Retirement Planning
« Previous EntriesWhat Are Your Thoughts On These Proposed 401(k) Changes?
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010Interesting article on Obama’s plans for retirement savings programs.
I want to focus on the proposed changes for 401(k) plans (from the article).
The proposed 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act, for example, would:
• Require 401k plans to disclose fees on workers’ quarterly statements as a dollar figure taken from participants’ accounts.
• Require service providers [...]
Should You Convert to a Roth IRA in 2010?
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009I listened in on a Roth IRA Converstion conference call with a Charles Schwab representative this morning. Schwab.com offers a pretty nice resource for Roth IRAs.
In 15 days an opportunity will become available that will allow people at all income levels to convert a non-deductible IRA to a Roth IRA. Previously, [...]
Your 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 [...]