2. The second portfolio is for fixed income investment whose income goes to the first one
3. The third portfolio is for stocks that will grow and go into the first two
A constant flow of income can be generated when the fixed-income portfolio is diversified into investments with varying maturity. If you’re thinking of how much money to put in, carefully evaluate your risk tolerance and needs. This helps you determine how much to save and how much cash should be available.
This is a critical decision, because it can make or break your retirement.
Try to get the most from your fixed investments. The classic approach is to diversify your fixed-income portfolio. Treasury bills and investment-grade Corp-bonds of different maturities are the most commonly used vehicles.
Here are some alternatives:
1. Treasury bills
2. Corporate bonds
3. Real-Estate investment trusts
4. Convertible bonds
5. Municipal bonds
The style, Why, when, where, how to retire
Early on, it won’t hurt just thinking about how, when and where you would retire in order to prepare for the inevitable advantage of living a full hassle-free living after working for a number of years.
The following are a number of tips to ensure you are set for life.
Decide where you want to settle
According to a demographic survey most retirees, seem to be content living for a number of years in the same place and in the same community until retirement age. But think about it, downsizing your expenses makes more sense. Moving to a less expensive community can help you keep your resources intact and your expenses less. This ensures you will have more income for future wants, needs and luxuries.
Decide what you want to do
It helps to think now about what you plan to do upon reaching retirement age than waking up one morning with no job after being used to having one for a number of years.
The idea is as financially troubling as well as psychologically disturbing. There are retirees who were able to lick the problem of what-to-do by pursuing a career or a task they were not able to do during their younger years. Primarily it should be a career one is genuinely interested in. It makes doing it more fulfilling and less stressing.
Pay it off now
Any debt, especially the mortgage, when finally paid off, helps most retirees sleep soundly at night. This is literally a load off your mind and your wallet. It helps if you have money left over that is sufficient enough to fully pay your mortgage as well as a little for something extra for you or your significant other. If your mortgage is fully paid, the tendency is for you to take less from your savings therefore allowing your money to increase via tax-deferred methods thus decreasing your total tax bill.
Know what to expect
There are three standard sources of income for retirees as according to experts: Social security payments, pensions, and the retirees’ savings. Do not forget to review your yearly Social Security benefit. For information, call 800-772-1213 to know your estimated monthly check. Make sure to contact your previous employers to see if you have other pensions available as well as to determine how much you could receive. Compute your income from the investments you made in the past. The total of these three could help you determine where you stand as well as how much.
Individual Retirement Arrangement
An IRA or Individual Retirement Account is an account regarding a plan to retire, which provides certain tax advantages.
The Individual Retirement Account as most people call it is legally known as the Individual Retirement Arrangement.
This can may be an annuity which is usually deferred or have an arrangement for a trust that meets particular requirements the Internal Revenue Service necessitates.
This funding and trust by financial vehicles qualifies it as an account. For this reason, the terminology "Individual Retirement Account" is the most usual moniker by which the IRA is known even to experts in the financial turf.
There are several various types of IRA's which include the following;
o Roth IRA - It is a retirement account set-up by William Roth. The money is taxed before it is deposited then the earnings that accumulate and withdrawn are tax-free.
o Traditional IRA - The difference between this account and the Roth IRA is that deposition happens first before the money becomes taxed. The money mounts up tax free on profit until it undergoes withdrawal at retirement, which is the time when the money becomes taxed.
o Rollover IRA - There is no real distinguishing point in tax treatment from an IRA that is considered traditional. However, its funds are from another kind of retirement plan and are "rolled over" into the IRA known as a rollover instead of given as cash.
o Conduit IRA - It is used to transport appropriate funds from one account to another. To maintain particular special tax treatments, the money may not be put together with other kinds of assets including that of other IRAs.
o SEP IRA - for individuals who are self-employed.
o SIMPLE IRA - This is a less complicated pension plan for employees like 401(k) but is with simpler administration and reduced contribution limits.
The 2001's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act or EGTRRA, has helped ease the many restrictions on what kind of funds can be rolled into an IRA. Other acts have followed suit making most retirements plans accept funds from an IRA and can be rolled in return after meeting a certain criteria.
The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that that IRAs are not subject to seizure during bankruptcy. This is because the rights of withdrawals are based on age and should be given the same protection as other retirement plans. Other states have made similar laws giving federal protection for IRA's.
There are some things that is impossible to be financed into an IRA and these include collectibles such as bullion valuable coins or and life insurance. These IRAs cannot generally accommodate real estate unless it as a type of security, e.g., a real estate investment trust, or REIT.
Military Retirement: When Services Really Pay
When somebody has done something good, it is right to provide him or her some rewards. For all the hardships and continuous service to the community, a worker is entitled to all the required benefits in exchange for all the services that he or she has done.
It is for this reason that retirement benefits are extremely important. It is solely the best gratification one could ever have after so many years of working hard.
