Everything listed under: Retirement Income

As summer winds down and we head in to the final stretch of the 2016 presidential election, including the first one-on-one debate on September 26th, we thought we might provide some “facts-only” information regarding the candidates’ tax proposals. Though tax policies haven't received top billing in this year's presidential election dialogue, they are still part of the conversation. We all understand that promises and reality may not be conforming, however, what follows is at least what has been ...  Read More...

One of the first questions many people ask us is, “When can I retire?” While we are grateful that people are asking us this question before they have already retired (versus after and then subsequently wondering if they’ll run out of money), it is important to note that the concepts around retirement are fortunately shifting. Many people instead are asking, “How can I live a longer and more satisfying life?” The answer may be to work past the traditional retirement age that your Social Security ...  Read More...

Setting: Unfortunately, we were engaged after the sale of this oral surgeon’s practice and it became a” lesson learned” in the importance of engaging objective resources before consummating such an important transaction. Being a trusting soul and not wanting to incur a number of transaction costs, the selling doctor trusted that the purchasing doctor would be true to his word about retaining him over the subsequent, three-year period. When a disagreement about terms caused friction, the purchas...  Read More...

Women face special challenges when planning for retirement. Because their careers are often interrupted to care for children or elderly parents, women may spend less time in the workforce and earn less money than men in the same age group. As a result, their retirement plan balances, Social Security benefits, and pension benefits are often lower.   Read More...

A Report on Social Security's Projected Solvency Communicating important financial matters that impact our clients and communities is a priority for our firm and is one of the primary focuses of our periodic thought pieces. As such, we have reviewed the recent report released by the Trustees of the Social Security Trust Funds for 2014. We will, of course, remain focused on this important planning factor, and adjust our clients’ financial plans as required to reflect the questionable solvency of ...  Read More...

For those who have engaged with our firm in the last couple of years, it’s likely we have exchanged ideas about how the concept of retirement, as it was defined in the post-World War II era, is experiencing its own make-over. In the following text, we will walk through some of our thoughts on the topic, and then separately try to get in front of some of the market worries that may be catalysts for the inevitable market volatility that we are likely to see in the year ahead. With deference to Mit...  Read More...

For those who chose to listen to or watch President Obama’s State of the Union Speech last month, you may recall his mentioning of the new “myRA” retirement savings program.  We thought it might be helpful to expound on what this program is, and how it relates to the array of other retirement savings options you already have--including, of course, traditional and Roth IRAs, 401(k) and/or 403(b) plans, etc. While many of you will not meet the eligibility requirements for th...  Read More...

You've probably read that the city of Detroit has filed for bankruptcy protection. If you're like most Americans, you assumed that this is because the city has been declining economically for decades. It's true that America's 18th largest city, once the 4th largest, has seen its population fall by 1.3 million people, leading to a 40% aggregate drop in tax revenue despite property taxes that are now twice the national average.   Read More...

An estimated 10,000 people are retiring every day, and this unprecedented surge of new retirees is expected to last for the next 17 years. Many, perhaps most, will roll their retirement plan assets into an IRA account, and that money--plus Social Security and any taxable retirement accounts they may have--will provide their living expenses for the rest of their lives. This is different from retirees in the past, who often received regular payments from their defined benefit plans--their equivale...  Read More...

Retirement Readiness and Optimizing Social Security Benefits In the current Presidential election cycle, Social Security is a topic that has been central to the national dialogue. At Pauley Financial, we understand that most people who are planning for retirement are concerned about the stability of the Social Security program, and how they might make up for the shortfall it has the potential to leave behind. We typically trial a number of scenarios to help you plan in advance for, and optimize ...  Read More...