wade Pfau, an economics professor at the National Graduate Institute for Public Policies in Japan and a frequent blogger on retirement issues. There is no such thing as a specific wealth number that will suddenly allow you to retire, Pfau said. The income stream your wealth can support matters much more than how much wealth you have. The income stream supportable by a given amount of wealth varies with interest rates and other factors.

2. Dont rely too much on the 4% rule

Speaking of income, David Blanchett, a research consultant at Morningstar Investment Management, said taking out 4% from your retirement accounts might be a good starting place for an initial withdrawal rate. But revisit this withdrawal amount regularly, ideally on an annual basis, to make sure whatever the target income goal is still achievable, he said.

3. Think tax-efficient income

Think also about the tax efficiency of your retirement income, Blanchett said. Dividends, for instance, can be far more tax-efficient than bonds from an after-tax income perspective if they are qualifiedthat is, taxed at a maximum rate 15% vs. 35% for ordinary income. Thats yet another reason to hold them in an after-tax account.

But dont think only about generating tax-efficient income in retirement. Consider your withdrawal strategy from a happiness perspective. Ignoring required minimum distributions rules, common tax wisdom suggests drawing from taxable accounts first, then a Traditional IRA, and finally from a Roth IRA, Blanchett said. I think this makes sense and can definitely increase the available income, but its also important to have some tax diversification with respect to withdrawal moneys.

4. Social Security is a household decision

For married couples, research the various ways spouses can take Social Security, said Pfau. The week spent studying this matter could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of extra lifetime Social Security benefits, he said, noting that its not usually a good idea for both spouses to begin Social Security as early as possible.

More here:
10 Overlooked Retirement Tips

TAIPEI, TAIWAN--(Marketwire -06/05/12)- -- COMPUTEX TAIPEI -- AMD (AMD) today announced the launch of its latest AMD E-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) platform. Designed for essential notebook and desktop personal computers which meet basic performance needs at accessible price points, the 2012 AMD E-Series APU enables long battery life and a best-in-class entertainment and media experience, while striking a balance between energy efficiency and unique innovations for brilliant high definition (HD) entertainment.

"In 2011, we showed the industry you could get discrete-level GPU power in a notebook without added power consumption or cost, resulting in the most successful notebook platform in AMD's history," said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD Client Business Unit. "Today we raise the bar even higher with our latest APU offering. Our 2012 AMD E-Series APU gives consumers a visually superior choice for everyday performance with the latest graphics technology and nearly three hours more battery life than the competition."

Formerly codenamed "Brazos 2.0," the 2012 AMD E-Series APU is the feature-rich update to the most successful AMD notebook processor platform ever. Unique benefits of the new platform include:

Accelerated Experience Thanks to the compute capabilities in AMD Radeon HD graphics, major Web browsers such as Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome offer an accelerated Web experience on the new AMD E-Series APUs. AMD has collaborated with Microsoft to optimize the new AMD E-Series APUs for key features in Microsoft Windows 8 to help improve the overall experience. Optimizations for HTML5 and full support for the new Metro user interface will help accelerate new Metro-based apps developed for Microsoft's newest operating system.

Availability and Technical DetailsAMD expects global OEMs such as Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba to offer AMD E-Series APU-based systems.

Developer Community EngagementFor developers who want to engage in the industry's move toward heterogeneous computing and GPU compute, the upcoming AMD Fusion12 Developer Summit will offer them a unique opportunity to enhance their knowledge base. More information on AFDS 12 can be found here.

Supporting Resources

About AMD AMD (AMD) is a semiconductor design innovator leading the next era of vivid digital experiences with its groundbreaking AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) that power a wide range of computing devices. AMD's server computing products are focused on driving industry-leading cloud computing and virtualization environments. AMD's superior graphics technologies are found in a variety of solutions ranging from game consoles, PCs to supercomputers. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

(1) Based on testing performed by AMD Performance Labs. All battery life calculations are based on a 62.5 Whr battery pack at 98% utilization. System power testing shows a calculated battery life for the AMD E1-1200 in a Windows idle state to reach 674 minutes. Test configuration: "Renmore" Reference Design with an AMD E1-1200 APU, 2 x 2G DDR3 1333 MHz memory, 250 GB Hitachi HDD and Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, 62.5 Whr battery pack. BR-I27

Read more:
New AMD E-Series APUs Set the High Bar for Essential Notebook Battery Life

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt1GzGBf_kw

04-06-2012 21:51 My personal mission statement and my thoughts on it. Thanks To everyone watching! And as always thanks to Shay!

