Boomers: 5 Steps to Get Your Retirement on Track in 2012

Get 2012 started on the right track by taking steps to improve the odds that you'll live long and prosper in your retirement years. But don't let the following suggestions overwhelm you. Instead, just pick one of these steps to implement right now and start moving in the right direction. After a few months, select another step to complete. Continue through the list, and by the end of 2012, you'll be well on your way to significantly improving your retirement years.

Please keep reading below for this month's selection of helpful blog posts and articles on retirement. And by the way, you didn't miss the December issue of my newsletter. It was a busy holiday season for me with a new granddaughter! 

Gen X and Y: 4 Tips to Get Your Retirement on Track   

Have you put off thinking about retirement because it seems so far away? Well, maybe it's time to start thinking about it. When I give retirement planning workshops to boomers, audience members often express one of these two thoughts:

-- I wish I'd heard you 20 years ago.

-- My kids need to hear your messages.

If you're a member of Gen X or Gen Y, why not get 2012 started on the right track by taking steps to improve the odds that you'll be able to enjoy your retirement years? It's never too early to start planning for a long and prosperous life.  

Stock Market Returns Offer Reason for Optimism

Each year I update a chart that shows the annual percentage returns in the S&P 500 for every year since 1926. Here you'll see the version that takes us through the end of 2011. This chart provides a good visual of what I call the stock market "double double." Read here to learn why it's a reason for optimism. 

With the stock market so volatile, it's nice to be able to invest with guarantees, like those offered by variable annuities. In CBS MoneyWatch blogger Allan Roth's recent article, he pointed to a recent post from financial planner Bob Stanley who referenced a recent Smart Money article entitled "For Retirees, Security Doesn't Come Cheap." The article claimed "Some variable annuities now have minimum guarantees of 5%, pretty attractive when compared to a less than 2% return for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index year to date." Here's the story of Roth and his quest to determine how real the guarantee actually was.

Now that many baby boomers have begun hitting their golden years, they have become a golden target for financial scammers. Government officials expect 2011 to be a record year for scams against those 50 and older, so here's a list from CBS MoneyWatch blogger Constantine von Hoffman of five things you can do to protect yourself.

One of CBS MoneyWatch blogger Larry Swedroe's wishes every year is that investors would buck conventional wisdom and avoid mutual funds run by active managers -- stock pickers who try to beat market. Unfortunately, few investors seem ready to make the switch. Read here for details.

Retirement Planning Showdown: Mr. Spock vs. Homer Simpson  

Financial planners and writers know that logic doesn't always prevail when it comes to making retirement decisions. Human emotions prompt mistakes, even when we know better.

So is there any hope for us illogical humans? Even if we fall short of the clear-thinking Mr. Spock from "Star Trek," can we do better than the impulsive Homer Simpson of "The Simpsons"? Certainly. But to make better decisions, we need to understand the process behind them; in fact, there's plenty of documentation on the behavioral science of financial decision-making. Read here to learn more. 

In a recent Harvard Business Review piece, Dan Ariely compares the profession of CBS MoneyWatch blogger Allan Roth to a highly trained monkey. Read here for an insightful and amusing story.

At a time when retirement security has eroded, a plan for retirement has never been more important -- especially for middle-class families who might be facing deficits in retirement savings, sharp declines in the value of their homes, and unforeseen loss of income from employment.

Do-it-yourself planning certainly is an option, but a little help from a professional advisor can be well worth the time and money. The rationale for hiring an advisor is simple: Money spent now could make a big difference in helping you achieve a secure, happy future retirement down the road. Read here for an insightful post from Mark Miller of RetirementRevised. 

While our chronological age is certainly one measure of how old we are, there are better perspectives that can drive our actions in healthy directions. It turns out there could be several good answers to the question, "How old are you?"