Over the past few months, we’ve seen a large increase in the volatility of the stock markets. In a basic sense, volatility for an investment refers to the expected range of values it might be worth over a given period of time.[1] A large range of possible values represents high volatility, and a small set of valuesRead More
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Who needs to know more about retirement finances?
How’s your “financial literacy?” Do you need to know more about finances, especially concerning your retirement years? Most people do, but there is a striking gender gap which shows a greater need for women, especially, to have a better understanding of retirement finances. In 2017, a survey[1] was conducted to measure the “financial literacy” of AmericansRead More
Plan Retirement Right: What’s a bond ladder, and how can it help when you retire?
One of the common concerns people have regarding their retirement is a fear of running out of money. We all want our retirement income to last as long as we do, and many of us also want to be able to leave something beyond that to our heirs. Those are legitimate concerns. We may haveRead More
Plan Retirement Right: Social Security and Income Taxes
It may seem counter-intuitive, but you may have to pay income taxes to the Federal government on a portion of your Social Security benefits that you receive FROM the federal government. Who has to pay? Not everyone has to pay. So, your friend or relative who tells you they don’t have to pay any incomeRead More
When should you review, and maybe alter, your retirement plan?
If you’ve saved during your working years and crafted a written retirement plan with the help of a financial professional, and you are following that plan, then you’re in good shape for your retirement years, right? Maybe so, maybe not. As the saying goes, “life happens.” Or, as Robert Burns put it, “The best laid schemesRead More
Are you really ready to retire? It’s not all about the money.
When we discuss retirement, we often assume that anyone who has sufficient savings set aside is therefore ready to retire. But is that always the case? Certainly, much of the focus of our work as financial professionals is on guiding others in the acquiring, preserving and distributing of their money in the ‘best’ way possible.Read More
What if your expenses actually increase after you retire?
It’s a fairly common belief that your monthly expenses will decrease after you retire, but what if they increase? There are a number of reasons that even the Social Security Administration notes that “Most financial advisors say you’ll need about 70 percent of your pre-retirement earnings to comfortably maintain your pre-retirement standard of living.” Any expensesRead More
Could you retire if you won $2 million in a lottery?
Could you retire, comfortably, if you won a lottery prize of $2,000,000? Maybe. Let’s just agree up front that if you won the grand prize in Powerball or Mega Millions, you could definitely retire, if you wanted to do so. That’s not really much of a stretch at all. But the second place prize forRead More
What’s a Health Savings Account and how could it help during retirement?
You might want to include a Health Savings Account (HSA) as part of your retirement plan. An HSA is designed to allow you to make tax exempt contributions to pay for your own health expenses – for now and also for the future. As long as the funds are used to pay for qualified medicalRead More
2 big reasons you may not want to retire at 62
Half of all Americans would like to retire at 60, but the most popular age to retire and begin receiving Social Security for American workers is 62. However, that may not be the best idea for many people, even if it seems like it is possible. There are many reasons why this might be theRead More
Long Term Care and Your Retirement
We’d all like to have a perfectly functioning mind and body for as long as we live, but that’s not realistic for most of us. The reality is that we should include planning for Long Term Care when we are preparing for our retirement. Americans are living longer than ever, and these bodies aren’t builtRead More
Fraud Preventions: Keeping your Identity, Bank Account and Nest Egg Safe
Between the Facebook data breach discovered at the end of September that affected 50 million users or the Click2Go security breach with payments made to the City of Tyler Water Utilities discovered at the end of August, it seems Fraud Prevention is a hot topic we cannot escape. Older Americans are estimated to average aRead More
How to Help a Millennial with Their Retirement
Each generation faces its own challenges when it comes to saving and providing for retirement. If you’re a Baby Boomer, and at or near your retirement years, you likely had never heard of a 401(k) when you began your career, since they didn’t even exist before 1980, and were not offered by many employers untilRead More
I’m almost at retirement age and don’t have enough money! What can I do?
Work longer. It’s not easy to hear, but that’s probably the single thing you can do at a later age in your working years which will have the most impact on your retirement. Let’s suppose you’re 64, and you had always planned to retire at 67. If you retire at 67, perhaps your “full” SocialRead More
How can I know if I’m ready to retire?
Do you wonder if you’re ready to retire with enough income? Many people do. They wonder if they’ll have enough income to live the life they want after retiring from their full time career. At Texas Financial and Retirement, we begin by analyzing all the income an individual or family expects to have during theirRead More
What is your retirement dream?
People have different ideas about what makes a great retirement. Some want to travel the world, some want to golf every day, some just want to live close to their grandchildren and spend all their days spoiling them. None of those are wrong answers — a great retirement is in the eye of the beholder.Read More
How can I save more for my retirement?
As we grow older and get closer to our expected retirement, we often look for ways to increase our savings to have better retirement income. There are several ways you may be able to do that. Employer Matching Contributions Obviously, if your employer offers a retirement savings plan like a 401(k) or 403(b), you shouldRead More
What is a Medicare Advantage Plan and how can it affect my retirement?
