PAUL BOWLEY asked:


A retirement career? You gotta be kidding! I’ve got enough on my plate right now without thinking about a retirement career! Just gimme a break!

OK. Let’s say you’re interested in retiring soon. Or you’re just planning the future of your job, career advancement or job search. Here’s an import fact of life. You are about to be impacted by the Boomers.

Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age in record numbers. And this will affect your current job or your retirement plans. I don’t care if you’re a pre-boomer or actually a proud member of the Boomer generation. The Baby Boom is going to impact your job and career!

For example, thanks to improved health care and lifestyle changes, many Boomers will continue to work well past retirement age.

If you are still years away from retirement, this fact will make a difference to your ability to advance your career. The competition just became much tougher. Many employers see a positive impact to their bottom line by retaining long-term, experienced workers.

What’s more, when Boomers do finally decide to retire, employers will have a difficult time finding skilled, experienced employees from a smaller pool of available workers.

Employers realize that increased burdens will be placed on the already stressed Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid systems. Employers will have to become very creative to come up with innovative benefits and compensation strategies.

On the other hand, if you are planning ahead for retirement, your retirement career plan has just handed you another fascinating option. For example, you could consider staying right where you are until you’re ready to stop. But in a retirement mode . . . working part-time . . . or coming back as a consultant or other contract employee.

So, retirement is no longer a stodgy retreat into oblivion where the only thing you have left is reading the paper and watching the news. With an occasional visit from the grandkids.

Of course, there’s always the marvelous world of creative loafing, or traveling or vacationing. But, now there’s also the rewarding world of continuing employment. Baby Boomers have provided options for you that were unheard of just a few years ago.

If you thought that it’s way too soon to put together a retirement career plan, you’re wrong! It’s never too soon. At least if you want to take advantage of the Boomer employment options. When you take a look ahead at the expanding retirement career options you’ll be delighted to discover the many wonderful ways to enjoy employment or as long as you want.

So whether a retirement decision is imminent or you’re dead serious about getting ahead in your career, the secret to your success is to plan ahead. That means staying informed about the constantly evolving job and career marketplace.



FANNING

Dean Caporella asked:


If you’re coming up to retirement age and worry about maintaining meaning in your life once you exit the work force then don’t.

There are several great options to consider as part of your retirement planning. Today, people are living longer thanks to modern medicine and advances in nutritional research and while this is great in a sense, it means making your retirement planning count much more as your nest egg needs to sustain you for a longer period of time.

The problem is though as a baby boomer, you’re not ready to accept old age. This means as a baby boomer you’re also part of the largest spending group in human history which means you may have been a little extravagant with your money. But that’s the nature of many boomers who refuse to let old age become an obstacle in their quest to enjoy all life has to offer.

So what can you do to give your life more meaning in your retirement years. Let’s take a look at just two options you should consider.

Phased Retirement

This is going to become a “biggie.” Phased retirement is still basically a term but will gather momentum during the next few years as boomers hit retiring age.

Basically, phased retirement will give you the opportunity to continue to work in some capacity past whatever age you decide to retire. There will be a broad range of options available. Here are some of them:

- you could consider a new part-time career

- you could take on seasonal work

- establish a flexible work schedule with your current employer

- stay with your current employer or former business as a consultant

- sell your business but stay on in a part-time basis

- take a year off before returning on a part-time based

The idea of phased retirement is to not only ease one into their golden years but to also maintain security in the shape of income. Yes, there will be tax and pension considerations but phased retirement is still basically at birth stage with many issues to be sorted out.

Join A Community

Going online and becoming part of a thriving community is a choice many smart retirees will make and will form part of retirement planning options.

For example, membership sites online offering everything from health and fitness news, financial news, income opportunities and lifestyle information will become big business in the not too distant future.

Becoming part of one of these online communities is a great way to develop new friendships, not just in your own country but around the world. Forums within these online communities will be a safe and effective way of meeting up with other smart retirees.



FORMAN

Amy F. Goodmann asked:


All retirees pray that they will have enough cash to see them comfortably through their retirement years. The alternative is obviously more ominous - that they will outlive the comfort of their savings. The truth that most baby boomers have yet to comprehend that even through they will have their parents savings and life insurance plans to live off of we are living longer. Baby boomers will need to carry themselves on their retirement savings many times longer than life span that actuaries used in their precious calculations.

The magic retirement age of 65 was historically chosen not arbitrarily by the German Kaiser in the introduction of the first pension plans as this at the time was the average life span of most male workers. As most baby boomers know and anticipate modern medicine and conveniences have pushed that envelope. You may like it or not before your retirement savings anticipated a 10 year payout period. Now it may be closer to 25 to 30 years.

The thought of having to lower their standards of living and giving up some luxuries to make end meet is for many people, the most worrying aspect of their leisure years. Often, though, the imagined fears are exaggerated. It is often said that 99 % of the things you fear will never come to pass. But why chance it. The basic rule is that by not planning and leaving things to the last moment severely limits your options and causes unnecessary stress and worry.

The good news is that those who planned their finances carefully during their working years will adjust with ease, and their retirement years can be the most enjoyable years of their existence.

Part of the secret knows to manage one’s savings in retirement. Basically today’s workers are looking at two choices. They can work longer so that they can spend more or they can retire sooner and spend less. Another option is to do a bit of both and reduce your workload and in effect semi-retire. By planning ahead you may well have more than one option.

Taking early retirement before your pension begins offers a number of options. You can downsize your house to free up some of your tax free holdings - and live on that pool of cash. This is especially a valuable option now with low interest rates drive large increases in the value of real estate and as well creating a frenzy of buyers willing to snap up your property. If the retiree has profited from company stock options they can use these to bridge them over until the time their company pension plan kicks in. Or they can withdraw from their 401k plans if allowed or withdraw from their savings.

Managing one’s investments does not stop at retirement. Individual income, needs and expenditures will vary, but when liquidating investments a tax efficiency strategy will conserve more of your hard earned investment dollars.

If you are not to be dictated by your tax bracket you should keep foremost in your mind when you are trying to figure out strategies. The goal is not how much you make; it is how you much you keep. The same of course is true when cashing in investment vehicles. You always have to be conscious of the tax consequences.

Much of retirement planning strategy depends on the difference between the two tax brackets at the time if investing during your tax earning years compared to your tax bracket during withdrawal in your retirement years.

Remember those that those that fail to plan ahead will plan to fail.



MORALES

Caterina Christakos asked:


There’s a lot of talk these days about the stock market and how the ups and downs affect personal finance. Unfortunately, this may scare a lot of people from making investment plans or contributing to their current investment choices. The sad fact is that many individuals are reaching retirement age without enough money to support themselves throughout their golden years.

Do not let market fluctuations deter you from investing. Take some time to review your investment choices to make sure you’re comfortable with the risk/benefit ratio. One great way to invest for retirement is an IRA, or an Individual Retirement Account.

Tax Advantages

An IRA, just like a 401K does provide current tax advantages. Any contributions up to a specific percentage of your income are not taxed the year you contribute. Taxation is deferred until you withdraw the money, which usually occurs when you are no longer working full time.

The advantage of deferred taxes shows up because most individuals are in a lower tax bracket during their retirement years.

Investment choices

Again just like a 401K plan, an IRA usually offers a lot of investment choices. These choices usually involve many different types of funds. Some funds could be riskier, but may offer a higher rate of return. Other funds will be safer and will probably offer a lower rate of return.

No matter which choice you start off with, you can always move your investments around to meet your current needs. As people grow older, their investments usually become safer. The amount of time needed to recover from a riskier investment just isn’t there as one approaches retirement age. An IRA allows you an abundance of choices in your investments.

Protection from Creditors

In many states, an IRA is a protected asset. Even if you have to file bankruptcy, the state may not allow your creditors to withdraw funds from an IRA to meet your debts. This helps to ensure you are safer financially than if you just stick your money in a savings account or other asset.

Meeting Retirement Costs

The fact of the matter is that social security just doesn’t cover basic costs. And if some news reports are to be believed, social security may be fully depleted sometime in the 2030s.

Unless you have plans to move in with your children and expect them to start giving you an allowance, you have to plan for your retirement. The rules of an IRA will usually let you withdraw the money as you need it or set up a periodic payment, so you can customize the use of your IRA to meet your lifestyle.

In conclusion, an IRA is a perfect way to ensure that you are financially cared for during your retirement years. By taking advantage of current tax breaks and creditor protection, you can even help yourself today.



BAGGETT

moeursalen asked:


Full retirement age means that you won’t get a benefit rate which has been reduced because of age.

CROSBY

spidersam408 asked:


What age and what are the conditions for retirement? Can you work when you are retired for money? What are the rules for the state of California?

SWAIN