As the Baby Boomer generation continues to age, about 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 years old each day. That is an astonishing figure. Many of us worry about retirement planning and if we will be ready. It’s a very scary thought.

Everybody is concerned about retirement and retirement planning is critical. The recession over the last 8-9 years has really hurt many families who thought they had a nice, nest egg set aside for retirement.

Financial planners are needed more than ever to help navigate individual portfolios and manage retirement planning for their client.

Carl Edwards is the owner of C.E. Wealth Group there are numerous factors to be concerned with regarding retirement planning for baby boomers – the uncertainty about the future of Social Security funding and dealing with one’s workplace retirement accounts like a 401(k).

Edwards states, “Many advisors and clients rely too much on single product lines. This misuse often gives products and the financial industry in general a bad name.”

Edwards provides seven helpful points that everyone should know and better understand, related to your retirement planning.

• Avoid trying to time the market. Markets often move in cycles and some investors believe that they can boost their investment returns by buying at the bottom and selling at the top. The problem is that investors are terrible at correctly predicting market movements and multiple studies have shown that market timers usually end up with significantly smaller retirement savings than buy-and-hold investors. While it can be stressful to see your portfolio plummet during a market correction, it’s important to stay calm and focus on your long-term strategy.

• Use risk-appropriate financial vehicles. Retiring can be a risky business. The days of relying on employer-provided pension plans are largely over and retirees now have to deal with risks including investment, inflation, healthcare, longevity and others. Though the total elimination of risk isn’t possible, we can manage many of them through competent retirement planning and a clear understanding of factors like your goals, time horizon and financial circumstances.

• Complete a cash flow analysis. Retirement will involve major changes to your finances. Sources and timing of income will change and financial priorities may shift as you start generating income from retirement savings. A cash flow analysis will identify spending patterns and help ensure that you have enough income to support your retirement lifestyle.

• Consider the effects of inflation. Inflation is one of the biggest issues facing retirees because they are disproportionately affected by rising prices. Escalating food, fuel and medical costs can devastate a retirement portfolio unless these costs have been factored into your planning. Positioning your retirement portfolio to fight inflation is critical to ensuring adequate income in retirement.

• Invest in the most tax-efficient manner. Taxes can take a big bite out of investment returns, which is why we stress tax-efficient planning with our clients. While taxes are just one piece of the overall financial puzzle, it’s important to structure your investments so that you are able to keep what you earn.

• Guarantee your required income. For many retirees, having income that is not subject to market fluctuations is an important part of their retirement plan. Many will have at least some level of guaranteed income from Social Security or defined benefit pension plans. However, if you are worried that your expenses exceed your guaranteed income, a financial advisor can help you explore options for additional streams of income for life. Guarantees are subject to the paying ability of the income provider.

• Utilize longevity planning. Today’s retirees are living longer than ever and many worry about outliving their assets. Longevity planning is about preparing for a happy, comfortable and independent retirement and can help ensure that your wealth lasts as long as you need it to.

If you are concerned about retirement planning and are seeking a certified financial advisor, contact us today. We can refer licensed and respected financial advisor professionals in your area to help you. Return to follow this luxury blog and learn about other financial tips and investment industry news.

As we enter into the holiday season, we all have so much to do and have to endure a very stressful time. People often neglect their personal finances, or even worse – make big financial mistakes that will haunt them down the road.

We need to always be aware of our investments and retirement goals. It’s an ongoing process and not a one time event and never considered again. To avoid you making big financial mistakes, consider some advice from an expert.

A few questions to consider are – should you convert part of their IRA to a Roth IRA with little or no tax liability? You may not have done that was possible, but yes you can actually convert your IRA with no tax consequence. Great news!

Marc Sarner is the president of Wake Up Financial and Insurance Services, Inc. He offers his clients retirement solutions for both retirees and pre-retirees. The goal is reduce taxes, increase your income and carefully manage your risks. A good financial adviser has the training and experience to help you succeed.

Should you convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? Here are several advantages to consider.

