By Metro Creative
The largest living generational age group, the Baby Boomers, are those currently living in retirement or planning to hit full retirement in the next few years. They also are currently the wealthiest generation. With an estimated $68 trillion, the title of the wealthiest generation comes from a lifetime of saving and careful budgeting.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March/April issue of LiveIt magazine.
By J. Kimberly Cantwell, Modern Woodmen of America
Most individuals establish resolutions for each New Year on the first day of January. While others are making promises to lose weight or fulfill bucket list wishes, let 2020 be the year you make a resolution to look at your retirement planning and set the goals necessary to make sure your future is financially secure.
Have you insured your life and hard-earned assets?
You don’t know if you’ll have a fender bender in the car or if there will be hail damage to the roof of your home, yet you probably have insurance for both. You have no idea if you’ll drop the cell phone and shatter the screen or accidentally drop it in a puddle of water, but you probably insure the cell phone.
To read more, pick up a copy of the January/February issue of LiveIt magazine.
BY J. KIMBERLY CANTWELL, MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA
John and Linda didn’t have a lot of money to set aside while paying the mortgage and raising a family. Now that their kids are grown and the house is paid off, they’re concerned they may not have saved enough to retire in 10 years. Estimating how much money you’ll need in retirement – and figuring out how to save it – can be complex and confusing. Fewer than half of Americans know how much they should be saving, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. Most workers are saving too little or nothing at all.
Though LIMRA recommends saving a minimum of 10 percent of your income annually, four out of five workers are saving less. The average rate of saving is only six percent, LIMRA reports, leaving almost a third of pre-retirees (workers ages 55-70) with less than $100,000 for retirement. More than a third have less than $25,000. If you’ve fallen behind, catch-up contributions may help get your retirement savings back on track. Provisions in the IRS tax code allow people over age 50 to set aside extra money each year in certain savings plans, including 401(k) accounts, on top of normal contribution limits.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November/December issue of LiveIt magazine.
By J. Kimberly Cantwell, Modern Woodmen of America
Each of Laura’s siblings thought they knew their mother’s final wishes. However, when she became ill they couldn’t agree on her care. When she passed away, they struggled to divide what she left behind.
Like her mother, Laura doesn’t consider herself wealthy. Creating an estate plan seemed unnecessary. After being at odds with her siblings and paying a large portion of her inheritance in taxes, however, Laura’s reconsidering.
Your estate includes your car, home, bank accounts, investments, life insurance and personal belongings. Your estate plan determines how, when and to whom your assets will be distributed after your death.
To read more, pick up a copy of the September/October issue of LiveIt magazine.
If you’re a gardener, your busy season is at hand. Could the skills you deploy at gardening be transferred to other areas of your life – such as investing?
Here are a few ideas for doing just that:
Establish a timeline. As a gardener, you typically follow a well-defined timeline. You need to get the soil ready a few months before you want to plant, and you need to plant at different times, depending on what plants you choose. You even need to set up a schedule for watering, feeding, weeding and other garden care. As an investor, you may also need to observe a timeline.
During the early and middle stages of your career, you probably need to invest primarily for growth, so you can build resources for a comfortable retirement.
To read more, pick up a copy of the May/June issue of LiveIt magazine.
For many years, employees of companies that offered 401(k) plans only faced a couple of key decisions – how much to contribute and how to allocate their dollars among the various investment options in their plan. In recent years, a third choice has emerged: the traditional versus Roth 401(k). Which is right for you?
To begin with, you need to understand the key difference between the two types of 401(k) plans. When you invest in a traditional 401(k), you put in pre-tax dollars, so the more you contribute, the lower your taxable income.
Your contributions and earnings grow tax-deferred until you begin taking withdrawals, which will be taxed at your ordinary tax rate. With a Roth 401(k), the situation is essentially reversed. You contribute after-tax dollars, so you won’t lower your taxable income, but withdrawals of contributions and earnings are tax-free at age 59-1/2, as long as you’ve held the account at least five years.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March/April issue of LiveIt magazine.