The concept of retirement is undergoing a metamorphosis. Demographic, societal, and workplace trends have all converged to offer a stage of life that is much more fluid and flexible than what most of us previously imagined. In fact, retirement has become a matter of personal definition. (more…)
There’s a little secret associated with your workplace-sponsored retirement plan. Most participants think their plan is free — that it doesn’t cost them anything to join, contribute, and invest. Unfortunately, that’s not entirely true. (more…)
According to USNews.com, investments in Target Date Retirement Funds have shown unprecedented growth among investments for retirement, with numbers “approaching $400 billion, [and] with projected sales of $2 trillion by 2020.” The reasons for this popularity among those investing for retirement are twofold: 1) ease of fund management for investors and, 2) the default status these funds have enjoyed since 2006 – if 401k account holders do not select an investment, employer plans are allowed to “default” the employee’s 401k into a Target-Date fund. (more…)
As we navigate life in the 21st century, the trend that will have the most profound effect on the future of our society (and other industrialized societies) is the “Age Wave.” In other words, we are living longer and the percentage of older adults is growing at an unprecedented rate. (more…)
According to USNews.com, investments in Target Date Retirement Funds have shown unprecedented growth among investments for retirement, with numbers “approaching $400 billion, [and] with projected sales of $2 trillion by 2020.” The reasons for this popularity among those investing for retirement are twofold: 1) ease of fund management for investors and, 2) the default status these funds have enjoyed since 2006 – if 401k account holders do not select an investment, employer plans are allowed to “default” the employee’s 401k into a Target-Date fund.
Essentially, a “Target-Date” Retirement Fund is a very low-maintenance investment vehicle that is designed to adjust the risk level of your investments automatically as you approach retirement age. By setting a Target Date for your retirement when you establish the account, a single investment vehicle, you let the fund manager know when you expect to retire. As the years pass and your target date approaches, the fund will automatically begin to adjust the asset allocation between stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents, becoming more conservative as you age. (more…)
Writers are taught that all stories must have a beginning, middle, and an end. Our lives have a similar structure; the beginning is the first 25 years, where we learn to live a “grown-up” life. The middle is the next 25 years, where we work to provide for our family and save for retirement. The end is – well, that is the new question for the 21st Century. Is the end of our life story retirement, doing nothing but lounging on a beach for the next, and last, 25 years? Is that what you see for yourself, or would you rather shoot for something more?
It is time to invent a new stage of life: The 3rd Act; The Encore; or Pre-Retirement, or “Pretirement.” It can be called by many different names, but it is all about living life intentionally, the way we want to live, without waiting for “one-day,” or “someday,” or even for “retirement,” whatever that may mean to you. And that is the key, whatever it may mean TO YOU. (more…)