1) Any growth in a Roth IRA is tax free as long as it has grown for at least five years.

2) Withdrawals from a traditional IRA are taxed because you were able to defer taxes on that money when you made contributions to your account. Withdrawals from a Roth IRA aren’t taxed because the deposits into the account weren’t tax deductible.

3) With a traditional IRA, when you reach age 70½ you must begin withdrawing a certain amount each year whether you want to or not. That’s called the Required Minimum Distribution. But with a Roth IRA, there is no Required Minimum Distribution so even at 70½ you can withdraw as much or as little as you like.

Many financial advisors are used to manage money and plan. But taking into account your tax situation is a critical piece to a successful retirement and another key to avoid big financial mistakes that will hurt you down the road.

Retirement planning for pre-retirees and retirees is a complicated and stressful process. The goal is to be financially independent, so be sure to consider all available options.

So possibly looking at a Roth IRA conversion may be part of your investment strategy to consider by the end of this year. The end result may mean you saving thousands of dollars in the long run.

Choosing the right financial advisor is an important step to help avoid big financial mistakes and impact your retirement plan. If you need to find one, contact us and we can refer a licensed adviser in your area to help you steer through the complicated world of investing. Return to follow this luxury blog for more helpfula nd informative investment tips.

Regardless of your age, retirement planning should be high on everybody’s list. Baby Boomers are generally defined as people who were born between 1946 and 1964. This important generation were part of the post World War II era and is now an important group of people as they enter the retirement age.

With about 75 million Baby Boomers alive today, about 10,000 boomers actually turn 65 years old each day. That is a staggering number and shines the light on the importance of retirement planning. It’s important to remember, it is never too late.

Michael Bivona is a certified public accountant who already retired about 20 years ago. He understands how critical it is to map your strategy and have a sound the retirement planning road map. People often dream of unlimited travel, sipping Mai Tai cocktails on a tropical beach, and having no worries about life. Well it’s reality check time!

Bivona states, “I had a simple plan: When I stopped working I planned on living on my 42-foot Chris Craft cruiser with my wife, Barbara, which was a very pleasant pastime during my busy working years. But, after a few weeks, as we tried to make our dream a reality we found that we were bored out of our minds.”

But if you want a rewarding retirement, you need to assess your current situation and make the important changes if needed. Bivona continues, “Pre-retirees and retirees are rightly concerned about whether they can afford retirement. But not having enough to do is another kind of deficit that is frequently overlooked until it’s too late.”

He shares 4 keys for Baby Boomers to consider regarding retirement planning:

1) Make the most of your travels.
Traveling is a common bucket list item for most retirees. Of course, it’s going to cost you. That’s why this is a subject that perfectly combines the two great concerns for retirement: money and purpose, both of which can be maximized with “research, research, research, Bivona says. You might even parlay traveling with another interest, such as your family history. You may learn about your roots at www.Ancestory.com, and then visit areas based on your research. Or, you may be more interested in stretching your dollar. There are many cost effective deals to be had by researching your heart’s desire on the internet.

2) Try on a pair of dancing shoes.
For some, the thought of dancing may elicit a strong sense of aversion, but you may want to try it anyway. The benefits include exercise, coordination and possibly enjoying a romantic hobby with your spouse or others. Dancing is a beautiful art form that gives participants something with which to challenge themselves, Bivona says. A goal-oriented mindset is a healthy one especially when approaching the encore years.

3) Develop a social network with senior civic centers.
Civic centers, which usually have a department dedicated to the betterment of the senior citizens who live in their areas, can be found in almost every municipality in the United States. These centers offer a wide range of activities. Additionally, the following online search, “Fun Activities for Senior Citizens,” offers a nice list of activities and associated details that can be explored prior to retiring.

