Market news, retirement advice & planning tips.
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
Named after Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code, a 1035 exchange allows life insurance policy owners (and annuity contract owners) to exchange an old policy (or contract) for a…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
Birthdays may seem less important as you grow older. They may not offer the impact of watershed moments such as getting a driver’s license at 16 and voting at 18.…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
Investing in your own business makes sense. Many businesses achieve significant growth each year. However, when you consider that many small businesses fold every year, it becomes clear that banking…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
There are a variety of retirement planning options that can meet your needs. Your employer funds some; you fund some. Bear in mind that, in most cases, early withdrawals before…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
People have traditionally seen Social Security benefits as the foundation of their retirement planning programs. The Social Security contributions deducted from workers’ paychecks have, in effect, served as a government-enforced…
KenFebruary 12, 2014
Estimating your future Social Security benefits used to be a difficult task, but not any longer. For an estimate of your projected benefits, go to ssa.gov/estimator. The retirement estimator gives…
KenFebruary 12, 2014