Posts Tagged ‘retirement’
Thursday, February 7th, 2019
In October 2018, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a widely followed measure of stock-price performance of 30 of the largest U.S. companies, dropped 1,380 points in just two days. While that sounds scary, it was just a 5% move, taking the index back to mid-July 2018.
Still, you might have noticed that when your funds have been doing well, you feel pretty euphoric, but when they’re down, you feel a lot worse than the pleasure you felt when they were doing better. This is a psychological effect known as loss aversion, and it’s believed to be hard-wired in to our brains. The best way to respond to these emotional swings is to try to take emotion out of the equation altogether. Over long market cycles historically, markets have moved up, although, as always, they fall eventually. It’s that long historic sweep that you should focus on, not short-termmovements. You should also pay attention to the things you can control in investing and ignore what you cannot change. Here are a few tips to keep inmind:
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Tags: FMi Retirement Services, future, health care, retirement, retirement plan, risk-return, tax-deferred retirement plan, unemployment
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Stock Market Drops. Now What?
Tuesday, February 5th, 2019
There are many prescriptions to get to financial health. Here are four proven strategies to help you get there:
Setting and sticking to a budget
In 2017, 78% of Americans said they were living paycheck to paycheck, up from 75% three years earlier.1 Part of the reason may be that only 41% of us use a budget,2 even though it’s one of the best ways to keep track of where our money goes.
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Tags: annual, budget, dept, financial, financial wellness, health insurance, investment, retirement
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Is There a Secret Formula for Financial Wellness?
Thursday, January 31st, 2019
FEBRUARY PLAN SPONSOR CHECKLIST:
• Update the plan’s ERISA fidelity bond coverage to reflect the plan’s assets as of December 31 (calendar-year plans). Remember that if the plan holds employer stock, bond coverage is higher than for non-stock plans.
• Issue a reminder memo or email to all employees to encourage them to review and update, if necessary, their beneficiary designations for all benefit plans by which they are covered.
• Review and revise the roster of all plan fiduciaries and confirm each individual’s responsibilities and duties to the plan in writing. Ensure than each fiduciary understands his or her obligations to the plan.
Tags: 401K, employee, finances, payroll, plan sponsor checklist, retirement, Retirement Plans, roth IRA
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Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019
Imagine for a moment that your elderly mother slips and falls and breaks an arm and a leg. She is hospitalized and undergoes rehab — for 12 weeks. Most people think of chronic illnesses when they think of long-term care, but accidents can also trigger the need for extended nursing care, as well as physical and occupational therapy.
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Tags: annuities, Assisted Living, elderly, family, finances, financial planning, healthcare, insurance, life insurance, money, nursing home costs, occupational, retirement, savings
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on The Ins and Outs of Long-Term Care
Friday, January 11th, 2019
Employees may ask you for advice about how much of their income they should be saving for retirement, how much they should already have saved, and how much they will need. It’s never a good idea to give one-size-fits-all answers to these important questions, but it’s good that you’re interested in helping participants learn more.
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Tags: 401K, finances, financial planning, income, money, retirement, roth IRA, savings
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on When Employees Ask For Advice About Retirement Savings
Thursday, January 3rd, 2019
If your workforce includes recent college graduates, it’s likely that some of them have debt associated with their college years. Student debt may play a large part in the finances of these young (and even not-so-young) employees; that’s why a complete picture of employee financial wellness should consider it. (more…)
Tags: 401K, finances, financial planning, retirement, retirement plan, retirement planning, savings, student debt, student loans
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on How Student Loan Debt Impacts Retirement Savings
Tuesday, December 18th, 2018
JANUARY PLAN SPONSOR CHECKLIST:
• Send payroll and employee census data to the plan’s recordkeeper for plan-year-end compliance testing (calendar-year plans).
• Audit fourth quarter payroll and plan deposit dates to ensure compliance with the Department of Labor’s rules regarding timely deposit of participant contributions and loan repayments.
• Verify that employees who became eligible for the plan between October 1 and December 31 received and returned an enrollment form. Follow up for forms that were not returned.
Tags: 401K, employee, finances, payroll, plan sponsor checklist, retirement, Retirement Plans, roth IRA
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Thursday, December 13th, 2018
For many couples, retirement planning takes on fresh importance once their children leave the nest, especially if they have put off savings during the child-rearing years. If this is your situation, think about directing a greater share of your income toward your retirement. It may be helpful to devise a strategy several months before you face an empty nest, figuring out how far behind you are in building your nest egg. Having a written budget is critical, as is auto-depositing your contributions. That way you’re not tempted to spend your increased income once the kids are launched.
Tags: financial planning, retirement, retirement planning, savings
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Boost Your Savings Once The Kids Leave The Nest
Tuesday, December 11th, 2018
What happens when plan participants leave your company?
There is a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed December 22, 2017, that affects plan participants who terminate employment with an outstanding loan. Before passage of the law, the loan would have been due immediately.
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Tags: 401K, employee, financial planning, loan, retirement, Retirement Plans, taxes
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on When Plan Participants Leave Your Company
Friday, December 7th, 2018
Everybody imagines retiring early, but few people manage to do it. A recent Willis Towers Watson survey reported that far more working Americans are planning to retire after age 65 (46%) than before it (30%).1 Here are five steps you can take to jumpstart the process.
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Tags: 401K, accelerated retirement, early retirement, financial planning, retirement, roth IRA, savings, spending
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Accelerated Retirement Is Possible If You Follow The Right Roadmap
