Our Guide to Retirement Information

If we had to summarize what retirement planning in your 30s is all about, then it would probably go something like this... When you're in your 30s, you are in a unique position from a retirement planning standpoint. For most of us, these are the "make or break" years. Here's why.

If you started your retirement planning early in your career, then you should be in pretty good shape by the time you're in your 40s.  If you're thinking about retirement planning for the first time, then you have some serious catching-up to do.  That being said, retirement planning in your 40s is perhaps the single most important step you can take to prepare yourself for those retirement years.

If there is ever a critical time for retirement planning, it's when you hit your 50s. You still have ten to fifteen years left in the workplace, and you're entering your peak earning years.

If you agree with the mindset "it's never too late," then you'll appreciate what retirement planning in your 60s is all about. When it comes to retirement planning, you don't ever want to give up and concede it's too late.

It is well known in the financial community that 401k plans are one of the premier benefits an employer can offer their workers. They provide employees a perfect tax shelter, and most plans even include an instant return on the employee's investment. In fact, for many investors 401k plans should be their first stop for any money earmarked for retirement.

If you're thinking about contributing to your employer's 401k plan, but need more information, we have most of the 401k rules covered in this article. We use the word "most" because 401k plans are complicated in that employers have some flexibility in how they can administer their plan.

Participating in a 401k plan is a great way to help you get ready for those retirement years. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the 401k limits, or rules, that all employees need to be aware of when participating in such a plan. This includes both compensation limits, as well as contribution limits.

If you're thinking about retiring someday, and you should, then you need to think about starting a 401k plan.  If you're lucky enough to have one of these plans at work, then make sure you sign up.  Retirement is not that far away, ask anyone over 50.  It sneaks up on you, so be prepared.

When we talk about a rollover, we're discussing the option of taking money from one retirement account and transferring it into another plan.  The most common rollover scenario occurs when an individual accepts a new job, and wishes to rollover a 401k plan to a new company, or another financial institution.

For many of us, our 401k plans are the first and only place we have reserved for consistent and "real" savings.  This is money we put away, and never intend to touch until retirement.  But what happens if we're faced with an unexpected expense?  Is getting a 401k loan possible?

On February 20, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individuals have a right to recover 401k losses based on what were considered fiduciary breaches.  This landmark decision means that the 50 million Americans participating in a 401k plan now have a right to recover their loss if plan administrators don't fulfill what's considered their obligation to participants to manage their plans wisely.

In this article, we're going to be discussing 401k withdrawals.  This includes early withdrawals, and allowed distributions under the current 401k rules.  We're also going to discuss the potential tax penalties for early withdrawals.

You've been faithfully building your 401k plan at work, but you suddenly find yourself facing a financial hardship.  This leaves you wondering:  Is it possible to make a 401k hardship withdrawal?  Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not that simple.

Perhaps the single most important retirement account available to employees today is their 401k plan. In this article, we're going to discuss the current (2011 and 2012) 401k contribution limits, including catch-up limits, pre-tax and total contribution limits, as well as the limits that apply to highly-compensated employees.

In this article, we're going to discuss the three options many of us have with respect to our 401k contributions: before-tax, after-tax, and now the Roth 401k. Back in 2006, many 401k plan administrators took advantage of the new Roth 401k, and started offering this choice to their plan's participants. Let's take a closer look at the difference this new option can make to your 401k contribution plans.

If your employer offers you a 401k plan, then consider yourself lucky. These plans are a great way to fund your retirement. But sometimes the 401k contribution limits can get a little confusing. There are both employee matches, and before-tax and after-tax limits.

Borrowing from your 401k plan just got easier - all you need is a 401k debit card.  When a financial hardship occurs, it's a relief to know you can borrow from your 401k plan.  But retirement savings are just that:  money you've set aside that's intended to provide income after you retire.  These two points of view are at the heart of this debit card controversy.

