You can't simply save and forget. At least once a year, especially when you're within 15 years of your hoped-for retirement date. You need to find out where you stand. That way you can make necessary course corrections before it's too late. This can include cranking up your savings or delaying your planned retirement date. Good planning can give you a rough idea of the milestones that must be hit at various ages if you wish to retire with 80% of your pre-retirement salary (minus what you save now). For a personalized look at your progress, visit the Retirement Planner in the Calculators section of CNNMoney.com. There you'll get a nuanced projection of how large a portfolio you need and your odds of reaching it.
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To maximize your ROI (Return on Investment) and minimize risk, think carefully about the amount of stocks, bonds, and cash you have. You need to have a well-diversified portfolio typically has assets in stocks and bonds, as well as international markets. You may want to base you investments on a balanced fund. These types of funds seek to build a level of steadiness into their returns year in and year out by investing in a blend of stocks and bonds, aiming to provide stability as well as some prospect for growth.
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There are a growing number of people for whom retirement age has lost its meaning. They're staying on the job longer some for personal satisfaction, others out of necessity. Some are even working into their 90s. About 6.4 percent of Americans 75 or older, or slightly more than 1 million, were working last year. That's up from 4.7 percent a decade before, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. About 3.4 percent of Americans 80 or older were in the work force last year, up from 2.7 percent from the previous decade. Melanie Holmes, vice president of corporate affairs for Manpower Inc., an employment services company recently said that "For the first time in history, four generations are working together".
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Life has a way of throwing unexpected financial roadblocks, detours and potholes in our path and they sure don't stop with our retirement. These might be large medical bills for retirees, car or home repairs, a death in the family, loss of a job, or expensive legal problems. Such financial emergencies can derail your efforts to save for retirement and living the retired lifestyle you have envisioned. Here are some strategies for managing financial crises.
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If you don't already have one and are near retirement it not too late to open an IRA. You can put up to $4,000 a year into an individual retirement account on a tax-deductible basis if your spouse isn't covered by a retirement plan at work, or as long as your combined incomes aren't too high. This amount remains the same through 2007 and will increase in 2008 to $5,000. Persons who are 50 or older can contribute an additional $500 for 2005 and an additional $1,000 for 2006 and subsequent years. You also can put the same amount tax-deferred into an IRA for a nonworking spouse if you file your income tax return jointly. (By the way, you don’t have to put in the full amount; you can put in less.) With a traditional IRA, you delay income taxes on what you put in and on the earnings until you withdraw the money. With a Roth IRA, the money you put in is already taxed, but you won’t ever pay income taxes on the earnings as long as the account is open at least 5 years.
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Most of you've heard plenty of times that you have to fund your 401(k). But maxing out your 401(k) is the single surest thing you can do to put yourself on track to a prosperous retirement. A 401(k) gives you the biggest bang for every buck you save, so if you are not making maximum use of yours, you're not really serious about retirement. To begin with, you get an up-front tax break on the money you contribute toa 401(k). The most you can sock away in pretax dollars this year is $15,500, or $20,500 if you're 50 or older.
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