Retirement Resources

If you want to take a tax- and penalty-free withdrawal of the portion of a Roth that consists of investment earnings (amount above your initial contribution), you need to be age 59 1/2, disabled, or using the money to pay for a first-time home. However, there’s more to this rule.

The five-year clock doesn't start on the day you opened or funded your Roth IRA account. Rather, it starts…

Stocks or Bonds: Which Are Better?

Conventional wisdom holds that investors should hold bonds in tax-protected vehicles like IRAs and stocks in their taxable accounts. Intuitively, that makes sense. After all, bonds throw off a lot of taxable income, which is taxed at rates as high as 35%. Meanwhile, stocks typically generate much less income, and that dividend income is taxed at a…

Q: Under current law, at what age can you begin receiving Social Security benefits?

A: The earliest age at which you can begin receiving Social Security benefits is 62. However, you will receive a reduced benefit if you retire before your full retirement age.

Q: What are some big mistakes that people make concerning their retirement?

A: Not contributing to an IRA, a 401(k…

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation, is a monthly statistic that measures the change in prices paid consumers for a basket of goods and services. While this measure serves more as an official gauge, a lot of consumers seem to have a different sense of their inflation rate when paying for goods. The question often arises: Why is the official rate seems so much lower than what…

Asset Allocation is an investment strategy that attempts to balance risk and reward by allocating a certain percentage of each asset in accordance to an investors risk tolerance, goals and investment horizon.

What is often overlooked is the importance that taxes will play in this decision making process and the location of those assets. Here are a…

Approaching retirement with too little money is unfortunate. Furthermore, getting drawn into the daily hype that has people jumping in and out of the stock market can be disastrous. The market will inevitably go down once in a while, but history proves that despite this, the long-term trend for the market is up. Taking that into account, the earlier an individual begins to invest, the better…

As an investor, you may ask if an allocation to dividend stocks in your retirement portfolio will help keep up with inflation. Examining stock returns during periods of high inflation may answer this question. Dividend-paying stocks may offer benefits such as stability through income return and inflation protection. While stock prices tend to be volatile, dividends may serve as a stable…

Volatile markets pose several challenges for retirees who rely on receiving a livable income stream from their investments. Interest rates are low and likely to stay low for the foreseeable future, making cash and high-quality bonds a safe parking place for now. Amid such a challenging environment, it's hard to blame retired investors for looking beyond traditional investments like stocks,…

Concerns about shortfalls in traditional retirement income sources like Social Security and pension plans have caused people to expect to rely more heavily on personal savings to fund their retirement. The graph illustrates that while only 50% of current retirees utilize their personal savings for retirement income, 65% of current workers anticipate personal savings to play a role during…

Deciding what to do with your 401(k) balance when you leave a job does not have to be difficult. It is something that almost everyone will have to do at some point. The best approach is to look at the various options, understand the differences, and figure out how your decision will impact your ability to save for retirement. In general, here…