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Stay at one workplace long enough to receive retirement benefits

admin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:22:03 +0000

Sometimes you might need to stay at one workplace long enough to receive retirement benefits. In some companies, you may have to work for 5 years to become eligible to receive retirement benefits. Employers now do offer retirement plans such as 401K when you first take the job as part of incentives. The problems that usually occur with women employees are changing jobs, quitting work, or childbirth. Some women choose to stay at home until the children are in schools. These common interruptions cause some women to fall short of the time required to become vested with the company.

Before you take a job, check with the HR and find out what are the options. Sometime there are not many options during hard economic times such as now since most people will take whatever they can find. Negotiating retirement plans is not an option. Just keep in mind, even if your employer doesn’t offer the plan yet, you can always start your individual IRA.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Does your employer offer a retirement plan?

admin — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:14:32 +0000

If your employer offers a retirement plan, join it as soon as you can and contribute as much as the plan allows. People tend to distrust the stock and mutual funds during bad economical times. But the best time to invest is in bad economy and when the stocks are low. Even in a time like this, most employers offer 401(k) plans and match a fixed percentage of the employee’s contribution.

The most common match is 50 percent of the employee’s contribution up to a maximum percentage of wages or salary (usually 6 percent). Although many companies are cutting back on the matching, you can still expect the find somewhere between 2-4 percent. That’s like getting free money! Although most temp and part-time employees do not get matching 401K, but if your job does, then join without hesitation.

The younger you are, the better your long term savings returns. Your savings will grow and your earnings will compound over time. Time is the best and most important factor in retirement savings. If you wait until 35 to start, then you’ve already lost 12-13 years of compounding opportunities. If you just recently graduated from college and luck enough to have a job, start now. Even just little amount each month.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Women can expect to live another 20 years in retirement

admin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 01:18:44 +0000

On average, a female retiring at age 65 can expect to live another 19 to 20 years. That’s at least 3 years longer than men who retire at the same age. Which makes it more important to plan retirement early and start saving early. Savings can increase your chances of having enough money to last during your entire retirement.

Many retirees are facing now running out of money towards the end of their lives. Many people are taking on part time jobs to help paying bills. Today’s 30 and 40 years olds will not be able to receive 100% of their social security income by the time they reach full retirement age.

The safest way for a women to plan for retirement is to save in 401K or IRA, or both. Stay-at-home moms should keep contributing to their IRA. Even if less than the maximum allowed amount of current $5,000.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Few women participate in employer sponsored retirement plans

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:57:03 +0000

There are roughly 62 million wage and salaried women between the age 21 and 64 who are working in the United States. However, even before the economic trouble and high unemployment, only45 percent of the employed women participated in a retirement plan. Many people don’t realize the importance of compounding which simply means the earlier you start, the less you need to save and the more you will have. Remember, even small amounts can earn interest and add up over time.

If you are waged and your employer doesn’t have a retirement plan, you can open an IRA. Start by talking to your bank and open an IRA account. Most of them have a very small minimum requirement. You can put in very little each month. Try to setup a small amount that you truly feel comfortable and stick to it and forget about it. If you have a land phone line that you don’t really need at home, cancel it and use that money to fund your IRA.

If you are 25 years old right now, open your Roth IRA with $250 down and put in $50 each month until you’re 65. At 8% of interest, you will have $173,300 of tax free money when you’re 65. You can’t retire happily on that, but if you have other investments, and social security checks, you can be comfortable. Plus that’s just the savings from your land line phone bill. How can you beat that? With the same calculation, image yourself skip movies, shop second hand, skip Starbucks and manicure and put in $200 each month, with everything staying the same, you will have $676,906. Now you can really live comfortably with that on top of your social security checks.

Now how about skip lunches and bring your own sandwiches, at $7 a day, you can probably invest another $150 each month. Now the monthly contribution is $350. At 65, you will have $1,180,511. Congratulation!

Retirement planning sounds so far ahead, but you need to start as soon as possible

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:45:26 +0000

For most people, retirement seems so far ahead. Every few women start thinking about their retirement planning until children are out of the house. Mostly in their late 40s and 50s. But keep one thing in mind, the earlier you start, the easier it is. It’s a simple number game. The longer you save and invest, the less you have save every month. Because you have all the years for growth and compounding.

Retirement planning should start early and continue throughout your lifetime. Here are four reasons why saving matters to women – and especially to you!

