Retirement Tax Diversification
After my last blog post, I received a couple of questions concerning the concept of tax diversification. In this post I will discuss this topic as it relates to one of the biggest tax mistakes many future retirees make in their financial planning. It is known as “The Deferral Trap.”
How it is Possible to have $100,000 in income and Pay $0 Federal Income Taxes
It may not seem feasible for a retiree to have $100,000 in spendable income and pay zero federal income taxes, but at least for tax year 2012 it is possible. It requires no special tax shelters and just takes advantage of a few ordinary tax laws. In this post I will provide a scenario that illustrates how this can be done.
Year End Tax Planning
Recently I was doing some end of year tax planning to check that I have sent in enough estimated tax payments to the appropriate taxing authorities. In going through this analysis I take advantage of a little known recent tax law change. Since we are nearing the end of the 2011 tax year, I thought I would write about this tax law change in case there are other people who may be able to benefit from it.
Retirement Income and Portfolio Expenses
For years you have been accumulating funds for your retirement. When your retirement date finally arrives, it is time to withdraw assets to pay for the retirement phase of your life. Developing a Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) is the single most important decision you will make regarding your retirement assets. Before getting into SWRs I wanted to discuss the impact of portfolio expenses on retirement income.
Basic Rules of Retirement
In this holiday shortened week I thought I would write a short post on the basic rules of retirement. If you follow these simple rules, it will be difficult for you not to succeed in achieving your retirement goals.
Addressing Inflation in Retirement
My last post discussed my biggest retirement fear; the fear that the US will experience persistent high inflation at a rate much greater than the return on my retirement assets. In this post I will discuss several ways that retirees can try to mitigate this risk.
My Biggest Retirement Fear
My biggest retirement fear is related to my last post about the coming changes to government retirement benefits. If you have not read my previous post, you can click on this link and read it now. However my biggest retirement fear is not caused by the expectation that these old age retirement benefits will be cut back in some way, my real fear is that these benefits MAY NOT be cut back enough or worse yet not cut back at all.
The Coming Changes in Government Retirement Benefits
In recent months, as the country debated the federal government recent debt ceiling issue, I have had discussions with many people about the federal government retirement programs and the problems they present to the country. The big question is, if and when these programs will change in the future. These programs affect how we plan for our own retirement. In this post I will provide some government figures and my thoughts on this issue. The reader, as always, can make his/her own assessment.
How a Young Investor Should Invest Retirement Funds Today
I recently had lunch with a former co-worker who asked me straight up how I thought she should be investing for retirement in the current investment environment. She is only in her early 30s but has been saving diligently for retirement and seems genuinely concerned about the current economic climate. So, I thought I would write a post on the investment approach I would take today if I were in my 30s. This will also allow me to re-emphasize some important points I have discussed in previous posts.
Integrating Real Estate into your Retirement Plans
I have written a few blog posts on why I think real estate investments can be a good supplement to a retirement plan. But how can real estate investments be integrated into a retirement plan? To wrap up my discussion on real estate investing, I will provide a suggestion on how this might be done.