5 Surprising Facts to Know About Retirement
You’ve worked the majority of your life. And, you deserve to have many blissful years ahead, which is why it’s so important to have a plan. The first step is education: There are many facts you might not know about retirement, from how your Social Security benefit can be taxed to how you should factor in travel expenses.
The 5 Biggest Retirement Mistakes to Avoid
The road to retirement is full of obstacles, but knowing what lies ahead can help you successfully overcome them. Think of a retirement plan as a road map (in the days before GPS) that will help you avoid wrong turns, like not taking advantage of a 401(k), forgetting about significant costs in retirement, and forgetting about your desired retirement lifestyle.
Could Unclaimed Money Be Yours?
More than $40 billion in unclaimed cash & property waits to be returned. At first glance, that figure seems staggering, unbelievable — and, yet, it is true. To be more exact, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), a coalition of state unclaimed property programs, puts the total at $41.7 billion.
Funding 40 Years of Retirement
If you live to 100, can you avoid outliving your money? Will you live to 100? Your odds of becoming a centenarian may be improving. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control reported that the population of Americans aged 100 or older rose 44% between 2000 and 2014. The Pew Research Center says that the world had more than four times as many centenarians in 2015 as it did in 1990.
Keep Holiday Spending Under Control
Take little steps to keep yourself from getting carried away and heading into the New Year with a debt hangover. You’ve seen the footage on the news. You’ve been in the middle of it. You’ve stood in the vexing lines. You’ve circled for the elusive parking spots. Holiday shopping can be downright frenzied—and impulsive. You don’t necessarily need to go to the mall to feel the pressure and the urges—a half-hour with your laptop or tablet can put you in the same frame of mind.
October Is National Financial Planning Month
Saving is a great start, but planning to reach your financial goals is even better. Are you saving for retirement? Great. Are you planning for retirement? That is even better. Planning for your retirement and other long-range financial goals is an essential step—one that could make achieving those goals easier. Saving without investing your savings isn’t enough. Since interest rates are so low today, money in a typical savings account barely grows. It may not even grow enough to keep up with inflation, leaving the saver at a long-term financial disadvantage.