In the military, people who work for the government and for their respective community should likewise be entitled to receive the benefits that are due for them.
Basically, military retirement is available in three remuneration plans. These plans were authorized by the Congress, which are entitled for every military personnel who have rendered the needed services to the government and to the whole country as well.
Military retirement plans are unique on its basic concept inclusive of the service dates, in which the amount of retirement benefits will be based from.
These military retirement benefits involve the “primary service dates” that provides the DIEMS or the “Date of Initial Entry into Military Service” and the service date as stipulated in the Title 10, Section 1405 of the United States Code.
For a complete understanding of the benefits in military retirement, here is a list of the three remuneration plans.
1. DIEMS before September 8, 1980
For military personnel whose DIEMS is before September 8, 1980, the military retirement benefit is based on the product of the military personnel’s monthly income and the 2 ½% of the concerned personnel’s years of service.
This plan is known as the present military retirement plan.
2. DIEMS between September 8, 1980 and July 31, 1986
Any military personnel whose service dates falls between September 8, 1980 and July 31, 1986, the expected retirement pay is the product of the 2 ½ % of the personnel’s years of service and the average of a personnel’s “highest 36 months” of the basic take-home pay based on the days of active duty.
This military retirement plan is known as the “High 36/50 Percent Plan.”
3. DIEMS on or after August 1, 1986
Any military personnel whose DIEMS is on or after August 1, 1986, the amount of the expected retirement benefit is the product of 2 ½% of the personnel’s years of service, but less than 1% for every year of service that is below 30 years, and the average of the personnel’s maximum income on a 36-month remuneration.
This plan is called “High 36/40 Percent Plan.”
Indeed, any of these three plans will definitely give the military people enough financial aid by the time they retired from service.
Preparing for Your Golden years
Planning for your retirement is obviously a good idea. The phrase "the earlier, the better" describes what your policy should be for handling your transition from a harried work life to your relaxed golden years. At best, take twenty four to eighteen months to prepare for this significant change in your life.
* Cleaning Up - Try to pay off any outstanding debts or fiscal responsibilities before moving on, especially those that are hedged against your retirement plan. If you don't, you'll probably be paying them out of your pension/savings and that is an incredibly bad idea for a retired individual.
* Doing the Paperwork - A year before you retire would be a good time for you to start doing the necessary paperwork for your retirement. Birth certificates, passports and other identity papers should help smooth your transition to a senior citizen.
* Health Care - Always check with the employee benefits department six months to a year before retirement. Ask them how your health insurance will change once you're not a member of the company. Depending on the answer, you may have to look around for new or additional insurance for yourself. Also, take into consideration any continuing ailments that you may have. Covering them with health insurance is a good idea, since they may take out a significant part of your retirement income.
* Budgeting For Yourself - Check what your income sources will be after retirement. This can be from your employer - with the company's own pension plan, Social Security and your own personal savings. After that, make a budget that would fit your approaching financial situation. You really need to do this well in advance, so that you may be able to change it for any required adjustments such as paying for new medical insurance and other expenses that may pop up. A year should give you a large enough margin to prepare. If you're having trouble balancing it all, a financial advisor is a good investment. Try to find one that has a good solid reputation so as to avoid any problems.
* Making a New Tax Payment Plan - Switching from your salary to your retirement income is a big change but you still have to pay taxes for that change. After retiring, contact your tax advisor on what forms you'll have to submit and how to set up a good payment plan so that you'll be able to maximize what you can out of your payout from retiring.
What is Public Employees' Retirement System?
The Public Employee Retirement System is for government employees except for teachers and students. This is a mandatory membership and all members should fill out a form of application at the beginning of their employment. It is a benefit plan that gives benefits to employees once they retire. This will be based on the number of years they rendered service and on their average salary.
The Public Employees Retirement system also covers survivor and disability protection. The system also allows those with 30 years of service to file for an early retirement. They also provide death benefits and beneficiary benefits. Every Public Employee Retirement System of every state is committed to ensuring the retirement benefits of every employee.
Contributions are deducted from the employee's payrolls. The amount may vary for every employee depending on their retire plan and coverage. Currently, the contribution rate is 8.5 percent of the salary of an employee and will increase up to 9.5% in the year 2007. Employer contributions however, range from 13 to 17%.
The benefits that you will get once you retire are dependent on your contribution and position as well as your employer's contribution. The benefits are fixed depending on the legislation set by every state. That is why it is always recommended for members to know their benefits and coverage so that they can get the most of their contributions once they retire.
Although the Public Employee Retirement System is compulsory for all employees, there are still criteria that you have to meet to become a member. Here are the criteria that you need to meet to become a member for most states' Public Employee Retirement Systems:
1. The applicant should be a regular employee and the annual salary of the applicant should be $1,500 or higher.
2. The applicant's position should be under the coverage of the Social Security System.