Archive for the ‘Retirement’ Category
Securian Calendar Prompts Advisors to Reach out to Retirement Plan Sponsors
Posted: March 2, 2012 at 11:09 am
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Financial advisors who look for opportunities to prove their value to retirement plan sponsor clients will find Securian Retirements new Client Servicing Calendar especially useful.
These days, with advisor fees under greater scrutiny, it's more important than ever for advisors to demonstrate the value they provide to plan sponsors, said Rick Ayers, vice president, Securian Financial Group, Inc. The Client Servicing Calendar helps advisors take advantage of the resources we offer and provide meaningful assistance to their clients.
The Calendar offers advisors suggestions for providing service to plan sponsors and participants. It's built around quarterly events, ensuring that advisor support will be both relevant and timely. It also includes links to the materials, tools and resources in Securians Shape practice management program including:
Securians team of sales and service specialists provide a range of assistance for advisors with all levels of involvement in the retirement plan market. More information is available at the Securian Retirement site for financial professionals.
Since 1880, Securian Financial Group and its affiliates have provided financial security for individuals and businesses in the form of insurance, investments and retirement plans. Now one of the nations largest financial services providers, it is the holding company parent of a group of companies that include Minnesota Life Insurance Company. Securian Retirement is a business unit of Minnesota Life Insurance Company.
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Securian Calendar Prompts Advisors to Reach out to Retirement Plan Sponsors
Chairman David Dreier Retirement Announcement – Video
Posted: at 9:43 am
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Chairman David Dreier Retirement Announcement - Video
euronews cinema – British film reveals India retirement reality – Video
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euronews cinema - British film reveals India retirement reality - Video
5 Signs You Should Consider Early Retirement
Posted: at 9:43 am
Let's say you have been working in your career for 20 or more years and are well compensated, but now you are having second thoughts about continuing down this path. Here are some signs that early retirement might be right for you:
[See 10 Important Ages for Retirement Planning.]
1. People with less seniority are doing a similar job to you. It's natural to take on more and more responsibilities as you gain seniority and get promoted. As you get paid more, your boss expects more productivity. If you take a look around your team meeting and see that you are the most senior member and getting paid the most, then it might be time to either take on even more responsibilities or perhaps move on.
2. Each Monday it is getting more difficult to come to work. You don't enjoy your job anymore and don't really like your co-workers. You are stressed all the time, which is affecting your mental and physical health. If this describes your situation, then it's time to search for an alternative.
[See 15 Ways to Tell if You Are Ready to Retire.]
3. You hit a plateau. Your career has hit the proverbial brick wall. Perhaps the next promotion requires something that you don't have, such as an extreme time commitment or stellar leadership skills. In today's corporate environment, all employees must keep evolving and grow. If you hit a plateau, other people will catch up and pass you by.
4. You want a career change. You are bored with your job and want to focus on other interests. We all know the grass is always greener on the other side, but sometimes we have to find out if it's true or not. If you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to start your own business or if you want to simply try out another career, then it may be time to go it alone.
5. You have enough side income to cover your monthly expenses. If you have enough side income to pay the bills without the salary from your full-time job, then early retirement becomes a real possibility. Diligent investing in dividend stocks, rental real estate, bonds, and other income producing assets can give you this option in the long run. Even if the investment income does not fully cover the bills, you can freelance or work part time to make up the rest of it.
[See 5 Alternatives to Traditional Retirement.]
If you are miserable all the time at your job, and you feel as though you are unable to advance in your career or achieve work-life balance, perhaps it is time for a change. If your job fails to excite you and you have a significant amount of savings and investments, you should start to think seriously about your exit strategy.
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5 Signs You Should Consider Early Retirement
(Very) Early Retirement – Video
Posted: March 1, 2012 at 4:51 pm
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(Very) Early Retirement - Video
Red Sox Report: Bobby V on Retiring Tek – Video
Posted: at 4:51 pm
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Red Sox Report: Bobby V on Retiring Tek - Video
How much does retirement really cost?
Posted: at 4:51 pm
By Mark Miller
Most retirement planning exercises begin and end with a simple question: How much income will you need to replace after you quit work?
But looking at income alone isnt enough, as spending habits change during retirement youre no longer paying the same taxes, saving for retirement or incurring work-related expenses for clothing and transportation. And saving habits change, too.A report from the nonprofit U.S. Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) looks at the interaction of income, expenses and savings in retirement. Using survey data from 5,000 retired households from 2000 to 2009, the report details how different socioeconomic groups of older Americans are faring in retirement.
Although the median income for retired households is 57% that of working households, retired households spend about 80% of what working households spend. More affluent households, which have been able to save for retirement, use those assets to plug the gap between income and spending.
