Money & Your Life

Insurance is all about protecting what we have from disaster – accidents, death, disability are just a few things we insure against. But as we age, planning to have protection to pay for our care is something not as many people do. Having to pay for medical care in retirement or a nursing home is enough to wipe out savings. But it can be avoided with the addition of a long-term care policy. READ FULL ARTICLE

Being married is all about sharing love, time, family – and money. But according to a survey by Fidelity Investments, it’s not always that way. Fidelity asked 500 couples age 45 and over about retirement and how much they agreed with their spouse on what will happen when the day comes to stop working. You might guess accurately what the results were – not a lot of couples agreed. READ FULL ARTICLE

In times where a job loss or emergency expense create a need for finding sources of income to pay the bills, one method that may help fill the temporary gap is borrowing from your retirement plan. However, this comes at the consequence of robbing your future so should only be considered for desperate measures. READ FULL ARTICLE

The savings rate in America as measured by the government has been zero or negative for years until now. The recession has been the wake-up call.

That savings rate is now 5 percent compared with a 0.1 percent rate a year ago—thanks largely to reduced spending.

It’s easier to increase spending than reduce spending, so Americans have been truly burdened. If you are needing to boost your savings and cut your spending, BillShrink.com has these tips: READ FULL ARTICLE

It’s either because you need medical and employee benefits or just the cash to get by. That’s the top reasons in a survey by Sun Life Financial, which just started tracking why people work in retirement. A full 83 percent of those between 30 and 66 surveyed said they will work at least 20 hours a week after age 67.

To me, this says people are not preparing for a financially secure retirement. They are not saving enough, instead spending too much now. They may end up surprised when they get to retirement and find out their employer has cut benefits, which many are doing to stay in business. You cannot count on someone else for your financial well-being. You are your own CEO, manage well or ask for help from an advisor.

Understanding how much you are paying for your 401(k) could become easier under rules proposed by the Labor Department this week. For too long, employers have made it hard to understand the fees, such as administrative fees, and other expenses employees have deducted from their balances. New rules would take effect Jan. 1 that require all the fees to be disclosed.

I’ve done 401(k) fee analyses and it’s amazing the variety of fees different companies charge. If you need help analyzing yours, contact me.

Middle-income Americans entering retirement now will have to reduce their standard of living by an average 24 percent to minimize their chances of outliving their money, a study by Ernst & Young reported in the Washington Post said. This is another wake-up call to the importance of prioritizing retirement savings. Who wants to go into the best part of their life with no money!? If you need guidance, contact me now.

Fidelity Investments has a new annuity product that doesn’t quite act like an annuity, in the form of having some benefits not found in other annuity products. Fidelity lets you pass on the balance of the annuity at the owner’s death to heirs, unlike other products where the balance disappears at death. Fidelity also gives step-ups in returns, so if the investment goes up 5 percent, the payout does, but if it then goes down 5 percent the payout doesn’t go down. Its guaranteed income helps the owner plan better knowing what the check will be.

If you are interested in a comparison of your current annuity versus the Fidelity plan, contact me for a free analysis.

As the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service debuts a prepaid debit card for Social Security payments and other federal benefits, be aware of scammers. The Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card – designed as a safe, convenient alternative to paper checks that people without bank accounts may choose – is currently being introduced nationwide.

Consumer protection advocates are trying to get a head start in the education since as with anything new, crooks will try to scam folks with this. They might try to call and get personal information from clients, and ‘threaten’ them with not receiving their payments, unless they give them social security numbers or bank accounts. Please look out for any scams involving this and report them right away to AARP ElderWatch (1-800-222-4444), your local law enforcement or District Attorney’s office.