Read more here:
MY MISSION STATEMENT! - Video

Theres some pretty rich history behind the quest Dave Grzesiak will undertake today when the NCAA outdoor track and field championships begin in Des Moines, Iowa.

Grzesiak, a senior from Brookfield, owns the third-best effort in the decathlon in University of Wisconsin mens history with 7,832 points. The two guys ahead of him offer similar tales of inspiration for the next three days.

James Dunkleberger, from Lake Mills, set the record with 7,924 points en route to winning the 10-discipline event at the NCAA outdoor meet in 1997.

Joe Detmer, from Lodi, broke that standard with 7,963 points on the way to finishing second in the decathlon at the NCAA outdoor meet in 2007.

In other words, two guys from the state, in their final meets as UW seniors, put up enduring performances.

Grzesiak knows Detmer but has never met Dunkleberger. If there is a trickledown effect its that Grzesiak isnt focused on history as much as the moment at hand at Drake Stadium.

I guess its a weird feeling, he said of his final collegiate meet. Its not going to hit me until its actually over.

Grzesiak has the eighth-best qualifying score which would put him on the podium and secure him All-America honors for the first time outdoors and is in good shape to earn a berth in the U.S. Olympic Trials June 21 to July 1 in Eugene, Ore.

Ive been doing this for five years and the daily grind of it comes to a halt pretty quickly once Im done, he said. Its not something Im really looking forward to, but I guess this journey has kind of ended for me and Im happy that Ive had it.

Grzesiak is one of 15 qualifiers from UW for the national meet eight women, seven men with a heavy dose of interest in the multi-events.

More here:
NCAA men's track: Badgers' Grzesiak has blueprint for decathlon success

Kathi Stanhope Three Potomac students were awarded the Congressional Award by Congressman Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) for their achievements in physical fitness, personal development, volunteerism and exploration/expedition. (From left) Sara Ewel, 17, a junior at Winston Churchill High School, Van Hollen, Collin Stanhope, 17, a senior at Churchill, and Adam Ewel, 18, a senior at Montgomery Blair High School.

For Collin Stanhope, 17, the real reward in getting the Congressional Award was in meeting the challenge.

He and two friends, Sara Ewel, 17, and Adam Ewel, 18, all of Potomac, received Congressional Award medals from Congressman Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist.8) May 22.

The Congressional Award Program challenges youth to set goals in four areas: voluntary public service, personal development, physical fitness and exploration/expedition.

It was a good challenge, a good goal and it felt good to accomplish it, Collin said.

Collin, a graduating senior at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, received a bronze medal at the ceremony is Van Hollens Rockville office.

He was recognized for 100 hours of volunteer Service, 50 hours of physical fitness and personal development and planned a one-night exploration.

Adam, a graduating senior at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, and Sara, a rising senior at Churchill, each received the Silver Medal. They completed 200 hours of service, 100 hours each of personal and physical development activities and planned two expedition/ explorations.

There also is a gold medal which is double the Silver Medal requirements.

All three students are members of their school swim team and got physical fitness hours that way.

Link:
Gazette.Net: Potomac teens earn Congressional Award for youth

NEW YORK, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Learning from Personal Care Product Innovation

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0819275/Learning-from-Personal-Care-Product-Innovation.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Personal_Care

Food and drinks manufacturers have an opportunity to learn from trends found in the personal care sector. Sensory stimulation and product multi-functionality represent two important innovations for the future.

