Retirement Planning
« Previous EntriesSURPRISE!!!!! 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 [...]
STICK TO YOUR GUNS, PEOPLE!
Thursday, January 8th, 2009From the front page in today’s Wall Street Journal comes, Big Slide in 401(k)s Spurs Calls for Change. Here’s a quotes (WARNING: some of this might make you mad):
The stock-market rout has ignited a crisis of confidence for millions of Americans who manage their own retirement savings through 401(k) plans.
After watching her account drop [...]
Leave Our 401(k)s Alone!
Friday, November 14th, 2008Take a look at what Teresa Ghilarducci at New York’s New School for Social Research wants to do to your 401(k):
Her plan would end the tax breaks for 401(k)s; she proposes instead to give all workers an annual $600 inflation-adjusted tax credit for retirement and force them to invest 5% of their pay into a [...]
Question From a Reader: 401(k) Loan
Thursday, November 6th, 2008I received the following email last week:
Hi JLP,
I’ve read your blog about the 401k loan. However, it’s still unclear what to do in my case. I took out a 401k loan of $20,000 by June, 2008. The loan is payable within 5 years. However, I will be laid off by my current employer by the [...]
A Conversation With a Friend About His 401(k)
Saturday, October 18th, 2008This morning I got a call from my friend. Our conversation went something like this (I’m pulling a 15 minute conversation from memory so bear with me):
Friend: I was looking at my 401(k) statement last night. One month ago I had $23,000. This month it’s down to $17,000. I lost [...]
Are 401(k) Plans Really That Bad?
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008At least once a week I receive an article submission from a guy named Steven Selengut. Steven, a portfolio manager and author, runs Sanco Services, a portfolio management company. This week’s article is titled “Why 401(k) Retirement Plans Really Don’t Work,” which you can read in its entirety here. The author prefers [...]
Estimating Retirement Income Needs - The Discounted Approach
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008Let’s say you want to retire at age 65 on January 1, 2009. Not including Social Security, you desire $50,000 in income the first year of your retirement and you would like that $50,000 to increase 3% each year as an inflation adjustment. You expect to live 25 years in retirement.
Question: Assuming the [...]