Now that you have come to the decision to retire, there are several more decisions to make.  One is how to take advantage of tax-deferred plans and when to tap into them.  Although we do not have any control over taxes, we can reduce the burden taxes have on our investments.  All gains in 401(k)’s [...]

Generation Y, aka “The Millennial Generation”, are becoming the primary focus for financial service firms.  This generation is even larger than the boomer generation, consisting of some 80 million plus.  Studies show that Gen Y could estimate anywhere from $30 trillion from the boomers; “could” I guess is the keyword here.  Dan Kadlec of TIME [...]

According to a survey of 6,360 people conducted by American United Life Insurance Company, more than 60% of retirement plan participants under age 40 found online retirement calculators the most helpful in retirement planning, compared to 51% of those 41-50, and 41% over the age of 50.  The under 40 group also found mobile apps to [...]

There’s only one problem with those places that feature sand, surf, sun and surff this year . You come back burned, bushed and broker. So it has been with one of the greatest oxymoron’s of the last 30 years “implicit government guarantee” As the world’s largest pool of capital at $700 trillion and growing  has [...]

The mass affluent investors want more annuities and don’t even know it!  Mass Affluent investors (those with $150,000 – $250,000 of annual income) are quite receptive to learning about annuities according to a new poll by Nationwide Financial.  These affluent investors have become increasingly concerned about the impact of increased taxes on their investments and [...]

      Jennifer Bjorhus of The Star Tribune writes an informative article about Allianz and their current status:     Profit at Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America jumped 37 percent to $586 million for 2012 — but not on annuity sales.   Sales of the company’s popular investment vehicles continue falling as [...]

A 65-year-old couple with median prescription drug expenses will need $227,000 to have a 75 percent chance of covering their Medicare premiums and other out-of pocket medical costs after retirement in 2012, according to a recent Employee Benefit Research Institute report.   Retired couples who want a 90 percent chance of being able to pay [...]