My Retirement Blog

Category: Retirement

  • 60% of Middle Class Retirees Will Outlive Savings

    A recent study by the Americans for Secure Retirement foudn that 3 out of 5 middle-class Americans will outlive their retirement savings because they will fail to reduce their expenses in retirement. It’s a scary study but it makes sense, people think they will spend less in retirement but often don’t. You might pay less…

  • Top 10 Golfer Retirement Spots

    I recently started playing golf, I have a huge blister on my right thumb from gripping it too hard, but I’m starting to get that itch. Golf is hard but it’s extremely rewarding and it’s easy to see why retirees would enjoy the sport, especially if you have plenty of time to practice and hone…

  • Don’t Gamble Your Safety Net

    If you’re like me, you recently saw your retirement accounts take a pretty sizable hit. In fact, since October of last year, the markets have been down 20%. 20% puts it into bear market territory and something that probably makes you shudder to think about it (I know I do). You might be tempted to…

  • Managing Your Budget on Fixed Income

    If you are retired and living on a fixed income, it’s very important for you to manage your expenses so that they don’t exceed your income. This underscores the importance of budgeting because you have a smaller room for error. A classic budgeting strategy is to establish a baseline by recording everything you spend (using…

  • Restarting the Social Security Clock

    *The strategy discussed in this post no longer works since Social Security has changed their rules. You can start receiving Social Security payments as soon as you turn 62 but you pay a penalty for taking payment so early. If you wait until full retirement age, which varies with the year of your birth, you…

  • Automatic 401(k) Participation

    I have no idea why 401(k) participation wasn’t automatic in the first place and why it took the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to make it possible. The benefits of the law are already being seen as Nationwide Financial Services reported that 96% of employees are now saving for their retirement versus 74% in 2006.…

  • Retirement Medical Savings Required: $376,000

    $376,000 is the highest amount recommended by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in a report released yesterday. What the EBRI, which is a D.C.-based public policy group, recommends for a couple, with premiums not subsidized by their former employer, have approximately $376,000 if they are not willing to take on any risk (meaning they don’t…

  • Average Retirement Savings by Age

    Everyone knows that it’s important to save for the future and everyone has played with the fun little retirement calculators that tell you how much you need and by when. However, what most people don’t talk about is how well you’re doing versus everyone else in your age group. It’s not about competition, it’s about…

  • Vanguard LifeStrategy Funds

    Lifecycle, Lifestyle, Target Retirement… and now LifeStrategy. Are these all the same things? Are they different? Is it just branding at work? LifeStrategy is Vanguard’s trademarked name for a Lifestyle fund. If you recall the differences between a Lifestyle and a Lifecycle fund, a lifecycle fund is one that changes its asset allocation as time…