Undoubtedly, the market slide that began in December 2007 unveiled some series flaws in the way America saves for retirement.  Millions of Americans watched their precious 401k retirement savings vanish, as did their hope for an early retirement.

The Roth IRA is perhaps the premier individual retirement planning tool and savings account offered today. In this article, we're going to discuss the full range of Roth IRA benefits, the basics of withdrawals, transfers, and contributions. Then we'll finish up with some comparisons between the Roth IRA, and employer sponsored plans such as the 401k and 403b.

Roth IRA rules are fairly straightforward, and they align with many of the retirement planning scenarios that an investor might encounter over time: eligibility, contributions, transfers, and withdrawals. Fortunately, this relatively short list will cover most of the Roth IRA rules you would ever need to understand.

In this article, we're going to discuss Roth IRA limits. This includes the two broad categories of compensation or income limits, which affect eligibility, as well as those limits that apply to contributions to a Roth IRA account. We're also going to provide up-to-date information on the contribution limits for 2011 and 2012, including catch-up contributions.

In this publication, we're going to discuss Roth IRA Contribution Limits. That discussion will include the recent changes that affect Roth IRA accounts in 2011 and 2012. As far as the information we're going to provide, we'll address the two kinds of Roth IRA limits: one dealing with income restrictions, and the other dealing with the contributions themselves.

In this article, we're going to talk about Roth IRA conversions. This discussion will include Roth IRA contribution rules, transfers, income limits for conversions, and their affect on income taxes owed. We'll also discuss when, and under what conditions, it might be a good idea to make a conversion.

There are two related, but slightly different, 5-year rules that apply to Roth IRA withdrawals. The first has to do with earnings on contributions you've made to your account, while the second rule has to do with Roth IRA conversions.

Back in May of 2006, there was a pretty significant change to the tax laws involving converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.  In the year 2010, everyone can convert their traditional IRAs to a Roth IRA.  That's an opportunity that not everyone had in the past

Back in 2006, then President Bush signed a $70 billion tax cut provision that changed the eligibility rules for Roth IRA conversions.  Starting in 2010, taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income in excess of $100,000 can now convert a Traditional IRA into a Roth IRA.  The easing of the income limit provided individuals planning for retirement with more freedom.  But as we'll see, there are some significant disadvantages of Roth conversions too.

The Roth 401k was first made available to retirement planners back in 2006. Since that time, many employees have found themselves faced with the question: Do you want to contribute to a Roth 401k? We're going to help answer that question by discussing the Roth 401k rules, contribution limits, withdrawals, distributions, and even how to make a 401k Roth rollover.

If you're looking for information on a self-directed Roth IRA, then consider yourself in the majority when it comes to establishing a Roth IRA account. That's because a self-directed account is defined as one where the owner of the account determines where the money is invested. That's a pretty common arrangement when it comes to Roth IRAs.

A Traditional IRA is a savings plan that allows you to set aside money for retirement. In the case of a traditional IRA, you may also be offered an immediate tax shelter for the contributions that you make to your account.

A SIMPLE IRA is a plan that gives smaller employers an easy way to contribute towards an employee's retirement account. The SIMPLE IRA allows the employee to make salary-reduction contributions, and employers can make matching contributions. In this article, we're going to discuss the benefits, eligibility rules, how to set up a SIMPLE IRA, as well as contributions and withdrawal rules.

If you're an investor that likes to take control of their money, then there is good news in the form of a self-directed IRA.  Just what is a self-directed IRA?  Simply put, it is an individual retirement account that is established with a stockbroker rather than a bank or an investment house.

We've covered the specific rules for each type of IRA elsewhere in this publication, but we've never put all of the IRA rules together in one place. In this publication, we are going to provide a summary of these general IRA rules. This information will include eligibility, contributions, as well as rules that apply to withdrawals.

In this article, we're going to discuss IRA rollovers.  We'll start off by briefly discussing why an IRA rollover might be necessary, as well as provide you with a definition of the term.  We're then going to explain the difference between a rollover and a transfer, and finish up with some of the rollover rules you need to be aware of to avoid income tax penalties.

