Posts

Myths and Facts about Social Security

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Myth: Social Security will provide most of the income you need in retirement. Fact: It's likely that Social Security will provide a smaller portion of retirement income than you expect. There's no doubt about it--Social Security is an important…

Retirement Income Shortfalls

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If you're lucky, your expected income sources will be more than enough to fund even a lengthy retirement. But what if it looks like you'll come up short? Don't panic--there are probably steps that you can take to bridge the gap. A financial…

Identify your sources of retirement income

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Once you have an idea of your retirement income needs, your next step is to assess how prepared you are to meet those needs. In other words, what sources of retirement income will be available to you? Your employer may offer a traditional pension…

Decide when you'll retire

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To determine your total retirement needs, you can't just estimate how much annual income you need. You also have to estimate how long you'll be retired. Why? The longer your retirement, the more years of income you'll need to fund it. The length…

Project your retirement expenses

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Your annual income during retirement should be enough (or more than enough) to meet your retirement expenses. That's why estimating those expenses is a big piece of the retirement planning puzzle. But you may have a hard time identifying all…

Use your current income as a starting point

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It's common to discuss desired annual retirement income as a percentage of your current income. Depending on who you're talking to, that percentage could be anywhere from 60 to 90 percent, or even more. The appeal of this approach lies in its…

ESTIMATING YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME NEEDS

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You know how important it is to plan for your retirement, but where do you begin? One of your first steps should be to estimate how much income you'll need to fund your retirement. That's not as easy as it sounds, because retirement planning…

Tax-Exempt Bond Fund (Municipal Bonds)

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What is a tax-exempt bond fund? A tax-exempt bond fund (sometimes known as a municipal bond fund or muni bond fund) invests in tax-exempt municipal debt instruments issued by state governments or agencies, counties, cities, towns, or other political…

Three tips for Social Security

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Use the benefit calculators available on the Social Security website to estimate your future retirement, disability, and survivor's benefits. Social Security was never intended to cover all of your financial needs, but understanding what benefits…