One in Three Americans Have Nothing Saved for Retirement

Nothing was more important to Winnie than her young children. The married mother of three took care of their needs but seldom took care of her own. As Winnie neared retirement, she divorced her spouse without a pension, 401-k or any significant savings. Because of an illness, she was forced to retire early and take reduced Social Security benefits. Her story is not uncommon.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

How to hike your guaranteed lifetime retirement income

One of the most difficult retirement planning challenges is dealing with the uncertainty of how long you might live. You just don't know whether you'll make it to age 75, 85 or 95. That's why it's smart to develop sources of retirement incomethat guarantee to pay you no matter how long you live, such as Social Security, a pension or an annuity from an insurance company.

The trouble is, many people haven't earned a significant pension from their employer, and many retirees don't buy annuities from insurance companies. That leaves you with just one option: maxing your Social Security benefits, which you can do by delaying the start of benefits. For each month you delay, your monthly retirement income rises, but that increase stops at age 70, after which you receive no additional credits for delaying your benefits.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Retirement options dwindle, and states step in. But should they?

Whether it's the reality of living paycheck-to-paycheck, or just plain procrastination, more than a third of all Americans say they have nothing saved for retirement.

With fewer companies offering pension plans, and the number of companies offering employees 401(K) programs decline, more and more workers could find themselves on their own in their golden years. Less than half of private sector workers have access to retirement plans at their workplace, a state of affairs that is making state governments step in.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Pensions Are Taking the Long, Lonely Road to Retirement

Pensions were once just as much a given in the full-time working world as rock-solid health insurance and gold watches on retirement day. Remember that time? Touch-tone phones were still all the rage, too.

But in the 21st century, many employers have already made the call to eliminate pensions, with more joining their ranks every day. Thus that once-secure source of retirement income could quickly become a relic, although other instruments – such as 401(k) accounts and certain annuities – have since replaced pieces of the pension puzzle.

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Damian Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

You should break these six retirement rules. Here's why.

Are there right and wrong ways to retire? While that's a relative question, there are retirement rules that are in your best interest to follow — and those you might want to break. Consider these six retirement rules you might be better off ignoring.

1. Depending on a Pension or Social Security

Counting on a pension or Social Security to help you ride out your retirement years? That's probably not the best strategy to have, considering that very few companies still offer pensions (though you'd know if yours does) and Social Security is still in crisis (so much so that it might be bankrupt and not even exist by the time you retire). That's not to mention that inflation is likely to outpace your per-month payouts in the off chance that you do receive these income sources.

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Damian J. Sylvia
Managing Partner
Retirement Income Solutions