This article is going to cover the topic of IRA withdrawals.  Here we're going to summarize the withdrawal or distribution rules that apply to traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs.  We're going to talk about normal withdrawals (or qualifying distributions), minimum required distributions, exceptions to these withdrawal rules, and possible income tax penalties.

In this publication, we're going to discuss IRA contribution limits. That discussion will include the recent changes for 2011 and 2012. We will also address two kinds of IRA limits, one dealing with household income, and a second dealing with the dollar value of the contributions themselves.

For a variety of reasons, it's sometimes necessary to recharacterize an IRA.  One of the more common motives to recharacterize an IRA is when a taxpayer is no longer eligible to make a tax deductible contribution to a Traditional IRA.  Under these circumstances, the taxpayer may decide to recharacterize their Traditional IRA contribution as a Roth IRA contribution.

IRA Contribution Limits have been increasing over the past several years, and that is good news if you're saving for retirement.  For many years, the contribution limit stood at $2,000, but policymakers have realized that inflation made this old limit inadequate in meeting the retirement needs of individuals.  So if you are using IRAs to fund retirement, we have some good news about the 2004 and 2005 limits.  We will even discuss the catch up limit that can help you get more money into your IRA faster.

A 403(b) account is a retirement savings plan, or tax shelter, for employees of tax exempt organizations. This includes public school systems, non-profit organizations, and employees of cooperative hospital services. You can generalize by saying the 403b is the nonprofit organization's equivalent of the 401k.

In this article, we're going to be discussing 403b contribution rules. Our discussion is going to include elective deferrals, after-tax contributions, and maximum allowable contributions. We'll also run through some of the contribution rules that are unique to 403b plans, such as the 15-year rule.

With such an uncertain future for Social Security, individuals look to the safety of supplemental retirement savings such as 403b plans.  But there comes a time when you need to take a distribution, or make a transfer, from your 403b account, and the rules you need to follow can be quite complex.  We're going to help you avoid tax penalties by explaining the allowable 403b distributions you can take, as well as the most efficient way to make a 403b transfer.

Generally, you can roll-over all or any part of a distribution from a 403b plan to a traditional IRA or an eligible retirement plan without paying any taxes.  For example, a 403b rollover can be directed to a Roth IRA, a traditional IRA, a 457 plan, and even another 403b account.

Under certain conditions, it is possible to obtain a loan from your 403b plan.  But you have to work closely with your plan administrator to make sure that the loan isn't viewed as an early distribution.  If a loan is viewed as a distribution, then it'll be reported as income, and if you're under age 59 1/2, then you may be subject to a 10% tax penalty.

On July 26, 2007, the Treasury Department, in conjunction with the IRS, released a finalized set of 403b regulations.  With a history dating back to the 1950's, this rulemaking effort was nearly 50 years in the making, and provides 403b participants with some long-awaited guidance.

The Bush Administration created a new way you can fund your 403b plan: the Roth 403b. In this publication, we're going to discuss the benefits of a Roth 403b, along with the rules of these plans including withdrawals, distributions, contributions, and income taxes.

If you've been wondering whether or not to fund a Roth IRA or your 403b plan, we're going to lay out some of the factors that you might want to consider before making that decision. They are both great retirement planning options, but there may be reasons for choosing to fund one type of plan versus the other.

Before you begin collecting Social Security, you may want to figure out if it's to your long-term advantage to delay receiving benefits.  That's because the longer you wait until you begin collecting a monthly check from Social Security, the larger the monthly check received.

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts seem to go by many names today: Coverdell ESA, Coverdell IRA, even Coverdale IRA (for those that are not too sure of the spelling). Some people might even recognize this name as the replacement for the Education IRA established back in 1997.