From a retirement planning standpoint, EBRIs most important finding is that overall spending in retirement falls with age which means that a retiree wont need a constant replacement rate of pre-retirement income. The EBRI research also reflects the profound influence of income inequality and job loss on retirement security
The main reason is that health deteriorates with age, and that means people cant necessarily do all the things they planned, says Sudipto Banerjee, research associate at EBRI and author of the report. Discretionary spending on things like vacations and entertainment fall.
That finding reinforces data from the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics data that has suggested that the early years of retirement are the most expensive.
The two largest expenses in retirement are non-discretionary: housing and health care.
Housing costs, in particular, point to the economic squeeze facing lower-income seniors. EBRI found that housing made up 47% of expenditure in 2007 for the lowest-income quartile, compared with 41% for the highest-income quartile. Health spending was steady across all income groups, at 9% to 11%.
But spending on health increases with age. In 2009, people between the ages of 50-64 spent 9% of their total budget on health items, while those 85 or older spent 18%.
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How much does retirement really cost?
Delaying Retirement: Why 68 Has Become 'the New 65'
Posted: at 4:51 pm
For many Baby Boomers who are closing in on retirement without enough money in the till, working longer is the only lever they can pull.
"68 is definitely the new 65!," exclaims Stacy Francis, a certified financial planner in New York City. "Delaying retirement leaves a worker with fewer years of retirement to finance, more time to save and earn returns, and higher Social Security benefits if they delay taking them."
A survey by human resources consulting firm Towers Watson earlier this year found about 39 percent of workers plan to delay retirement and the majority of those delaying retirement expect to work another three years. The findings mirror the advice of the financial experts in a CNBC recent roundtable discussion on "The New Retirement."
"If you can keep your job, YES, work longer," agrees Frank Troise, senior portfolio manager at SoHo Asset Management in San Diego, California.
He says Boomers face a "financial tri-fecta" income, expenses and investment returns and if you lose one, the other two have to be modified.
"The Boomer today who is 55 or older, they're not receiving any income appreciation," Troise says. "They're at serious risks of not keeping their jobs. Since income is not a variable they can control, if they're also now reassessing their market returns, the only other variable they can control is their expenses."
"Not only does working longer mean more contributions and more compounding, but the longer you can defer drawing assets from your portfolio, the more you improve its longevity," says Christine Benz, director of personal finance at Morningstar.
"It's also likely that bond and cash yields will be more hospitable in the years ahead than they are right now," she adds. "And delaying Social Security benefits is also valuable."
If you're 55 or older, you won't reach the full retirement age for Social Security benefits until age 66 1/2 or 67.
So retiring at 68 or even 70 may not seem like much of a stretch.
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Delaying Retirement: Why 68 Has Become 'the New 65'
Ready to Retire Yet? – Video
Posted: February 29, 2012 at 4:34 pm
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Ready to Retire Yet? - Video
'Rebel Against Retirement,' 87-Year-Old Pastor Charges Baby Boomers
Posted: at 4:34 pm
CHICAGO, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Noted author and Christian leader Dr. George Sweeting, 87, has a piece of advice for the baby boomer generation: Don't punch out the day your AARP card arrives in the mail.
The octogenarian has teamed with his son, Dr. Donald W. Sweeting, himself a respected author and president of Reformed Theological Seminary, on How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half (Moody), which calls for a radical break from "America's retirement dream."
"That dream is unsustainable," the authors explain, pointing to the recent volatility of the stock market, the decline of company pensions and the plummeting value of homes as a source of equity in the wake of the Great Recession.
"Further, we are living longer," they add. "Boomers born in 1955 are expected to live to 79, which means retirement may last for almost one-third of their lives ... this also means people may outlive their money."
Instead, the father-son team is challenging boomers to become "retirement rebels," people who have opted out of the retirement dream: "Think of Billy Graham, serving Christ into his 90s and even then saying he has still not preached his last sermon," the Sweetings say.
Many Christians have unconsciously adopted the retirement mindset -- of spending their days micromanaging retirement accounts, inspecting doctor bills, doing yard work and tinkering with the car. The Bible does not conceive of a retirement dream like this, the authors point out: "Second-halfers don't retire from serving the lord; they expire while serving the lord."
Deftly balancing homily and humor, the authors outline something more compelling than retirement, a Psalm 92 vision of not only being useful, but "flourishing" as we age. Topics include, "How To Stay Young on the Inside While Our Bodies Rebel," "The Best Funerals I Ever Attended," and "The Blessing of a Good Death."
The authors conclude: "When there is no vision of eternal life as we see in the Bible -- then this life is all there is. But we have heaven. Is that not a whole lot better than the retirement dream?"
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
DR. GEORGE SWEETING is a former president and chancellor of the Moody Bible Institute. He has served as a pastor in several churches, including The Moody Church. The author of numerous books, he resides in Antioch, Illinois, where he continues his pastoral work.
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'Rebel Against Retirement,' 87-Year-Old Pastor Charges Baby Boomers