All Retirement Q&A

There are so many options for you! One of the first things to do might be to spend some time writing down what you would want to have as part of this experience. Here are a few questions:
Do you want to be alone or with others (in a small group or at a retreat)?
If with a others, would you like read more...

Karen, first off, you should feel good about the decision you made.
When it comes to thinking about how to pay for retirement, you need to mentally place your money into two buckets.
In bucket No. 1 is the money you are going to spend. These are the funds that are going to replace the income you read more...

In my book, How to Earn What You're Worth (McGraw-Hill, 2004), I go through a number of exercises that can help you to identify your strengths and different lines of inquiry that you can pursue. I would start there to organize your thoughts and go through the process step by step. Try to think of read more...

Here are four simple steps to ensure a successful retirement. 1. Save More. The more money you can investment, the bigger your eventually nest egg is going to be. 2. Save Systematically. You have to be disciplined about saving. Waiting to see what is left over at the end of the month just won’t read more...

Golly. There are multiple assumptions going on in what first seems like a simple question. Let’s see if we can deal with them in bite-sized parts. First, I am assuming you know that Social Security won’t fund a very full retirement. For example, the maximum a person who is currently 44 years read more...

It seems you are not the only person thinking about this. I read a statistic the other day that stated the medium retirement age is now 62 -- and falling. Many people now say retiring at 55 is their goal. At the same time, people are living longer. If you make it to 65, the actuarial tables say you read more...

I would be happy if I never heard those numbers quoted again. Ever since you started working, I’m sure you have heard the argument about why you will need less money in retirement:
• Since you won’t be working, you won’t be buying as many clothes or lunches.
• You won’t be driving to read more...

You’ve diversified your stock portfolio because you know that you shouldn’t keep all your financial eggs one basket; the same can be done for your retirement plans. You can invest in a 401(k), a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. And if you have self-employment income, you could add a SEP or a read more...

With the retirement age steadily drifting lower—most people now retire in their early 60s—here is a radical thought: Wait to retire.
As you know, Congress has raised the age at which you can receive full Social Security benefits. If you were born after 1937, you must now wait past your 65th read more...