Keogh plans allow self-employed individuals, or small businesses, the opportunity to provide employees with retirement savings benefits. Keogh plans are sometimes referred to as qualified plans, or HR10 plans, and their rules are quite different from those that apply to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA).

A 457 plan is a retirement or pension plan that provides benefits to government employees as well as employees of tax-exempt organizations. Employees participating in 457 plans are allowed to defer their compensation on a before-tax basis through regular payroll deductions. Money placed in these accounts grows on a federally tax-free basis until withdrawn.

The 457f is a deferred compensation plan that allows eligible employers to contribute money on a pre-tax basis into investments that provide key executives with a retirement benefit.  By doing so, these companies can help their executives defer payment of federal and state income tax on the money contributed into their accounts.

A fixed annuity is an insurance contract in which the issuing company promises to make fixed dollar payments to the contract holder, the annuitant, for a pre-determined length of time.  In return for payment of the contract premium, the issuing company also guarantees both the earnings on the account and the principal balance.

A variable annuity is a contract with an insurance company in which the insurer promises to make a series of payments to the contract holder.  Unlike a fixed annuity that guarantees a series of fixed dollar payments, the value of a variable annuity will depend on the performance of the investments chosen.

Equity indexed annuities, or EIA, are a unique type of annuity.  It's one that's based on a stock market index, such as the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, or the Russell 1000.  As a reminder, an annuity is defined as a contract with an insurance company in which the annuitant, or contract holder, agrees to make a payment or series of payments.  In exchange, the insurance company agrees to supply the contract holder with a future source of income.

It's somewhat ironic that retirees often worry about longevity.  Most of us want to live a long and rewarding life, but if that comes to fruition, then we need to worry about outliving our assets.  That's the primary reason many retirees invest in annuities.  Unfortunately, those same annuities didn't protect against inflation, until recently.

Investors looking to preserve capital, and earn a competitive rate of return on their investment, should consider investing in stable value funds.  In fact, the combination of low risk and attractive returns makes investing in these funds one of the ideal ways to defend against a market downturn during an economic slump or credit crisis.

Funding a retirement account is an important part of your financial planning process.  When it comes to choosing between a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA, you need to make an informed decision.  You'll want to get the optimal future income benefit from the money placed into either of these plans.

In this article, we're going to discuss minimum required distributions or MRD.  For certain retirement accounts, including 401k plans, 403b plans, and the traditional IRA, minimum distributions are required.  Here we'll discuss the calculation of this distribution, and the exact MRD rules you need to follow.

When President Bush signed the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 on December 23rd, he suspended the requirement to take minimum required distributions in 2009.  That's good news for retirees that didn't have the financial need to take a full distribution.

Investing in your retirement account isn't a onetime decision.  It's more like a process.  At a single point in time, you made a decision to invest your money in a certain way, but as time moves forward, balancing that retirement account becomes important too.

If you have a comprehensive retirement plan, then it probably includes a mix of employer benefits, government plans, and retirement savings accounts.  You've probably also heard some of the "rules of thumb" concerning how much income you'll need.  But your retirement income needs to last you a lifetime, which might be longer than you think.

To many of us, the ultimate measure of a successful career was to retire a millionaire.  But it takes more than just dreaming, and a big salary, to retire with a million dollars.  It takes discipline and time.

As workers approach their peak earning years, many begin to think about questions like "When is the best time to retire?"  We hear stories all the time about people living longer, which is good news.  For those of you that are still thinking about retiring at age 62, you need to figure out if your retirement plans are taking this new information into account.

There was a time when retiring with a mortgage was unthinkable.  Making that last mortgage payment was something to celebrate, and that achievement was shared with family and friends.  There was even a name for those celebrations - they were called mortgage-burning parties.

If you're having trouble paying bills, or you simply want to enjoy a richer lifestyle in your retirement years, then you should give serious thought to tapping into your home's equity via a reverse mortgage.  For many Americans, the single most valuable asset they own is their home.  Reverse mortgages allow seniors to generate a steady stream of income - and here's how they work.