Women are more likely to work in part-time jobs that don’t qualify for a retirement plan. And working women are more likely than men to interrupt their careers to take care of family members. Therefore, they work fewer years and contribute less toward their retirement, resulting in lower lifetime savings.
Of the 62 million wage and salaried women (age 21 to 64) working in the United States, just 45 percent participated in a retirement plan. Remember, even small amounts can earn interest and add up over time.
On average, a female retiring at age 65 can expect to live another 19 years, 3 years longer than a man retiring at the same age. Savings can increase a woman’s chances of having enough money to last during her retirement.
By and large, women invest more conservatively than men. Choose carefully where you put your money and learn how to make your investments grow.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Every women should have an IRA or Roth IRA

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:34:11 +0000

Every women should always have an IRA or Roth IRA, even if they are a stay-at-home mom. If a divorce was to happen to a women, her separate retirement fund would still be intact and will come in handy when she reaches the age of 65.

She should invest in mostly stocks when she is younger and slowly put it in more conservative things as she grows older such as bonds. If a women has children she should put more money in a retirement fund such as an IRA than a college savings account until the IRA is fully funded. College can be funded with things like scholarships and student loans, but retirement must come from a woman’s own pocket.

If the workplace has a retirement fund that can be matched, this is not to be passed up. The match is essentially free money that the company is giving her. Fund the retirement fund up until the match, then place the rest of money that is going towards retirement into an after-tax fund.

Self Directed IRA Account – The Best Retirement Plan For Business Savvy People

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:44:59 +0000

By Ricky Devel

It was in 1975, when an investment option was introduced and grouped in the lists of the individual retirement accounts, which is now commonly known as the Self directed IRA account. Many people who begin to study all the possible retirement investing selections, most of the time don’t take a good look on Self directed IRA accounts. But if you thoroughly examine the whole feature of this IRA, you may deem it as the best and the most effective retirement account for you especially if you prefer an account that provides you the right to take full control of your assets.

When you open a Self directed IRA account, you’ll be delighted to know about the wonderful opportunities it can give you as a contributor. As its name denotes it, you can build and establish all your investments through your direction and management. You can in real fact house your funds in assets that include real estate market, partnerships, franchises, mortgages and other kinds of investments.

If you are already decided that you want to invest your money in a particular business, the first thing that you should accomplish is to consult a custodian or an administrator, who will facilitate your paperwork needs and will buy the investments and assets that you want to take control of. Remember, that this doesn’t in any way reduce your power over your Self directed IRA because the management of your assets is ultimately your task.

One of the best investments for a Self directed IRA is the real estate market. You can also grab hold of the chance to lend funds in your retirement plan, so you can invest in some mortgages. Other types of assets that you can obtain through your Self directed account are franchises, companies and partnerships.

The other types of IRAs more often than not are not allowed to invest in industries that are high-risks; this somehow lessens the generation of high profits and gains. But when you have a Self directed IRA account, you can put your funds in non-conventional assets or high-risk businesses as long as they fall under the guidelines of the IRS.

There are numerous kinds of self directed IRA investment options that you can get hold of, especially if you have the comprehensive understanding on how you can run the business you chose to put your money in. Investing in high risks assets can be dangerous, though the gains and profits can be huge, particularly if the assets you’ve got perform very well in the market.

Many people are afraid to go for self directed account because they find it to be quite complex, but if you are a business savvy individual and you like taking risks then this may be the best individual retirement account for you. Another significant factor that you should have when you open this account is an all-inclusive and comprehensive business plan, so you can manage your investments well.

Always keep in mind that the success and profit generation of the Self directed IRA account relies on you solely. Learn the self directed investments basics before starting on any IRA or investment plan.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Your Retirement Account: Why You Should Save It For Retirement

megdilts — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:20:32 +0000

by: Michelle L. Marrs

A frustrating situation that bankruptcy attorneys are often faced with is meeting clients who have drained their retirements in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, only to end up filing anyway. In a bankruptcy situation, funds in a qualified retirement account are exempt to over $1 million dollars – a limit not generally approached by most debtors.

People sometimes use loans and disbursements as a band-aid for their financial troubles. If this approach is not going to “cure” the problem, then you should avoid these false “solutions”. The best decision you could make in considering resolution of your financial difficulties is to seek the advice of an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

There is extensive planning that can be done to seek to maximize the amount of assets you keep while minimizing the repayment to creditors. Your number one goal should be to seek a fresh start with as many assets as possible.

Speaking to a bankruptcy attorney doesn’t mean that you will need to or should file a bankruptcy. A good bankruptcy attorney is experienced in many different areas of financial distress and can offer a comprehensive and creative approach to solving the problem. They deal with these issues on a daily basis and will have a broader range of experience and insight than the average person.

There may also be additional relief available to you in stripping mortgages, adjusting interest rates, IRS issues and so on that can be explained by a bankruptcy attorney. People often are misled by false information on the Internet or from well intentioned friends with only partially true information.

In short, meet with someone experienced in financial issues before raiding your retirement, you may be surprised at the options available to you.

About The Author

Ms. Marrs is a 1992 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Economics. She received her law degree from Thomas M Cooley in 1998. Ms. Marrs practices in the areas of bankruptcy including adversary proceedings. http://www.marrsterry.net