A pension, loosely defined, is a regular stream of income.  Can you change some of your ‘assets’ into an ‘income stream’?  Absolutely.  Ideally, 100% of someone’s most basic living expenses would be covered by guaranteed income sources such as employer pensions and social security retirement benefits after retirement.  However, not everyone is covered by an [...]

Many studies have been done over the last twenty years in an attempt to find a magic number – a no-fail sustainable withdrawal rate – one that would let you take an inflation-adjusted withdrawal from your portfolio every year without ever running out of money no matter what.  This is a nice thought – but [...]

Most of us have retirement accounts that allow us to defer income – and taxes – until retirement.  Many do not know that a certain “minimum” amount (your RMD) must be withdrawn from each tax-deferred account (with some exceptions) beginning at age 70-1/2.

Exactly when to start is confusing to some people.  The rules state [...]

 At the end of each month, a BLOG question will be posted on this page and also emailed to everyone on the BLOG EMAIL LIST.  The question will relate to one of the blogs posted during that particular month.  Answers must be sent in using the CONTACT US form on this website.  We [...]

Many people of social security age choose to continue to work.  Some decide to delay applying for social security retirement benefits until as late as possible (age 70) while others choose to collect benefits as well as paychecks.  Each person’s situation is unique and only a proper analysis of cash flow, income tax and social [...]

The easy answer to this question is ‘as late as possible’ – which is, theoretically, age 70.  These benefits will likely be your only source of inflation-adjusted, government-backed income-for-life and your best defense against ‘outliving your assets’.  It is to your benefit (no pun intended) to wait as long as possible, allowing additional contributions and [...]

The toughest conundrum facing those “still working” when they reach age 65 is whether to choose Medicare or stay with their employer’s health insurance.  For most people, it does not have to be – and likely should NOT be – an either/or decision.   A better understanding of Medicare Parts [...]

Financial security used to be simple. You worked hard at the same job for a lifetime and then retired and lived on your pension and social security. It was normal to avoid credit cards and to have your home mortgage paid off by the time you retired.

Now, unfortunately, all bets are off. Financial security [...]