The personal care industry was worth over $460bn in 2010. But perhaps of greater interest to food and drinks manufacturers is the industry's ability to increase its value on an ongoing basis. This report examines crossover trends in product functionality and sensory qualities to outline future opportunity for food and drinks manufacturers.Be aware of the personal care trends that are most relevant for the food and drink sector and understand how these can add value and increase margins.Identify product examples that demonstrate the importance of multi-functionality.Identify product examples that demonstrate the importance of sensory benefits.Understand opportunities and applications of the sensory intelligence and multi-functionality trends.Recognize future product crossovers between the food and drink and personal care sectors.In a recent evaluation of new product claims/tags, 'upscale' was the most commonly occurring for new personal care products, whereas it is was the 13th most common for new food and drink products. The personal care industry is consistently employing methods to justify a premium positioning for its products.Although the value of the global personal care market is approximately nine times smaller than that for food and drink overall, it is growing at a faster rate: Business Insights predicts overall growth from 2009-2015 to be 21.9% for all food and drink, and 25.3% for personal care.Many new skin care/foundation type products are promoted on multifunctional applications and benefits. These may include moisturizing, sun protection, whitening, anti-wrinkle, and other features. Multi-functionality in many food products is exhibited in terms of benefits rather than specific applications or characteristics.What are the key trends within the personal care market that offer opportunities to the food and drink sector?What food and drink product examples already exist that reflect the sensory intelligence and multi-functionality trends?What market opportunities exist in these trends?How can the food and drinks sector learn from the personal care industry's use of product innovation?Why is sensory intelligence so important to the future of food and drink product development?

About the author

Disclaimer

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

Multi-functionality

Read more from the original source:
Learning from Personal Care Product Innovation

NEW YORK, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Personal Care Trends Offering Opportunities for the Food and Drinks Sector

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0819274/Personal-Care-Trends-Offering-Opportunities-for-the-Food-and-Drinks-Sector.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Personal_Care

Business Insights predicts overall growth from 2009-2015 to be 21.9% for all food and drink, and 25.3% for personal care. This report discusses how food and drinks manufacturers can learn from personal care innovation and achieve higher margins.

High margins and added value in the personal care sector is derived from marketing innovation, investment in research and development, the use of science and claims, creating needs, and building customer loyalty. The food and drinks industry can use crossover trends from the personal care sector to the benefit of future product development.Be aware of the personal care trends that are most relevant for the food and drink sector and understand how these can add value and increase margins.Gain insight into packaging developments within personal care and which elements of pack functionality and design can be applied to food products.Benchmark the landscape of new anti-aging products in both the food and drink and personal care sectors and evaluate future opportunities.Understand the importance of science and claims within the development and marketing of new consumer products.Identify future product crossovers between the food and drink and personal care sectors.Both the personal care and the food and drink sectors are adept at catering to the whole consumer market, but the personal care sector is better at segmentation and targeting. This takes the form of creating products for specific demographic groups, but also increasingly in terms of personalization of the product or its usage for the individual.Foam or spray dispensers are widely used in personal care and can allow for transformation of the packaged product into a new phase or format. In food and drink these delivery tools can add interest by creating new textures, adding fun and creativity to the eating process, and/or allowing products to be used in a wider range of contexts.'Anti-aging' represented 2.28% of all tags and claims on new personal care products over the past two years, while the figure for new food and drink products was only 0.02%. This suggests that there is potential for substantial growth in this category for the food and drink sector.What are the key trends within the personal care market that offer opportunities to the food and drink sector?Who are the master developers linked with new personal care products and how are they used to develop and market innovative products?What are the personal care product delivery and pack functionality features that may provide opportunities for food and drink?What are the novel sciences being used within the personal care sector? Are these relevant for food and drink?How can the food and drinks sector learn from the personal care industry's use of product innovation?

To order this report:

Personal Care Industry: Personal Care Trends Offering Opportunities for the Food and Drinks Sector

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Personal Care Trends Offering Opportunities for the Food and Drinks Sector

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHw7qTxnXvQ

04-06-2012 16:02 This video is a brief introduction to synchronous online learning. The following items are discussed: advantages, disadvantages, facilitation strategies, and tools that enhance student learning.

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Overview of Synchronous Online Learning - Video