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Print Only On Balance – Editorial CalendarA Newsletter for Retirees and Pre-retireesJuly 2012
The Cost of a Long Life
The number of Americans living to age 90 and older is expected to quadruple by 2050. Someone who lives to 100 could expect to spend more than $3.6 million in his or her adult lifetime. Accompanying chart shows a breakdown of expenditures for various stages of life.
Taking Aim at Target-Date Funds
Assets invested in target-date funds have tripled over the past six years, largely due to their availability in employer-sponsored retirement plans. More than four out of five large employers now offer target-date funds, often as the default option. This article encourages investors to be sure they understand a target-date fund’s assumptions, underlying investments, and glide path.
Understanding Your Social Security Options
About half of retirees file for Social Security benefits when they first become eligible at age 62, but those who do receive only partial benefits. Two hypothetical examples illustrate additional filing strategies that married couples might consider to enhance their lifetime benefits.
Why Spending Is Good for the Economy
Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of U.S. gross domestic product. So when spending slows, it’s difficult for the economy to grow. This article examines the relationship between consumer spending and GDP over the past five years.
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June 2012
Retirement Dreams
Vacation and travel were identified by 38% of Americans aged 50 and older as the “one thing” they dream about pursuing in their lives. Accompanying chart presents other popular responses to this AARP survey.
Investing When Rates Are Low
Interest rates have been exceptionally low for three years, and are expected to remain so through the end of 2014, according to the Federal Reserve. How do investors who are retired or approaching retirement factor the prospect of continued low interest rates into their investment strategies?
Costs of Caregiving
More than 65 million Americans — about one in three adults — provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, disabled, or aged. Caregivers not only may incur substantial financial burdens but could also face risks to their own physical and mental health. This article presents information about informal caregiving and how it might be prudent to consider potential long-term-care costs when planning for retirement.
Birthday Benefits
As one grows older, it can be important to pay attention to certain birthday milestones in order to take advantage of available retirement benefits and avoid potential penalties. This quiz enables readers to test their knowledge of significant dates related to Social Security, Medicare, and retirement accounts.
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May 2012
Graying Workforce
The percentage of older workers (55+) has been increasing since the 1990s — with nearly as many working women now as men. This trend may be due to a variety of factors, including a challenging economy, fewer traditional pension plans, the end of mandatory retirement ages, and the rising age for full Social Security benefits.
To Convert or Not to Convert? That’s the Roth Question
Nearly 20 million households have a Roth IRA. Even so, many investors may not understand the potential long-term advantages of converting tax-deferred retirement plan assets to a Roth IRA. This article focuses on factors to consider, such as current and future tax implications, avoidance of mandatory distributions, and weighing the current value of assets versus their converted tax-free growth potential.
A Working Knowledge of Medicare
As more Americans continue to work past the traditional retirement age of 65, they may need to evaluate the best time to sign up for Medicare. This article provides information on Medicare costs and offers some basic enrollment guidelines for older workers who are covered by an employer group medical plan and how they can avoid potential penalties for late enrollment.
Help Protect Your Assets
From 1951 through 2009, the cost of torts rose at more than double the annual rate of general inflation. In such a litigious environment, it is important for people to protect their assets and future incomes from a potential civil suit. Standard homeowners and auto insurance policies offer limited liability coverage, whereas an umbrella liability insurance policy not only provides additional coverage but covers situations not included in standard policies.
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April 2012
Widening Wealth Gap
In 2009, households headed by people aged 65 and older had 47 times the median net worth of households headed by those aged 35 and younger, a substantial increase from 25 years earlier.
Pick Up This Split for Long-Term Retirement Income
The number of Americans aged 90 or older almost tripled from 1980 through 2010 and is projected to quadruple by 2050. As people live longer, the challenge becomes how to fund such a long retirement. This article discusses how a split-annuity strategy could provide a long-term income stream.
A Gift for Grandkids
Research shows that college grads earn more than nongraduates over their lifetimes, but about 75% of adults believe that college is no longer affordable for most Americans. This article describes how gifts from grandparents and others could be structured to help family members pay for college while enabling the givers to reduce or possibly avoid potential gift taxes.
Taking an Interest in Interest Rates
This primer explains the difference between the federal funds rate and the prime rate, and describes how the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep the federal funds target rate at “exceptionally low levels” through late 2014 could affect readers’ financial situations.
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March 2012
Shifting Ownership
Between 1994 and 2010, mutual fund ownership increased for older age groups but fell for younger age groups. Ownership fell from 24% to 15% for investors who are younger than 35, while ownership rose from 13% to 20% for those aged 55 to 64.
Putting Your Eggs in Multiple Baskets
Many investors understand the basic concepts of asset allocation and diversification, but may not understand how they have the potential to improve portfolio performance over time. This article examines how mutual funds offer the potential for a broad level of exposure to a variety of asset classes, market capitalizations, and industry sectors.
There’s Still Time to Catch Up
Worker confidence in affording a comfortable retirement fell to a record low in 2011, but investors aged 50 and older may be able to make up for lost time by maximizing contributions to retirement plans and taking advantage of catch-up contribution limits. The accompanying chart shows the potential difference in accumulation by taking advantage of catch-up contributions from age 50 to age 65 or 70.
Doing Your Heirs a Favor
Although a will and a trust specify disposition of assets, many other details of an individual’s final wishes might be explained in a letter of instructions. This article offers some topics to consider addressing in the letter to help loved ones make decisions and take care of final arrangements.
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February 2012
Understanding Medicare
Less than half of Americans aged 60 and older say they understand the Medicare program, and even fewer can correctly indentify the program’s specific coverage areas. Chart shows breakdown of understanding by age group.
Balancing Stability and Growth
An investor who is two or three decades from retirement could decide to be more aggressive in pursuing investment growth than someone approaching retirement. Even though investors address this by transitioning to a more conservative asset allocation, they still need to seek growth while balancing the desire for principal preservation. This article offers some factors to consider and examines three hypothetical asset allocations and their historical performance over the past 10 years.
A Matter of Trust
A properly executed trust not only may help avoid probate but could help reduce or avoid estate taxes and help ensure that assets are distributed as the grantor wishes. The focus of this article is on basic trust concepts and the most common types of trusts.
Foreign Exchange
Foreign currencies have been in the news headlines with the European debt crisis and pressure on China to loosen its monetary control. Readers can test their knowledge of world currency in this multiple-choice quiz.
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