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Retirement Calculator, Inc. provides the tools and resources necessary to assist you in making critical economic decisions regarding your retirement future.

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Colleen's Corner

Asset Allocation

Often financial "experts" make asset allocation difficult to understand. My goal in this series of articles is for you to understand asset allocation thoroughly, in an easy to understand format.
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NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
30 yr fixed mtg 3.80% 3.76%
15 yr fixed mtg 3.11% 3.02%
5/1 ARM 2.69% 2.68%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg 4.38% 4.39%
5/1 jumbo ARM 2.94% 2.89%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
$30K HELOC 4.60% 4.59%
$50K HELOC 4.24% 4.24%
$30K home equity loan 5.77% 5.76%
$50K home equity loan 5.50% 5.47%
$75K home equity loan 5.47% 5.44%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
36 month new car loan 3.13% 3.13%
48 month new car loan 3.24% 3.25%
60 month new car loan 3.34% 3.35%
72 month new car loan 3.31% 3.31%
36 month used car loan 4.36% 4.36%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
6 month CD 0.46% 0.46%
1 yr CD 0.70% 0.70%
5 yr CD 1.38% 1.38%
1 yr IRA CD 0.71% 0.71%
5 yr IRA CD 1.49% 1.49%
Rates may include points

Your Wealth Management Plan

Colleen Mulder-Seward, MBA
Retirement Calculator, Inc.
wealthmanagementplan.com

Your Wealth Management Plan

"Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples."  If you agree with George Burns, then you really do not need a retirement wealth management plan.  Working until the end of your life is certainly an option.  It is just not the option most of us want to exercise.  If you are among the majority of Americans who do not plan to work in retirement, then you need a retirement wealth management plan. 

The annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) is a comprehensive study of the attitudes and behaviors of American workers and retirees towards all aspects of saving, retirement planning, and long-term financial security. A 2001 RCS published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), American Savings Education Council (ASEC) and Mathew Greenwald & Associates found that the largest source of retirement income for current retirees are as follows:

% of retirees Income Source
42%
23%
21%
6%
3%
1%
0%
4%
Social Security
Employer sponsored plans
Personal savings
Other government income
Sale of home or business
Employment
Support from children/family
Other

The fate of Social Security still remains to be seen.  Americans are living fourteen years longer than when Social Security was created, and life expectancies are on the rise.  This puts a tremendous strain on the system. If Social Security were forced to make payment cutbacks or if it fails altogether - what will the 42% of current retirees who rely on it, as their largest source of retirement income, do to survive? 

The second largest source of retirement income for current retirees is employer sponsored plans. The sad fact is that no pension plan is completely secure.  United Airlines just joined the growing number of companies defaulting on their pension plans.  Pension defaults are not just confined to the airline industry -most companies in the steel industry have already defaulted on their pensions.  There is great speculation that the automotive sector (including both automotive manufactures and automotive suppliers) will be the next to default on their pension plans.  Again, what will the 23% of current retirees who rely on employer sponsored plans as their largest source of retirement income do to survive?   

The key to survival, whether your pension fund defaults or Social Security fails, is to develop a retirement wealth management plan. The first step in the creation of your retirement wealth management plan is to check your current retirement status using a retirement calculator, like the calculator found at retirementcalc.com.  You can run multiple retirement scenarios using the retirement calculator - such as what your retirement looks like without your pension plan.

The next step is to educate yourself about finance and investing.  You should read finance magazines, newspapers and web sites. Attendance of financial classes is another great option.  Two national nonprofit organizations that offer investment education classes are BetterInvesting and AAII.  You can also check the course offerings at your local college.  Webinars and Webcasts are also convenient source of education.  www.Retirementcalc.com has plans to offer these in the near future.

The bottom line - do not rely on a company or the government to provide your retirement - you must take an active role in securing your own retirement. It all starts with your retirement wealth management plan.

How do I keep up-to-date on the latest news impacting my retirement?

To keep informed about retirement topics, try a FREE membership to Retirement Intelligence Information Services. At no cost to join, you will receive a bi-monthly newsletter full of financial information to inform and empower you to have a successful retirement. As an added bonus, www.retirementcalc.com will include the Retirement Calculator Software Version 2.0 (a $24.95 value seen live on CBS TV) for FREE. 

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Analysis of the Economics of Early Social Security Withdrawal

Robert J. Phillips
Chief Retirement Consultant

Deciding whether or not to take the early withdrawal of social security at age 62 can be difficult. If you need this income at 62 to fund your retirement the decision is fairly straightforward. Take it early! On the other hand, if you have another source of revenue to fund your retirement your decision will be primarily based on lifestyle, health and investment preferences.

Several factors can affect your decision. First is your life expectancy. If you are in good health and have a family history of living beyond 90 then waiting for full benefits may be best. Two other factors impact this decision. First and most important is the value of money or your expected return from your investments. If you are using other investments instead of social security to fund your retirement you should use the rate of return of these investments as your value of money. There is another way to look at the value of money. If you do not require the social security money to live, you can invest the distributions for the future. The rate of return of this investment is your value of money. If your investments will make larger returns such as stocks this would favor taking the early withdrawal.

The last factor impacting your decision is inflation. Social security includes an annual adjustment based on inflation. You cannot control this variable but you should be aware of its impact. If future inflation is significant it will favor a later full distribution

FREE Social Security Calculator:

Find Out Your Breakeven Age

We developed a calculator to assist in analyzing the impact of taking early benefits at age 62 or waiting for full benefits at age 66 to 67 depending on the year you were born...If you were born in 1960 or later your full benefits will begin at age 67 and your reduction for early benefits at age 62 will be 30%. If you were born between 1946 and 1960 your full benefits begin as early as age 66. We have included a chart that summarizes information.

To use the calculator you need to input your year of birth. You also need to input a value of money up to 10% and a projected inflation adjustment. The calculator analyzes income generated over time from both the early and full benefit investments. It calculates the age at which full social security will catch up and breakeven with the early withdrawal. If you were born before 1960 your breakeven age will be impacted by the year you were born. An early breakeven age favors waiting for full benefits.

The social security calculator is not the final answer whether to take an early withdrawal but it does give you additional economic data to assist in that decision. Ultimately you must balance income, investments and lifestyle to optimize your enjoyment during your retirement years.