4) Stay sharp and keep learning.
The mind is much like the body: If you don’t use it you will accelerate the process of losing it. Building bridges to new adventures is the key to maintaining your mental acuity and increasing your vitality. There are an abundance of educational courses developed for seniors to keep them exercising their mental prowess. Remember, if you started working in your twenties and retire in your sixties, there’s a good chance you’ll spend as many years in retirement as you did working. So building bridges to what you want to do in a rational manner for your encore years is imperative if the last phase of your life is to be enjoyable for you and your love ones.

Don’t let you retirement dreams slip away. If you want to live a VIP lifestyle, it’s not going to happen on its own. Plan, plan and plan again. Retirement planning is so important and often overlooked. Don’t delay anther day, get back on the right path and enjoy your golden years of retirement …. worry free.

If you need a professional financial advisor to help with your Retirement Planning, contact us today. We can recommend someone who is licensed in your area to help you plan for retirement and look at your current and future financial situation. Read more about investing and financial planning by following this popular luxury blog.

No matter if you have millions of dollars saved up for retirement or very little, many of us worry about our retirement years. There are keys to retirement success but nothing is simply black and white.

Each one of us needs to assess our own situation, make changes along the way and be flexible when unexpected setbacks arise. For those with a financial advisor, it’s wrong to just step back and hope he or she is doing the right thing managing your investments.

You have a lifetime of earnings and hopefully a large savings, it’s easy to get comfortable and expect a financially secure retirement, particularly if you believe you are working with a reliable, financial advisor. Well don’t be so sure.

Bryan S. Slovon is both founder and CEO of Stuart Financial Group in Greenbelt, Maryland and he encourages each of us to take charge of our financial well being to ensure a financial retirement success.

Slovan says, “Life is rarely that simple or black-and-white and, unfortunately, neither is the financial realm. It’s worth reflecting on where your advisor is coming from,. If they are not fully independent – as in not working for a large institution – their advice may be biased toward sales.”

He continues, “Further complicating matters are various professionals in the financial industry. Whether or not a professional means well, the fact remains that many are actually trying to sell products.”

Slovon offers three key tips for financial wellness and hopes it leads to financial retirement success for us all.

1) Audit your current and future expenses; spell out your plan. If you don’t have a plan for your money then you’re just hoping for things to work out. You can do better than that, even though changes in your plan will likely occur at some point. The most basic aspect of a financial plan includes understanding your current budget, which could be compared to expenses expected in the future. The more technical side of things, such as how to save on taxes and make your money go further, would benefit from analysis by a truly independent financial advisor.

2) Listen to your doctor – so to speak. If you want to enjoy your golden years, good health is arguably the most important step – and it’s cost-effective. He states, “More specifically, doctors often tell patients that they can be of service only in as much as patients are doing their part for good health. A healthy diet, exercise, regular doctor’s visits, etc. are necessary. These things help provide good health. A similar kind of vigilance is required if you want to fully enjoy your money in retirement.”

3) Focus on your taxes, and perhaps tax-favored investments. An important part of understanding your budget, and making it work better for you, is getting reliable professional analysis on your tax situation. You may be paying much more than is necessary. If you are expecting to retire in the near future, you may especially benefit from analysis of your tax budget.

Slovon continues, “Most of us give our lives to our work and families our entire adult lives. If you’re nearing or in retirement, it’s time to focus on you. That means you’ll need at least some professional financial help. However, you are the best person to oversee your own economic fate.”

In closing he says, “Perhaps the arithmetic of personal wealth should be much simpler, but like it or not, the rules of economics are riddled with fine print, unexpected or inadequately explained conditions, and loopholes.”

So as you can see, it’s ultimately each of us who needs to be our own best financial advocate. Although you may need a team of professionals such as a CPA, financial advisor, lawyer, etc…, don’t forget to stay involved all along the way. You know the saying, “You snooze, you lose.” Make sure that doesn’t apply to you and stay on the right path for your own personal well-being and financial retirement success.

If you have questions or actively looking for a qualified financial advisor to help with your financial retirement plans, contact The Life of Luxury and we can refer you to a financial professional in your local area. If you like reading about financial topics, come back again to follow this luxury blog.