When Barbara and Mark Gomperts became empty nesters a few years ago, they found themselves using just a fraction of the 3,000-square-foot, five-bedroom house where they had raised their children in Vienna, Virginia. They bought a townhouse in nearby Burke that was a third the size of the house they sold. “We just didn’t need [...] [...more]
What’s a safe withdrawal rate in retirement? For years, the rule-of-thumb answer has been 4 percent, adjusted annually for inflation. But a growing number of financial planning experts are re-thinking that number. “Advisors are getting the question a lot these days from clients,” says Maria Bruno, a senior investment analyst in Vanguard’s Investment Counseling and [...] [...more]
We’ve all seen the studies – one seems to land on my desk once or twice a week. “Americans are living longer.” “Fewer have defined benefit pensions.” “The value of Social Security is shrinking.” “Boomers don’t have enough money to retire comfortably.” “A retirement crisis is looming.” Just a couple recent data points: –Working American [...] [...more]
Ford Motor Company is making an offer it hopes 90,000 former employees can’t refuse: a lump sum buyout of their pensions. The auto giant plans to offer a voluntary buyout of defined benefit pensions to salaried retirees and former employees, with payouts to start later this year. Although Ford hasn’t revealed the exact terms of [...] [...more]
What worries Americans most about their prospects for achieving a secure retirement? The cost of health care. Americans are less confident that they’ll have enough money to pay for medical and long-term care expenses in retirement than they are about their ability to cover basic expenses, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s recently released [...] [...more]
