Outlive Social Security
People have traditionally seen their Social Security benefits as their core retirement fund. This has been a forced retirement fund and is the only retirement for many Americans. For others, their IRA or 401k acts as a supplement to their Social Security.
The higher your income, a proportionally smaller percentage of your income will be replaced by Social Security. In addition, fiscal problems combined with an increasingly aging population and reduced US work force is putting tremendous strain on the Social Security trust fund. While social security is a sacred trust that will probably never be eliminated, benefits will have to be reduced in the future. The easiest way to do that is to increase the eligibility age for recipients and reduce the amounts of cost of living adjustments and other increases in payments. Your long-term retirement planning should recognize that social security benefits will play an ever decreasing role in providing retirement income. Maximizing 401k and IRA contributions every year is the first step to ensuring a financially secure retirement.
Saving for College with 529 plans
We ALWAYS recommend that parents save for college via a 529 plan. Current US student loan debt is valued at 1.7 trillion dollars. Every little bit of money that can be put towards college will help students graduate with less of a loan payback burden. How does a...
Planning on buying a home this summer?
There are a few things to keep in mind. The standard way of going about purchasing a home is to ask the bank how much you qualify for, picking the neighborhood you want, and getting a 30-year mortgage. There are many pitfalls with this process. The better way to do it...
Financial Planning Case Study Six
The purpose of financial planning is to attain financial security, which everyone defines differently. In the ideal situation, we start early, establish goals, develop a plan, and consider as many contingencies as possible. For example, we just helped some twenty...