A Medicare Advantage Plan is also known as Medicare Part C. Traditional “Original Medicare” is a list of benefits provided to you by Medicare. Most people receive Part A (hospital insurance) for little or no cost and also purchase Part B (medical insurance) from Medicare. Under Part C (Medicare Advantage Plan), your Part A andRead More
Many retired seniors want to travel… to the beach!
One of the most popular ways to spend retirement is traveling. And one of the most popular types of destinations for today’s retired seniors is the beach. What’s the main reason Baby Boomers (whether retired already or still working on it) don’t travel more? Cost. And the number two reason? Health. If travel is onRead More
Even older working households with a retirement plan aren’t saving enough
Every generation seems to enjoy pointing at the newest generation coming up behind them and saying, “Those kids today! They just don’t …” Today’s aging Baby Boomers are no different. It’s common to hear those “of a certain age,” complaining about Millennials (those aged 22 to 37, currently). It may be criticism of their wardrobe,Read More
What is Medigap insurance – and do I need it after I retire and have Medicare?
We all want to cut our expenses when we retire to help us have a comfortable standard of living on our more limited income. Generally, the last thing we want is to add another new expense. And many people intentionally wait to retire after they turn 65, so they will have Medicare to cover theirRead More
I thought Medicare was free! Why would I need to pay?
For most people, Medicare Part A comes at no cost after age 65. That’s because they have worked enough time (at least 40 quarters, 10 years total) while paying Medicare taxes. Those who only paid Medicare taxes for 30-39 quarters have a monthly premium for Part A of $232. Those who paid Medicare taxes forRead More
Why saving money isn’t all you need to do to get retirement right
If you asked people approaching their planned retirement age if they wish they had saved more in their earlier working years, almost all would say “yes.” Without a time machine, we can’t go back and save more sooner. We can only make changes going forward to improve our retirement income. But even if we’ve beenRead More
Which Millennials are failing to save for retirement?
For a variety of reasons, people have been saying that younger adults (Millennials, specifically) aren’t saving enough for their retirement. Some will say it’s the crushing debt from student loans which prevents them from being able to save. Others point out that they entered the employment market at a point in time where wages wereRead More
Should you visit with a Financial Advisor or Planner?
Smart people know that sometimes they need to seek out expert opinions – because none of us is an expert in everything. As the person in charge of your finances, you should be willing to consult a financial advisor when necessary. We serve a diverse group of clients at Texas Financial and Retirement and haveRead More
How long will you live in your retirement years?
According to The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, a person who retired at age 65 in 1970 could expect to live another 13 years during their retirement. They likely had a pension to add to their Social Security to cover expenses during those retirement years. Someone who retires in 2020, at the sameRead More
When should I start receiving my Social Security benefits?
The amount you can expect to receive from Social Security varies quite a bit. As we at Texas Financial & Retirement like to point out, Social Security should only account for about ⅓ of your income during retirement (the other ⅔ coming from retirement plans and personal savings). For many people, it will actually beRead More
Everyone is working longer before retirement – particularly women
Men and women are different, in case you weren’t aware. And not just physically – the differences extend into many aspects of life, including retirement. Our gender affects the predicted average length of our lives and the age at which we will likely choose to begin retirement. According to the Center for Retirement Research atRead More
Can I live on my Social Security when I retire?
No, you probably cannot. Social Security is not designed to replace your full working wages. It’s intended to cover only approximately 40 percent of the income you earned while working. You may not need to fully replace your working years’ income during retirement, however. The Social Security Administration notes that many financial advisors suggest you’llRead More
What Happens To My 401(k) Or 403(b) When My Employer Changes?
When you leave an employer, or your employer is bought or merges with another company – or goes out of business, you typically need to decide what to do with your old 401(k) or 403(b) retirement account. That’s not terribly uncommon. Recently, right here in East Texas, we have seen major changes within the medicalRead More
How To Choose A Financial Advisor
Effective financial planning is a lifetime effort. Financial advisors work with families to get a grasp on their finances and manage them across all phases of earning and into retirement. When you look to recruit a financial advisor, it’s important to select a professional capable of guiding you across the many milestones in life andRead More
Are you overdue for a Financial Stress Test?
Speaking of a physical stress test, the Mayo Clinic says “A stress test, also called an exercise stress test, shows how your heart works during physical activity. Because exercise makes your heart pump harder and faster, an exercise stress test can reveal problems with blood flow within your heart.” We may not always be pleasedRead More
Do you need more certainty in retirement?
When we’re in the workforce during our accumulation years, the last thing we want to see with our finances is too much stability. We want growth, and lots of it! The chance for that growth is balanced against the risk of some losses. The goal, of course, being to see more gains than losses duringRead More
How much do I need to save for retirement?
How much is “enough” for retirement is a very personal question – it varies greatly from one person or family to another. Here are just a few of the things you ought to consider when trying to determine how much is enough for you to save for retirement. What age do you plan to retire?Read More
How soon do I need to start saving for retirement?
Retirement today is very different than it was half a century ago. In the past, many received pensions from their lifelong employers after they retired. Combining that pension with Social Security and the confidence that their largest purchase (a house) would certainly be worth more every year helped create a stable retirement. Now, pensions areRead More