NOVEMBER, 2011

5 Biggest Retirement Planning Mistakes

by Steve Vernon, FSA

Boomers already faced significant retirement challenges before getting clobbered by the recent stock market volatility, the possibility of another recession, and the political gridlock in Washington, D.C., over the federal debt. In light of this recent round of bad news, let's review five common retirement planning mistakes and a few tips for avoiding them.


Please keep reading below for this month's selection of helpful blog posts and articles on retirement. 

 

Avoid These Three Money Mistakes  

While we're on the topic of making mistakes, financial planner and fellow CBS MoneyWatch blogger Allan Roth reveals his worst money mistakes and explains how you can profit from his losses. His insights will entertain and inform you.

The Case for Alternative Investments

 

Here's fellow CBS MoneyWatch blogger Allan Roth's take on the only two alternative asset classes that can help your portfolio.

 

 

Morgan Stanley Says Hedge Funds Fail to Outperform


One of Wall Street's biggest investment banks concludes hedge funds may not be worth the expenses and the risks, according to a post from fellow CBS MoneyWatch blogger Larry Swedroe.

 

Investors Flee the Market, Miss Big Gains     

 

While the October stock market rally was a welcome sight, many investors missed it because they bailed out early. Once again, Larry Swedroe reminds us of the futility of panicking and selling stocks when the stock market declines.

 

Your Employer's Stock: How Much Is Too Much?

 

The 2001 collapse of Enron may look like small potatoes by post-2008 standards of corporate malfeasance and disaster. But it was pretty ugly at the time - and nothing was more painful to watch than the hit employees took when they lost their jobs and their retirement savings all in one blow.

 

Read about this trend - and how to protect yourself - in Mark Miller's blog post on his website, RetirementRevised.com.

 
Social Security Decisions: How a New Tool Can Save You $150,000     

 

For married couples, more than $150,000 can be at stake when comparing the best and worst times to start taking Social Security. Read here to find out how you can estimate what's at stake for you.

 

Can HSAs and Consumer-Directed Health Plans Improve Your Health?          

 

You can improve your health and save for retirement by actively participating in a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) and a Health Savings Account (HSA). Read here for details.

 

HSA Contributions: Spend or Invest? 

Should you spend the money in your HSA or leave it invested for the future? Read here for insights that can help you decide.


Medicare Premiums and Deductibles Lower Than Expected for 2012       

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services announced that premiums for Medicare Part B coverage for physician and outpatient services will increase less than projected next year and that the deductible will actually decrease. This is the result of cost-saving measures adopted by Medicare that are starting to work. Read here for details.

   

Retirement Planning: Who Will Succeed?   

There's no denying that we face significant obstacles during our retirement years, including volatile stock markets, inadequate retirement savings, lack of affordable health insurance, and high levels of obesity and poor health in our older population. Here's an alternative view on how to face these tough retirement challenges.

 

5 Retirement Reasons to Be Thankful

 

At the Thanksgiving table this year, you probably thought about all you were grateful for. Let's take a minute to think about five more retirement reasons we should all be thankful for: 

  1. We know how to age well.
  2. The internet brings the world to our fingertips.
  3. We know how to generate a lifetime retirement income.
  4. There are many efficient products and services to help us succeed in retirement.
  5. There are many organizations and businesses that want to help us older folks.

For these reasons, I'd rather be aging now than in any prior era. Find more details about each of these things to give thanks for by clicking on each item above.

~~~~~

Thanks for your interest, and stay tuned for future newsletters that explore how to best live the rest of your life.
 
Best regards,
 





Steve Vernon
Rest-of-Life Communications

P.S. If you think this newsletter will help a friend, please pass it along.

_______________

Recently Released 


Money for Life 

    

My free, online retirement planning guide

 

If you've been looking for a trusted, unbiased source of retirement guidance on a variety of retirement planning topics, look no further. This easy-to-use online guide contains the most helpful articles and videos from CBS MoneyWatch and a few other financial planning websites on such critical retirement topics as Social Security, generating retirement income from savings, investments, insurance, health, long-term care, longevity, and lifestyle issues.

 

I'm excited about this new guide because it offers another way for me to communicate with my readers. It combines the best features of a book - with subjects organized by topic - with the convenience of being online, providing content that's constantly being refreshed and updated. And the price is right - it's free!

 

This new website complements my other published works on retirement planning - my book, Recession-Proof Your Retirement Years and my DVD, The Quest for Long Life, Health and Prosperity.  Please see my website for details on all of my books and DVDs.
_______________

Welcome to

 Our Newsletter!
We fulfill a need for trusted, practical strategies that you can use to plan your rest-of-life (aka retirement).  We rely on the latest research and analyses, and we'll keep it simple!  And that's all we provide; we don't sell insurance, investments or health products, so we can "tell it like it is."

Here's an archive of past issues.

 
Hour Glass & Money

 
Steve Vernon has spent 35 years as a consulting actuary, helping large employers design and manage their retirement programs.  Now he's president of Rest-of-Life Communications, where he specializes in providing unbiased, trusted information about retirement.  He also consults to Mercer's US Retirement, Risk and Finance business, and writes a regular column for CBS MoneyWatch titled  Money for Life.

_______________



For information on keynote addresses, workshops or presentations on retirement issues, visit Steve's website at www.restoflife.com, or email him at [email protected]

____________

Want to Learn More?

If you want to learn more about a topic, or if you have any ideas or thoughts on the topics in this newsletter, please send Steve an email at:


Join Our Mailing List

We do not share our mailing list or send advertisements.  You will not receive any spam as a result of subscribing to this newsletter.


� 2011 Steve Vernon/
Rest-of-Life Communications
All rights reserved.