Retirement Planning
« Previous EntriesYour 401(k) Might Be Better Off Than You Think
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009From today’s Wall Street Journal:
Get this: Despite the biggest and broadest decline in financial markets in a generation, the median 401(k) retirement account at Vanguard Group on Sept. 30, 2009, was up 7% from where it was two years earlier, when the market was near its all-time high.
The Reason?…
Continued regular savings matter a lot. If [...]
You Have ONE Day to Recharacterize Your IRA…
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009My Charles Schwab friend sent me the following email (adjusted slightly because I received it two days ago).
JLP-
Greetings!
Two countdowns, one problem: Nobody knows about them.
1. In 73 days, the 2010 Roth conversion opportunity will go into effect, allowing people earning over $100,000 to convert to a Roth IRA and enjoy tax breaks down [...]
Is it Irresponsible for Dave Ramsey to Assume a 12% Rate of Return in His Examples?
Thursday, October 8th, 2009My church participated in Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover Live!” event a couple of weeks ago. I did not attend the event but did pick up a copy of the workbook that went along with the event.
I have never counted myself among the Dave Ramsey fans. Sure, his advice is better than [...]
Your Withdrawal Rate Matters
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009Longtime AFM readers will remember the simulated retirement portfolio I put together with exchange-traded funds. I have been tracking the portfolio since 2004, which was the first year that all the exchange-traded funds in the portfolio were available.
As you can see from the graphic below, the withdrawal amount can have a drastic [...]
401(k) Just a Few Thousand Away From Previous High
Thursday, September 17th, 2009I was checking my wife’s 401(k) balance last night and noticed a couple of interesting things:
1. The balance is just a few thousand shy of its previous high-water mark. Yes, that number includes contributions but it’s still shows drastic improvement from the low.
2. Last year’s personal rate of return was somewhere around [...]
AFM Reader Question on 401(k) Loans
Monday, July 13th, 2009I received the following email over the weekend:
Hi,
Your article on 401(k) loans was very informative.
I am trying to decide between 401(k) loan and withdrawal. My 401(k) is not currently active, meaning I do not contribute anything towards it. I have moved to a new employer and my 401(k) was with the old employer. [...]
SURPRISE!!!!! Our Personal Rate of Return is 11.5% for 2009!
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009I logged into my wife’s 401(k) account this morning to find this:
The definition of personal rate of return (I put together a tutorial here) on Fidelity’s website is:
Your Personal Rate of Return is calculated with a time-weighted formula, widely used by financial analysts to calculate investment earnings. The calculated value reflects the result of your [...]
There’s Only So Much an Advisor Can Do…
Thursday, May 28th, 2009This is the introduction to a Kiplinger article titled, Does Your Advisor Make the Grade?
Until last fall, Pam Nintrup thought the financial adviser she had hired two and a half years before was doing a good job. He’d consolidated her and her husband’s scattered accounts onto one statement and run computer scenarios to determine whether [...]
The SEC is Looking at Target-Date Funds
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009From today’s Wall Street Journal:
In a speech before the Mutual Fund Directors Forum on Monday, Ms. Schapiro said the investment results from these target funds have been “troubling” in recent times, with an average loss in 2008 among 31 funds with a 2010 retirement date at almost 25%.
She said the SEC is “closely reviewing target-date [...]
Scott Burns Starts a Six-Part Series Today on Retirement Saving
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009I noticed Scott Burns’ column in today’s Houston Chronicle (you can read the article here) is the first in a series on reforming retirement saving. This particular article talks about the fact that many employers are no longer offering their employees a 401(k) match. Scott references a study done by Hewitt Associates that [...]
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