Retirement Savings and Investments

Retirement tax planning is a critical part of preparing for a secure future. The good news is that with so many possible retirement income sources, you have many different opportunities to potentially reduce your tax burden. And, you may even discover that reducing taxes can enable you to retire a little earlier than you might…

Episode 47 of the Boldin podcast is an interview with Steve Vernon — a writer and research scholar at the Stanford Center of Longevity — and discusses the Spend Safely in Retirement Strategy that Vernon came up with and, secondly, his new book, Don’t Go Broke in Retirement. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future…

They say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The bad news is that the last 50 years have seen 5 major financial, market, or economic crises. The good news is that each crisis has lessons that you can apply today to help you build more wealth and feel…

Episode 46 of the Boldin podcast is an interview with Jerry Patterson — Principal Financial’s senior vice president of workplace savings and retirement solutions — and discusses how to make the most of your 401(k), workforce savings trends, financial independence and retirement income. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future episodes: subscribe on iTunes subscribe…

We have a lot of choices about where to invest our money, both before and after retirement.  Some options are clearly bad investments. Others seem like a good bet, but they probably aren’t. While we would all like to find a shortcut to massive wealth, a more steady approach is probably the best route to…

Episode 44 of the Boldin podcast is an interview with Morgan Housel — a writer, former columnist at The Motley Fool and the Wall Street Journal, and a partner at the Collaborative Fund. He and Steve discuss Housel’s new book, The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness, and his perspective on…

Episode 43 of the Boldin podcast is an interview with Christine Benz — author and Morningstar’s director of personal finance — and discusses the big financial and life lessons Benz has picked up over her 25-year career at Morningstar. They also talk about Benz’s works, 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances…

You’ve spent your entire working career saving and investing for retirement. Now it’s time to develop a retirement withdrawals strategy. When switching from accumulating to withdrawing, it’s important to come up with a strategy that ensures that your savings are going to last for your lifetime and that your money is used efficiently, not diminished…

Pensions have pretty much gone away.  We spend 20 to 30 years in retirement.  And Social Security covers only a fraction of our retirement expenses. This means we are pretty much responsible for saving everything we need for retirement on our own. This may seem like a daunting challenge; some people might consider the help…

A retirement target-date fund is a  professionally-managed mutual fund that is strategically reallocated over time to achieve both growth and security for your assets. The key goal for a target-date fund is that your money will be available for withdrawal on a  targeted retirement date in the future. When you invest in a target-date fund,…

Robots: They answer the phones at our insurance agencies; they build cars in our factories. And if we are lucky enough to own a Roomba-brand vacuum, they even vacuum our floors. They now can now also make personalized investment decisions for you related to your retirement. Robo-advisors are a relatively new type of online investment…

Selling bogus investment products to older Americans is big business: In June 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate released a report on Elder Financial Exploitation. While they could not make a good estimate of total national financial costs to victims, in the state of New York, a rigorous study…

When you move from one place of employment to another, you’ll probably want to at least give some careful thought to taking the funds in your old 401(k) plan with you. In many cases, rolling them over into an IRA is the best choice. But then again, sometimes it’s better to leave your funds in…

The Roth 401(k) is like a regular 401(k) – only better (at least for a lot of people). The classic 401(k) retirement savings account is largely the same from employer to employer, although there are some subtle differences. The Roth option is a game-changer, and an increasing number of employees who have the choice are…

Bonds can be a valuable part of your retirement savings. Before investing in bonds, it is important to understand what they are and how they work so that you can make informed decisions while planning for retirement. Below, we discuss what bonds are and the advantages of adding them to your retirement portfolio. What Are…

If you’re leaving one job and moving to another, or if you’ve lost or quit a job, there’s a decision to make. Should you keep your money in your ex-employer’s retirement plan, or should you move it? The answer lies in whether the old plan is performing well, or whether you’d be better off cutting…

Managing investments through a bear market takes an alternate strategy that lets you weather the upcoming uncertainty. Few hope to see extraordinary returns in a bear market. But, if you play it smart and not too safe, you’ll still be gaining ground when the bull storms down the street again. Here are two ways to…

Using tools like your employer’s 401(k) or automatically taking money out of your paycheck are tried-and-true methods for successful retirement planning. But if you can look for less obvious ways to boost your retirement savings, you’ll reach your long-term goals much quicker. Here are some little, yet highly effective, ways to save extra money for…

Much has been written about saving and accumulating enough for retirement. But that’s only half the battle. Once you reach retirement, it is important that you manage your retirement withdrawals from various accounts as tax-efficiently as possible. Taxes will likely be one of your biggest expenses in retirement. A tax-efficient withdrawal strategy can be the…

While many people ask about how much they need to save for retirement, not as many people ask when to start saving for retirement. However, when you start saving has a big impact on how much you need to save each month. The good news is that it really never is too late or too…

Robo-advisors might sound futuristic, but they’re really not as new as they sound. Robo-advisors use the same technology that’s been available to human advisors for decades, according to Investor Junkie, but it’s just now coming available to the everyday investor. Question is, can a robo-advisor help you manage your investments, or is this something that’s…

Saving for retirement is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Whether you use an IRA, a 401(k), one of the many other options or a combination of several plans, the best retirement plans for you depends on your employment status and how much you’re able to contribute. Best Retirement Plans Sometimes when we talk about the best…

If you’re reading this, you’re likely someone who: saves money, has built up some assets, and is starting to think about how to create a retirement drawdown strategy – a plan for how to turn your assets into income that will last for life. Having a sound retirement drawdown strategy and keeping to it is…

Figuring out the best asset allocation strategy for your retirement isn’t something you can set-and-forget. Here are some tips on how to update and maintain your asset allocation to maximize returns and reduce risk. What Exactly is Asset Allocation Anyway? Asset allocation refers to how your money is invested in different types of asset classes…