If you have read any literature on retirement planning or have received advice from a financial professional, chances are you were presented with the 70% rule, the one that suggests that retirees will need between 70 and 80% of their pre-retirement income in order to maintain their standard of living.
An increasing number of Americans are facing an uphill battle just trying to save enough and earn enough on their savings to be able to retire on time.
A will is the foundation of your estate plan and it is essential if your financial affairs are to be settled in accordance with your wishes. If you die without a will, or “intestate” as the law refers to it, essentially the state becomes your executor and your property will be distributed according to its laws.
For anyone who has dealt with an aging parent or grandparent the concept of long term care is likely a familiar one. Those unfortunate enough to suffer from Alzheimer’s or other cognitive illness can end up requiring nursing care that can reach and exceed $80,000 per-year depending on the quality of care.
As the saying goes there are two things that are inevitable: death and taxes. And, out of those two sure things, you can only really plan for your taxes. It should be no surprise when tax season surely and steadily rolls around again, yet every year there are plenty of individuals who file for a tax extension (in 2014 there were approximately 12 million Americans who did so).
An estate takes lifetimes to build but can be lost in the blink of an eye. Most of us don’t imagine assets that took decades to accumulate being drained in a few short years, but in some cases this is exactly what happens. Here are some of the top risks to an estate and some easy ways to manage those risks.
All investors – be they conservative, moderate or aggressive – need to understand that the level of returns they expect to generate is directly related to the amount of risk they are willing to assume – the higher the return, the higher the amount of risk one needs to take.
How to Avoid Retirement Woes
An increasing number of Americans are facing an uphill battle just trying to save enough and earn enough on their savings to be able to retire on time.
As of December 2018, more than 43.7 million retired Americans collected Social Security, with more than 8 million disabled workers collecting benefits as well. But Social Security is much more than retirement income. Along with providing a small income to millions of seniors, Social Security also provides life insurance as well as survivor benefits.
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