Before Retirement

Wow! I love this web site called My Retirement Paycheck. It is put together by a non-profit and provides easy-to-follow answers to common questions like when to start social security, how long to keep working, if you should consider a reverse mortgage and much, much more. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

This article, posted by The Street, argues against some standard rules of thumb you may hear about retirement. There are certain 'magic' retirement numbers, ages and amounts, tossed about, that perhaps should be ignored.

All retirement plans are based on assumptions; assumptions about inflation, rates of return, spending habits, etc. Risk is the possibility that reality may not turn out anywhere close to a plan that is built using those assumptions. So what do you do then? How do you correctly model and measure risk?

Every Friday I post a "What Would I Do" topic. Keep in mind, it is not necessarily what you should do. Instead, it is written to give you insight into how to think about various financial decisions so that, from an educated perspective, you can make the right decision for you. I'll ad each new post to the top of the list below.

When is the last time you checked to see who you named as the beneficiary, or beneficiaries, on your retirement accounts, life insurance policies and annuities? Your will does not override these beneficiary designations.

Determining when and how to retire is challenging. There are plenty of things to think about such as when to start social security, how to invest, how much tax you will pay in retirement, and much, much more. Below you will find answers to many of your common questions about retirement.

An insurance company does underwriting before issuing products affected by life expectancy; it's only logical you should do your own research - essentially your own form of underwriting - before before buying such products or making financial decisions such as the five outlined below.

Here are the four things you must know about investing for retirement.

Online investment classes and online education about retirement planning. These investment courses provide fantastic information. Everyone nearing retirement should have a basic level of investment education and this is a great place to start.

Estimating life expectancy can help you make better financial decisions about social security, life insurance, annuities, pensions and more. Better decisions can potentially add thousands upon thousands of dollars to your lifetime income. The life expectancy tables and calculators below are listed in order of the simplest to the most advanced...

I found these retirement quotes to be both thought provoking and entertaining. Hopefully you will too.

I got to thinking one day, if I could affect a permanent shift, any shift I wanted, in American’s thinking… what would it be, and how would I do it? Brainwashing, I determined, would be the only lasting and effective way to accomplish this. If I could brainwash Americans into achieving financial success, here are the five key things they would...

Retirement is achieved when you have enough non-work related sources of income to cover your living expenses and so working for money is no longer necessary. Retirement can be achieved when you plan and save, even if you start planning late.

It's time for women to step up and address retirement risks head on. Ladies, here are three things you can do to reduce risks in retirement.

Retirement plans for those who are self employed can be quite flexible, allowing you to save a lot, or a little. Here are the four best retirement plans for self-employeds.

This is the single most important question you can answer before retirement. What would your life look like if you no longer had to rely on the work you currently do for income?

Before you retire put thought into when and how you exercise your employee stock options. Learn how they work and when you should exercise them.