What You Need to Know About Your 401(k)

In this new year, you may have the opportunity to reevaluate your employer-sponsored retirement plan. Most companies will give you the option to choose between a Traditional and Roth 401(k). Chances are, this decision will require a little research to ensure you’re making the right choice for you. We’ve done what we can to compile the basics, and help you understand exactly what you need to know about your 401(k).

Understanding Required Minimum Distributions - Part I

If you have an account in a qualified retirement plan, you need to understand that one day you will be forced to take withdrawals from your account whether you want to or not. For many this is not a significant concern as these accounts were designed to provide their income in retirement and they are or will withdraw more than enough from them to satisfy the rules. Either way, we will cover some of the basics about Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) along with some key considerations.

Required Minimum Distributions, as already stated, apply to employer sponsored retirement plans including 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and profit-sharing plans. RMD also applies to traditional IRAs and IRA-based plans such as SEPs, SARSEPs and SIMPLE IRAs.

Life Insurance Policies: Children and Grandchildren

Have you ever wondered how to help secure the financial future of your children or grandchildren beyond college expenses?

Fewer companies are offering pensions, with the share of Fortune 500 companies that provide them to new hires falling to 24 percent at the end of 2013 from 60 percent in 1998. Only 7 percent of employers offer new employees traditional pensions, which pay out a certain amount at retirement based on a worker’s pay and how long they stayed with a company. (1)

Life & Retirement Planning - The Big IF in Life

I usually tell people that there’s a big IF right in the middle of life. Just as you never know what may happen in the game of Life, there are many “what ifs” when retirees begin to plan for their retirement. For retirees and soon to be retirees, there are many ifs running through their minds.  One of the biggest retirement planning concerns is if they will outlive their income.  The good news is that there are products, processes and plans available to help mitigate longevity risk (outliving one’s income).

We typically address 3 core retirement planning scenarios with our clients: