Retirement Archives — Page 5 of 10

Is It Always This Difficult to Find a Financial Planner?

January 14, 2013 By MelissaB 12 Comments

Thanks to working at my “traditional” job for 11 years that included a dollar for dollar match on my retirement contributions after 5 years of service, I have a nice 6 figure retirement account. However, I left that job 1.5 years and the money is still just sitting there with my old employer. The problem? I can’t find a financial planner I trust, especially since that is currently our only retirement savings.

Jedi Salesman — This is not the Adviser you are looking for…

Adviser 1–In It for The Money

I first met with a financial adviser at our credit union to discuss transferring the money into my own IRA. This is important because my retirement is currently part of the state’s retirement fund. Unfortunately, in the state I live in, the higher officials have been siphoning money from the state pension fund and can’t agree on how to replace the money. If I don’t move the money soon, I am worried it won’t be there!

This adviser highly recommended an annuity even though I am still fairly young. He promised it was a safe investment that would give me money every month. The problem? I would only get about $1,000 a month 30 years from now when I retire. After inflation 30 years from now, $1000 doesn’t sound like such a good guarantee. A bit of probing helped me determine that the adviser works on commission and makes the biggest commission selling annuities.

Moving on, thank you.

Adviser 2–Helpful but Too Busy

Next, I turned to my accountant’s firm. Her husband is a Dave Ramsey trained financial adviser. This sounded perfect, and when my husband and I talked to him over the phone one night this past summer, he asked all of the right questions and seemed to have our best interests in mind. He took the time to ask where we were financially right now as well as where we would like to be. He recommended some investments, and we planned to talk in about 4 weeks to start the paperwork to move my retirement.

The problem? We haven’t talked to him since. I have left some messages for him; he has left some for me, but over the months, we have just played phone tag. I last called in early December because I wanted this whole issue resolved before 2013 began. We are well into 2013, and I still haven’t heard back from him.

Moving on.

Adviser 3–A Keeper?

When my cousin casually mentioned her financial adviser at Christmas, I pounced on her. Who was he? Would she recommend him? Does he get back to her quickly?

She raved about him and said he was attentive and that the investments he chose were making them good money. She gave me his number, and next week he is on my list of people to call.

When I quit my job 1.5 years ago, I would have never guessed finding a good financial adviser is so difficult. I feel like I am back on the dating scene again trying to find just the right match.

Is my experience unique, or have you, too, had trouble finding a financial adviser to work with? What did you look for in a financial adviser?

img credit:Brad Montgomery on Flickr.

Are You A Peter Pan Spender?

July 27, 2012 By Shane Ede 7 Comments

Everybody is familiar with the story of Peter Pan, right? That old tale about the boy who refused to grow up and spent all his time flying around neverland with his friends?

Well, you may not realize it, but you probably know a few Peter Pans yourself.

I Don’t Want to Grow Up!

What makes a Peter Pan spender? If you think about it, it’s pretty simple really. A Peter Pan spender is someone who spends like a child. Always buying the new flashy thingy that catches their eye. Someone who spends their money with little regard for the future, because, if you stay young forever, you don’t need to retire. And it goes without saying that a Peter Pan spender doesn’t save for the future. After all, if you plan on living in neverland all your life, the future is full of pixie dust and pirate tales.

The Fall of Pan

So, where does all that fun an frivolity get you? Eventually, it gets you from neverland to nowhere. Sure, you had fun, but what are you going to do when the fun is over? The hard truth, like a ticking clock in the belly of a crocodile, is that you’ll end up trying to live on social security alone. Or worse.

Return to Neverland (Recently remodeled and renamed to Sometimeland)

Growing up doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. It just means you have to have fun with responsibility. When all the bills are paid and you’ve socked away a bit for the future, have all the fun you want. Just like Peter Pan finds out, growing up doesn’t mean that all the fun is over. It just means that the fun changes somewhat. It’s not all pain and torture, and there are some bright spots that come with the added responsibilities. Learn how to save and invest for the future and to responsibly pay your debts and the fun will be readily available too.

Don’t Leave Retirement Savings on the Table

June 18, 2012 By Shane Ede 13 Comments

Retirement can sometimes be like that one cousin at family gatherings. The one that nobody likes to talk about. I think that, like that cousin, it’s easier to put our retirements out of our minds simply because, for many of us, it’s still so far away. We’ve still got 10, 20, 30, or even 40+ years before we hit that golden age of 65.5 and start living the good life of retirement. Naturally, our nearer goals are at the front of our minds and take up most of our thoughts. After all, which are you more likely to worry about? Your upcoming performance evaluation next week, or your retirement in 35 years? Retirement never stood a chance. But, like that cousin, you’ve got to think about your retirement sooner or later. And, the sooner you start thinking about it, and preparing for it, the better off you’ll be when it comes time to face it.

In fact, the sooner you start saving for retirement, the better off you’ll be. Not only will you have to save less because of the wonders of compounding returns, but you’ll have more to show for it when it comes time to retire. At an average of 7% return, any money that you save for retirement will double every 10 years. What does that mean? If you wait an extra 10 years to start saving for retirement, you’ll have effectively cut your retirement fund in half, and will need to either drastically increase the amount you’re saving each month, or learn to live on less in retirement.

Saving for your retirement doesn’t have to be complicated either. Sometimes, it’s downright easy! How do you make the most of your early retirement saving? Stop leaving it on the table. Get active with your savings. Go beyond being active, and be pro-active. Start with your employer. If you’ve got a 401(k) through your employer, take advantage of it. Contribute up to the full amount that your employer will match. Your HR department will help you get it set up, and give you the information on the match so that you can do that. Most 401(k) programs will have a set of target date funds that can be used to effectively set your 401(k) on autopilot. If you don’t want to be involved in the choosing of funds for the money to go into, the target date funds can be a great choice.

Once you’ve gotten the full match from your employer in your 401(k), you might want to look into a private pension plan or an IRA as well. For most, the Roth IRA, with it’s tax free growth and withdrawals is probably the right choice. If you’re under 50, you can contribute up to $5,000 every year into an IRA. Use your tax refund, if you get one, to give yourself a boost each year on meeting that $5,000 limit. If you’ve still got more retirement saving to do after you’ve met the contribution limit, you can up your deduction into your 401(k).

If you need more help with your retirement, or help figuring out what, how much, and when to save, find yourself a retirement expert. Your CPA or a certified financial planner should be able to give you a detailed plan for your retirement savings. The most important thing you have to remember with all this retirement talk is that if you don’t save, you won’t have any retirement funds to worry about. Unless you want to count on Social Security to fund your retirement. I’ve seen people who have done that. You don’t want to be in their shoes. Get your retirement saving started today. It really is important. Even more than that performance evaluation.