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Colleen's Corner

Asset Allocation

Often financial "experts" make asset allocation difficult to understand. My goal in this series of articles is for you to understand asset allocation thoroughly, in an easy to understand format.
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NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
30 yr fixed mtg 5.03% 5.06%
15 yr fixed mtg 4.37% 4.37%
5/1 ARM 3.90% 3.92%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg 5.83% 5.86%
5/1 jumbo ARM 4.49% 4.50%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
$30K HELOC 5.12% 5.13%
$50K HELOC 4.85% 4.85%
$30K home equity loan 7.82% 8.16%
$50K home equity loan 7.71% 8.11%
$75K home equity loan 7.73% 8.14%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
36 month new car loan 6.65% 6.62%
48 month new car loan 6.79% 6.82%
60 month new car loan 6.84% 6.86%
72 month new car loan 6.03% 6.03%
36 month used car loan 7.01% 7.04%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
6 month CD 0.80% 0.83%
1 yr CD 1.22% 1.24%
5 yr CD 2.59% 2.61%
1 yr IRA CD 1.12% 1.12%
5 yr IRA CD 2.39% 2.42%
Rates may include points

What Does Your Retirement Plan 401k Have In It?

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Retirementplan401k

What Does Your Retirement Plan 401k Have In It?

What does your retirement plan look like? Do you have a 401k? Annuity accounts? Do you have a stock portfolio? Or have you invested in bonds or mutual funds?

Do you know how each of the savings accounts fits into your retirement plan? Particularly, do you know how your 401k fits into your overall retirement plan?

Maybe you chose to start your 401k early in your retirement plan. Maybe that was because it's sponsored by your employer and your employer offers matching contributions. Maybe it was because your employer offered it and it seemed as though it was about time you start to form a retirement plan.

After all, you know that you'll need to plan for you retirement. You know that when you save and invest well now you'll be more likely to have the income that you need after you retire. And, you know that when you retire, there are going to be things you want to do -to travel, to help put your grandkids through college, to be able to pay for day-to-day expenses and to have money set aside just in case you need it.

And so, when you learned about the sponsored 401k plan that your employer offered, you jumped at the chance to start investing. However, there is something important for you to know: Your 401k might not be the only thing you need to reach the goals of your retirement plan.

How can you be sure that you reach your goals? You can get to know more about retirement planning -more about savings and investment accounts. You can take the time to understand the way that retirement savings and investment accounts have performed over time and how they are expected to perform in the future. Or, you could even turn to a professional for advice.

The problem is that doing all that research can be expensive. It can take a lot of time and, even when you talk with a professional, you might not get the advice that will really help you to decide which strategy is best for planning your retirement.

So where does that leave you? How do you look into your 401k and other retirement plans to find out whether you're investing in your future in the best way possible? One thing that you can do is to download our free retirement calculator.

With this calculator, you'll be able to look into the way that different savings and investments have performed over time. You'll be able to look at projections for how savings and investments that you have, or are thinking about making, will perform over time.

You'll be able to see the ways that different savings and investments will be affected by changing interest rates. You'll be able to see the way that your savings and investments will be affected by inflation. But more than that, you'll be able to see the ways in which changes that you can control -withdrawals from your retirement savings or changes to your investment strategy -will affect the income you have available to you when you retire.

But more than that, you'll be able to talk over your 401k and the rest of your retirement plan during a free consultation with a financial advisor. You'll be able to ask the questions you have and get the answers you need. You'll be able to get the advice that you need to develop a strong financial strategy, to turn that strategy into a plan and to put that plan into action.

When you opened your 401k, you took the first step towards planning for your retirement. Now it is time for your chance to take the next step. Click the red button to download our free retirement calculator and to get your free consultation with a retirement counselor. Take control of your financial future -one step at a time.

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Analysis of the Economics of Early Social Security Withdrawal

Robert J. Phillips
Chief Retirement Consultant

Deciding whether or not to take the early withdrawal of social security at age 62 can be difficult. If you need this income at 62 to fund your retirement the decision is fairly straightforward. Take it early! On the other hand, if you have another source of revenue to fund your retirement your decision will be primarily based on lifestyle, health and investment preferences.

Several factors can affect your decision. First is your life expectancy. If you are in good health and have a family history of living beyond 90 then waiting for full benefits may be best. Two other factors impact this decision. First and most important is the value of money or your expected return from your investments. If you are using other investments instead of social security to fund your retirement you should use the rate of return of these investments as your value of money. There is another way to look at the value of money. If you do not require the social security money to live, you can invest the distributions for the future. The rate of return of this investment is your value of money. If your investments will make larger returns such as stocks this would favor taking the early withdrawal.

The last factor impacting your decision is inflation. Social security includes an annual adjustment based on inflation. You cannot control this variable but you should be aware of its impact. If future inflation is significant it will favor a later full distribution

FREE Social Security Calculator:

Find Out Your Breakeven Age

We developed a calculator to assist in analyzing the impact of taking early benefits at age 62 or waiting for full benefits at age 66 to 67 depending on the year you were born...If you were born in 1960 or later your full benefits will begin at age 67 and your reduction for early benefits at age 62 will be 30%. If you were born between 1946 and 1960 your full benefits begin as early as age 66. We have included a chart that summarizes information.

To use the calculator you need to input your year of birth. You also need to input a value of money up to 10% and a projected inflation adjustment. The calculator analyzes income generated over time from both the early and full benefit investments. It calculates the age at which full social security will catch up and breakeven with the early withdrawal. If you were born before 1960 your breakeven age will be impacted by the year you were born. An early breakeven age favors waiting for full benefits.

The social security calculator is not the final answer whether to take an early withdrawal but it does give you additional economic data to assist in that decision. Ultimately you must balance income, investments and lifestyle to optimize your enjoyment during your retirement years.