Social Security Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Jerry Golden on Retirement

Take charge of your own retirement

August 2, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security, Two-stage retirement Tags: Annuities, retirement income, Social Security

Anyone who has taken the time to fill out the input required for more than one retirement calculator will know the output results vary dramatically. Recent studies by financial and academic institutions, in fact, show that the numbers you get could vary by 60 percent or more!

No matter how much careful skepticism you apply, there is no way you can use those calculators to help you reliably plan for retirement. As I wrote in a blog post earlier this year, such calculators fail to account for several factors while determining the “magic number” you seek. In fact, calculators don’t even give you a reliable range of numbers to choose from.

The problem with calculators

Not only do calculators each use different algorithms and assumptions, they also often leave important factors, like taxes or late-in-retirement expenses, out of the equation. Also, if one calculator assumes your return on investment will be 5%, and another predicts 7%, the results will be impossible to compare. More

Live long and prosper – with a deferred income annuity

July 19, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security, Two-stage retirement 3 Comments Tags: retirement income, Social Security, two-stage retirement

Planning for old age is good. That is why I like income annuities as part of a retirement plan: because they guarantee income through your entire life, no matter how long you live.

It turns out, though, one reason people don’t buy income annuities is that they don’t like thinking about old age (and especially the end of old age). Several studies that looked into why more people don’t buy these products found that the language to describe income annuities caused potential buyers to close their computers, walk away from their desks, and promise to think about retirement another day.

Emotionally, I get it. I want to live forever, too. But the evidence is overwhelming that I will have to settle for a long and happy life, not an endless one. More

Market volatility works against retirement stability

July 5, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security, Two-stage retirement Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, retirement income, Social Security

The new financial and political challenge known as “Brexit” is a good reminder that your plan for the late, or second, stage of your retirement should not depend on the stock market.

In the two days following Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, the Dow Jones Average plunged 800 points. The markets have since rebounded, but here’s the question you ought to ask yourself:

Will I feel secure in my retirement if my savings are fully invested in financial products that swing so wildly and unpredictably? More

Late-in-life marriage requires more answers than “I do”

June 21, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Interesting Articles, Social Security Tags: Baby Boomers, Late-in-life marriage, retirement income, Social Security

Marriage later in life can be a satisfying and romantic accomplishment, whether it is a first-time event or the rekindling of love after a divorce or death of a spouse.

However, unlike marriage in your 20s, making the commitment in your 50s, 60s or later suggests not so much a walk down the aisle as finding your way through a maze of decisions about money.

The union of two experienced people illustrates the quandaries of a modern mixed marriage: Whose investment philosophy will we follow and which financial advisor do we keep? More

Experts on income annuities: Look at the benefits

June 8, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security 2 Comments Tags: Annuities, Baby Boomers, retirement income, Social Security

There is confusion on the internet, and even in the financial industry, about the value of annuities. Some of the dissonance occurs because there are several types of annuities and it can be confusing to decide how some of them might apply to an individual’s retirement situation.

But if we concentrate on income annuities, either immediate or deferred, we will see that more institutions – and smart people – are talking about their benefits.

They are beneficial to people who have saved a decent amount for retirement and are trying to figure out how to create guaranteed income for life, as opposed to hoping their retirement savings, invested in stocks and bonds, last as long as they do. More