retirement plans Archives - Jerry Golden on Retirement

Do Alternative Investments Belong in Your Retirement Plan?

January 11, 2024 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Alternative investments, Income annuities, retirement plans

There’s a lot of promotion of ‘alternative investments’ these days, from gold to real estate and even to Bitcoin.
Are you missing out?

If you do any research on your own about how to create a solid retirement, you’ve read about alternative investments, financial managers who boast great performance and the tech stock your friends cashed in on.

You’re also seeing that your kids could use your help with the down payment on a house or condo with more space.

Can you afford to make that riskier investment or help your kids — without jeopardizing your own retirement plans?

Annuity Payments Don’t Make Your Retirement, They Make it Better

January 25, 2022 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: annuity payments, confidence, Inflation, retirement plans

Why do annuity payments belong in a plan for retirement income?

There is a very simple answer to that question: Retirees who have annuity payments in their plan feel more confident about their long-term finances in retirement.

It seems obvious to someone like me, who is an actuary by training and spent most of my later career in the retirement business. That confidence comes because an annuity payment is similar to Social Security or a pension; they all provide a lifetime of guaranteed income.

Since annuity payment contracts (APCs) are offered in a marketplace of highly rated annuity carriers, in my view retirees or near-retirees with a reasonable life expectancy should at least consider them. However, according to one survey, a relatively low percentage of retirees — less than 15% — make annuity payments part of their plans.

“Creating a Retirement Vision” MarketWatch, July 19, 2013

July 23, 2013 By Jerry Golden in Interesting Articles Tags: Income checks, retirement income, retirement plans

I was asked by Bob Powell, the author of the above titled article, to give him my thoughts on creating a retirement vision for the article he was writing. He asked me not to focus on the “easy” financial part. Here’s what I said:

I don’t agree that getting the money part right is easy. While individuals may think they have a plan, it may not be the right plan. For example, we recently interviewed a soon-to-retire individual who did not have a plan that secures her income. It was clear that she’s afraid to “spend her principal” on the trip she’s been dreaming of; instead, she needs a Plan for Retirement Income in which she’s living off secure income checks.