Market news, retirement advice & planning tips.
If you leave a job or retire, you might want to transfer the money you’ve invested in one or more employer-sponsored retirement plans to an individual retirement account (IRA). An…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
The arena of employer-sponsored retirement plans has been dominated by 401(k) plans that are funded with pre-tax contributions, which effectively defers taxes until distributions begin. However, the recently created Roth…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
David Wray, the president of the Plan Sponsor Council of America, once said that the purpose of profit-sharing plans is “to generate goodwill and a feeling of partnership” between employer…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
A money purchase plan is a type of defined-contribution plan that is similar to a profit-sharing plan, except that the contribution amounts are fixed rather than variable. Thus, employers are…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
A 403(b) plan is a special tax-deferred retirement savings plan that is often referred to as a tax-sheltered annuity, a tax-deferred annuity, or a 403(b) annuity. It is similar to…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
Annuities are insurance-based financial vehicles that can provide many benefits sought by retirement-minded investors. There are a number of reasons why people buy annuities. Deferral of taxes is a big…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
A split-annuity strategy involves purchasing two types of annuity contracts: immediate and deferred. The immediate annuity would provide a current income stream during the early years of retirement, and the…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
Many variable annuity contracts offer “living benefit” guarantees. For an additional cost, the contract holder may be able to purchase guarantees regardless of the account value. Adding a guaranteed minimum…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
Many Americans realize the importance of saving for retirement, but knowing exactly how much they need to save is another issue altogether. With all the information available about retirement, it…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” This is certainly…
KenFebruary 12, 2014