New Survey Shows Millennials Have Little Savings for Retirement

Maybe it’s because this generation makes less money than previous generations did, or maybe it’s because Gen Y burns through cash without saving much of it. But either way, millennials are not prepared long-term. This generation is pushing back the big financial decisions in life like buying a home and establishing a viable retirement plan. A new survey[1] from the Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (IALC) reveals that 15 percent of millennials have less than $25,000 saved. One-in-three millennials say they set aside no money for retirement and 24 percent say they owe more than they have saved. Across all generations, Gen Y is the least prepared, but the most optimistic about the idea of saving for retirement. Most millennials think … Read more

Is Geopolitical Risk A Danger To Your Retirement?

Is Geopolitical Risk A Danger To Your Retirement?

Is Geopolitical Risk A Danger To Your Retirement?Your retirement account is most likely the most important investment account you’ll ever have. The reality is that we work incredibly hard to retire; spending the vast majority of our lives working and saving so that we can enjoy our golden years. However, in times of geopolitical risk, unrest, and war, several people lose everything they’ve worked for; forcing them to work long into their retirement years.

The threat that geopolitical risk and unrest is becoming to retirement investments and how converting your 401k retirement plan and other qualified retirement accounts to gold can help protect everything you’ve worked for.

Is Geopolitical Risk A Danger To Your Retirement?

Russia vs. Ukraine

The first geopolitical issue on the chopping block today is the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine over the Crimea Peninsula. The Crimea Peninsula is property of Ukraine.

However, Russia claims that they have legal rights to the strategic land. As a result, months ago, Russia brought troops to the Crimea Peninsula. Since this move, we’ve seen military action from rebels and Russia and corresponding responses from Ukraine.

In an effort to end the crisis, the western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia for their aggression toward Ukraine. In response, Russia refused to trade many food products with western countries; ultimately leading to more financial troubles for the Eurozone.

In the beginning of this conflict, it was a major part of the stories we heard in the news. While news coverage has died down a bit, the conflict between the two countries is very much alive.

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The New Retirementality by Mitch Anthony – Your Retirement Is All Wrong!

Is our idea of retirement outdated? Is it absurd to have an arbitrary age, a mark on the wall, for retirement? Mitch Anthony makes the case that the retirement of our parents isn’t, and shouldn’t, be our ideal of retirement in the latest edition of his book, “The New Retirementality: Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams…at Any Age You Want”. Age is just a number. Do you love what you do for a living? Why end your career simply because you hit 62 or 67 years-old? Why not keep working if you love it? Why not test out mini-retirements along the way? Are we doing it all wrong? Is our thinking about retirement all wrong? I recently talked to … Read more

Why Are Younger Workers More Interested In Saving For Retirement?

pensionThe current financial climate has brought plenty of uncertainty with it for workers young and old.

As incomes are being squeezed by high inflation rates and reluctance on the part of some bosses to raise wages in line with inflation, saving for retirement and the future might not seem like an option for many workers; especially those who are still saddled with student debts.

However, as a survey conducted by the National Association for Pension Funds revealed, younger workers who might be a long way from paying off debts accumulated while at university are more willing than their older peers. Surprisingly, a healthy 53% of 25 to 34-year-old workers said they planned to put some money in their pension fund over the course of 2013.

Youth trumps experience saving for retirement

While more than half of young workers said they planned on saving for retirement and the future, the same can’t be said of older workers. A disappointing 26% of workers between the ages of 35 and 44 said that they were willing to save for their pension at some point this year. The average figure for all workers stood at 38%, which equates to a disappointing less than four out of 10 people in employment.

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Are You Saving Enough For Retirement In Your 401k? Probably Not!!

The dangers of 401k loansAre you saving enough for retirement? How much is enough? Is there really such a thing as saving enough for retirement?

While there are a few rules of thumb that you can look at to find out how much money you need to save in your 401k for retirement, the sad fact of the matter is that we are simply not saving enough for retirement. Click here to learn more about Motif Investing

We Are Not Saving Enough For Retirement

Earlier this month, Fidelity Investments released its quarterly analysis of the 401k retirement plans that it manages. The report showed that the average retirement investor at Fidelity had an average 401k balance of $77,300. This is up 12% from the previous year if you count employer matching contributions. The problem is that this increase is simply not enough. The balances for most 401k retirement plans are far too low for the investors’ ages.

Life always seems to come along and knock people off of their retirement savings plan that they have set for themselves or have had a financial planner establish. That would not be too bad because we all know that Murphy is out there just waiting. But, we have compounded our problems by not saving enough for retirement in our 401k retirement plans like Fidelity found.

So, How Much Are We Really Saving?

According to the Fidelity report, here are the average 401k retirement plan account balances broken down by age group at the end of last year. Ages 50 to 54 had an average 401k account balance of $111,900. Ages 55 to 59 investors had $134,600. Those ages 60 to 64 had saved $133,100 in their 401k plans. And those investors who were 65 to 69 years-old only had $136,800 in their 401k plans.

These amounts are obviously not enough to retire on. For example, a typical annuity of $250,000 earning a 5% rate of return for a 20 year payout will only produce about $1,600 of income per month.

Even if you were to earn $2,000 from Social Security and/or a pension, you would still struggle to maintain the same standard of living that you have grown accustom to during your working years with only $250,000 saved for retirement. And, the savings are far lower according to Fidelity as we’ve seen.

According to the 2012 Annual National Survey Assessing Household Savings produced by the America Saves organization and the American Savings Education Council:

  • 66% of Americans spend less than their income and save the difference
  • Only 66% of Americans have sufficient emergency savings to pay for unexpected expenses
  • Only 42% of Americans say they have a savings plan with specific goals
  • 52% of non-retired Americans think they are saving enough for a retirement

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Which Is First: Paying Off Your Debt or Investing for Retirement?

This question has plagued financial planners for years. Should you pay off debt, or should they start a retirement account first? This assumes that the same amount of money is involved in each transaction. We will use $5,000 for our examples. Below we will take a look at the pros and cons of each option, and give our opinion. Paying Off Debt First Paying off debt is a great way to use a lump sum of money. Being in debt can be burdensome to the individual in debt, and feeling like you are never going to get out can be awful. If you do not have a lump sum, you may want to consider a debt management plan to help … Read more