How Your Social Security Benefit May Be Unfair

Are you happy with Social Security? If you are, bravo. If not, read this discussion of benefit calculations and get angry.

Don’t take my word for it that the payout formulas are screwy. Recently published comment from Eugene Steuerle, budget expert at Urban Institute:

“Social Security spousal and survivor benefits are so peculiarly designed that they would be judged illegal and discriminatory if private pension or retirement plans tried to implement them.”

Continue reading source article here.

Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

7 ways Millennials can get a jump-start on retirement planning

It’s quite fashionable these days to moralize about the shortcomings of the entire Millennial generation. And the latest fodder for critics is a recent survey by finance site HowMuch.net that shows more than 50% of those ages 18 to 34 have less than $1,000 in savings.

But before you wag a finger at those young whippersnappers, keep in mind the hard reality is that Americans of every age stink at saving. According to finance portal Go Banking Rates, 62% of all Americans have less than $1,000 saved.

Continue reading source article here.

Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

 

Creating A Rainy Day Fund For Your Personal Life In Retirement

It’s not uncommon to hear a financial expert preach the importance of having a rainy day fund equal to 3-6 months of expenses to cover emergencies or unexpected costs. While that’s very important, what’s often missed is that the same idea should be applied to your personal life in retirement as well.

It’s one reason why I ask people, “Where is your retirement sanctuary? Where do you go or who do you turn to after a bad day?”

On the surface, it may seem like a depressing question to think about and answer but the reality is, a successful retirement isn’t one without problems, but one in which you learn to overcome them. Therefore, in order to make a successful transition from work-life to home life, it’s important to understand how you deal with bad days, hard times, and even suffering.

Continue reading source article here.

Damian J. Sylvia

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

For millions, 401(k) plans have fallen short

You need to know this number: $18,433.

That's the median amount in a 401(k) savings account, according to a recent report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Almost 40 percent of employees have less than $10,000, even as the proportion of companies offering alternatives like defined benefit pensions continues to drop.

Continue reading article on cnbc.com.

Damian Sylvia

Managing Partner

Retirement Income Solutions

How much do you need to save for retirement?

Not everybody has a clear idea of how to handle their retirement money. According to an assessment of retirement readiness from Voya Financial, nearly 50 percent of workers have saved less than $49,000 and 60 percent say they're worried about running out of money.

Continue reading article on CBSnews.com.

Damian Sylvia

Managing Partner

Retirement Income Solutions

5 Retirement Planning Items you Should Take Care of Now

I am amazed at how many people I meet who haven't prepared properly for their retirement, a time of life when you will go without earned income — potentially for decades.

Whether you are your own financial adviser, embarking on this project alone or you have procured the help of a professional adviser, there are numerous considerations you will need to address. All of them will take time to think through and give due consideration before making final decisions. 

Here are five important issues, often over looked, which will require your attention during your preplanning:

Click here to read the source article at MarketWatch.com.

Damian Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

The proven way to retire rich

Last year, the National Bureau of Economic Research with professors from the University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University, and North Carolina State University, released a study entitled "Financial Knowledge and 401(k) Investment Performance."

In it the authors found that individuals who had the most financial knowledge -- as measured through five questions about personal finance principles -- had investment returns that were on average 1.3% higher annually -- 9.5% versus 8.2% -- than those who had the least financial knowledge.

Click here to read the source article at CNN.com. 

Damian Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

Should You Save More For Retirement Or Pay Off Your Mortgage Early?

One of the most common questions we get is whether to put savings toward paying off a mortgage vs. investing more for retirement. This question is tricky because the answer can vary depending on which stage of life you’re in. Are you in the accumulation phase of trying to build wealth or in the distribution phase of using that wealth to generate income?

The Accumulation Phase

First of all, make sure you have an adequate emergency fund before paying down your mortgage. While paying down your debt may make you feel safer, it’s actually safer to have some money in savings that you can use to continue making those mortgage payments should Murphy’s Law kick in. Even if your mortgage is paid off, you’ll need emergency savings to keep the lights on, food on the table, your car in the driveway, and gas in that car if something happens to you.

Continue reading source article at Forbes.com

Damian J. Sylvia

Managing Partner

Retirement Income Solutions

5 Steps to prepare for a 2015 retirement

If you've spent the past several decades working and are looking forward to retiring in 2015, the last thing you probably want to hear is that there's more work ahead. But a successful transition to a secure retirement is well worth the extra work and preparation.

Here are five steps to prepare for a 2015 retirement:

1. Craft a monthly budget or spending plan

A budget or spending plan helps determine what you expect to receive in retirement income vs. your anticipated living expenses. Open a notebook or a spreadsheet and, in one column, write down your expected monthly income, including Social Security, pension and withdrawals from your retirement funds. In a second column, estimate your average monthly expenses, which gives you a framework of your finances.

"Take a test run first," says Curtis Sheldon, a financial planner based in Alexandria, Va. "If you can, try living on what you expect your retirement living expenses to be. Can you do it?"

You might not be able to increase your income much in retirement, but you can certainly pare down your expenses. Money-saving ideas include downsizing into a smaller home, moving to a city with a lower cost of living, selling a car you might not need and taking fewer vacations.

Click here to continue reading the source article at USAToday.com.

Damian J. Sylvia

Managing Partner

Retirement Income Solutions