Blog Retirement Planning

Getting the most from your Social Security Benefits

By Ben Rickey / July 20, 2015 / Comments Off on Getting the most from your Social Security Benefits

It can be one of the most important financial decisions you’ll have to make in your life – when to begin taking Social Security retirement benefits.  The years between 62 and 70 can make a world of difference to your financial future and the future of your spouse and heirs. Often, the decision can be…

Retirement Planning When You Are Debt Heavy

By Ben Rickey / February 5, 2015 / Comments Off on Retirement Planning When You Are Debt Heavy

Student loan debt isn’t just a problem for Millennials in their 20s and early 30s anymore. According to an article by CNBC, senior citizens are debt heavy as well. An analysis by TransUnion shows student loan debt 10 years ago accounted for about 13 percent of total debt carried by people in their 20s. Today,…

Retirement Planning Doesn’t Need To Be Scary

By Ben Rickey / December 9, 2014 / Comments Off on Retirement Planning Doesn’t Need To Be Scary

Retirement Planning is one of those things that everyone knows they should do, but many fall short in the taking action. This is usually because they simply don’t know where to start. That’s a reasonable concern, but it’s really just a matter of having a framework of understanding as to what comprehensive retirement planning entails.…

Why Do Women Trail Men in Retirement Planning?

By Ben Rickey / December 2, 2014 / Comments Off on Why Do Women Trail Men in Retirement Planning?

It’s often said that women naturally put others first, which, admirable as it is, can become a problem in terms of their own financial future.  A new study by the ING Retirement Research Institute shows that women, on average, are much less prepared for retirement than men.  Fewer women have formal investment plans in place…

Spending that Nest Egg Wisely in Retirement

By Ben Rickey / November 25, 2014 / Comments Off on Spending that Nest Egg Wisely in Retirement

It’s difficult enough to plan and save right for retirement, given today’s topsy-turvy financial markets. What’s more, it can be a bit of a puzzle in those Golden Years to come up with the right withdrawal plan. The idea, of course, is to find that balance between spending down a portfolio while maintaining the right…

The Importance of Maxing out Contributions to Employer Sponsored Plan Accounts

By Ben Rickey / November 13, 2014 / Comments Off on The Importance of Maxing out Contributions to Employer Sponsored Plan Accounts

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, only about 4 in 10 workers contributed to an employment-based retirement plan in 2011.  This means that the other 60 percent of workers could be missing out on one of the most valuable retirement tools available to them. There are some significant benefits associated with contributing to such…

Generation X and Last-Minute Retirement Planning

By Ben Rickey / November 6, 2014 / Comments Off on Generation X and Last-Minute Retirement Planning

Procrastination is rarely a good thing. When it comes to retirement planning, Generation X can’t afford to wait until the last minute. According to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts study and a PwC survey cited by Bankrate.com, Generation X is struggling to save for retirement. Moreover, experts say Generation X was hit hardest by the…

5 Essentials for Early Retirement Planning

By Ben Rickey / October 16, 2014 / Comments Off on 5 Essentials for Early Retirement Planning

Who wouldn’t want to retire early and pursue their own goals and desires? The problem is that without sensible retirement planning it can be difficult to save up enough to retire at 65 and even harder to get to that point early. To help, here are five things you can do to help get yourself…

Mistakes When Making Your Deferred Compensation Elections

By Ben Rickey / June 5, 2014 /

You know the drill—every year the same difficult, complicated decisions about your Deferred Compensation must be made. How will you receive it? Over how many years? Averaged out or all at once? And once you make this decision, you are stuck with it. What we see most often is the decision being delayed until the…

Responsible Spending for Your Retirement

By Len Rickey / March 25, 2014 /