Building a Portfolio for Retirement
“According to a survey conducted by the Savings Education Council last year, 24% of all workers were not confident that they were prepared to retire comfortably.” Upon retirement we would like to maintain a certain level of income and lifestyle such as that established in the prime of our earning career. Through proper planning this goal can be achieved. I am going to establish the need for investments/ savings through the life-cycle model of consumption. I will then walk through standard retirement plans showing that additional funding will likely be needed for the upper-middle class, leading to stock and bond investments, risk tolerance of an individual investor, how that affects diversity and rates of return.
On average Americans save approximately 5% of their earnings. This is the lowest among industrialized countries; Japan saves on average 24%, they are the highest savers. The US saves so little in part because of the availability and ease of credit, the financial system; as well as an effective Social Security system. However, the US is changing, to depend on today’s Social Security for tomorrow alone is a risky venture to say the least.
Throughout one’s career their earning levels will fluctuate; the highest level of earnings is most likely achieved around middle age or mid-career. It is at this time most Americans begin to think about retirement and savings. The life-cycle model of consumption indicates that we desire a constant level of consumption throughout our lifetime. We, therefore, will go into debt when we are young, repaying the debt and begin saving in middle age, and dissave in retirement.
While I personally believe that savin...
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...o fund banks in the big picture of money. My 95-year-old Grandfather has successfully funded his retirement through CDs, a pension, and Social Security. To this day he still invest in CDs and his net worth is six figures.
In large, most investors do not want to do the research in selecting stocks, bonds, and money market accounts for their portfolio themselves; at the prime of their career they may not have the time either. A managed fund is an appealing option. A managed fund may cost slightly more, there are management fees involved, typically not more than 2%. Picking a fund lessens the workload, pick a well know fund such as Janis, Fidelity, USAA, Templeton, Putnam, etc. If you have the money, pay someone; an investment fund manager who will take into account who you are. The name on the fund you choose is not so important as they type of fund you choose.
The push for Congress to pass legislation protecting the rights of employees and their retirement was inevitable. Retirement plans are extremely important for all working individuals. Having funds to keep or exceed ones current standard of living and to enjoy one’s life beyond expectations after retire...
You might be tempted to dip into your retirement fund for a major purchase, find the will to resist. You’ll pay extra fees and taxes, and you are robbing your future self. If you leave it alone, your money will continue to grow year after year. Your gains can be reinvested and you’ll earn more than you would have with just a small chunk of
In America’s early days before the kickoff of industry, there was little need for retirement savings for a few key reasons. First of all, people were dying at a much earlier age; most people didn’t live past 38, whereas in 1900, 60 years of age was common for about 40 percent of the population and 15 percent experienced 80 years of life. Another reason for the irrelevance of social security in the 19th century and earlier was that people were usually living rurally on farms with extended families to take care of them. Furthermore, the Civil War also didn’t allow the government much economic room to consider providing a service such as social security. However, after the Civil War, pensions were a form of social security for civil war veterans that carried into their retirement. Unfortunately these pensions provided support for only a very small portion of the population; not even one percent of Americans received these pensions. Despite a much lower need for social security in the 18th ...
America is divided into social groups based on the income and financial assets of its citizens. One of the groups which forms part of the social system are the “mass affluent.” The mass affluent are portrayed as people who make more than the mass market, but less than one million. Mass affluent households generally hold from 250,000 to 1 million in income and financial liquid assets. More than 13 million households in the U.S. are mass affluent accounting for 11 percent of all U.S households (Nielsen.com).The mass affluent are the largest group part of the wealth management segment. The mass affluent social group falls between the middle class and the wealthiest of consumers. The typical mass affluent consumers is usually white, married, holds a white collar job and lives in a two income household with one child. The mass affluent are characterized as individuals who live a distinct lifestyle compared to the rest of the consumer market when it comes to financial preferences and media consumption. This social group lives in the suburbs, are empty nesters and form part of the baby boomer generation. Consumers part of the mass affluent hold white collar jobs in finance, business management and hold multiple investment accounts. Well-educated and very sophisticated these consumers do not classify themselves as rich. These individuals do not classify themselves as rich but have multiple investment accounts including 401k, IRAs, and CDs. The typical mass affluent consumer does not take many shopping trips but spends more money on each trip than the average customer (Nielsen.com). Two thirds of the mass affluent are 55 years old and older which is why so many are turning to IRAs. The mass affluent social group with approximately 22 mill...
The fact is that a lot of Americans are uneducated when it comes to saving their money. Living hand to mouth and check to check is definitely no way to live, however a majority of Americans do in fact live like this. Most middle class and lower class Americans do not understand that putting all of there earnings in a checking account is actually not the best or safest idea. With the current low interest rates, you are actually losing money if you are fully invested in a money market due to inflation. Thi...
Through the years, people age and become less productive. For these reasons, they have to prepare some plans that help them secure their own future. But, there are instances that lead an individual to an early retirement. Some lack motivation and enthusiasm in their work. Others are not capable of working anymore as well because of the health issues that they are facing. Regardless of the reason, it is important that one has to work so that by the time they retire, they will not end up broke. Having this in mind, many people are already investing in a simple IRA.
The Australian government will increase the age pension from 65 to 70 by 2035(Australian Department of Human services [AU]). This announcement has lots of challenges for Australian people who are under 50; some people support the rise and find it beneficial for the future economical life. However, others are against the announcement as it has lots of concerns for their future plan, as they have to work longer to save more for their retirement. The current population ageing put pressure on the young workers who support retirees and their families, at the same time it affect the economic development. So the rise of pension has advantages and disadvantages on the future life standard of most Australians. It is beneficial decision from the government to provide a productive and qualified future life.
Mitch. "Money Is Only Part of the Equation." The New Retirementality: Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams-- at Any Age You Want. Chicago, IL: Dearborn Trade, 2001. 25-26. Print.
“When a company called Enron… ascends to the number seven spot on the Fortune 500 and then collapses in weeks into a smoking ruin, its stock worth pennies, its CEO, a confidante of presidents, more or less evaporated, there must be lessons in there somewhere.” - Daniel Henninger.
While it is very important for young individuals to start to save and invest for their retirement, there are aspects that they should consider before jumping into investing into securities. Those subjects are cash, enough insurance, should you buy a home, how secure is your job, how much risk can you handle, equities are risky, get started, do everything, be flexible, and can you save and invest too much. These ten aspects should be looked at, analyzed, and taken into very critical thought before saving and investing into securities.
The Enron Corporation was an American energy company that provided natural gas, electricity, and communications to its customers both wholesale and retail globally and in the northwestern United States (Ferrell, et al, 2013). Top executives, prestigious law firms, trusted accounting firms, the largest banks in the finance industry, the board of directors, and other high powered people, all played a part in the biggest most popular scandal that shook the faith of the American people in big business and the stock market with the demise of one of the top Fortune 500 companies that made billions of dollars through illegal and unethical gains (Ferrell, et al, 2013). Many shareholders, employees, and investors lost their entire life savings, investments,
retirees, it must not be mistaken as a financial entity on which people can live
Personal financial planning eventually leads to secured retirement years; this is the purpose to plan for the future. With a volatile and erratic economy, and social security benefits undetermined in regards to having enough money to comfortably survive after retirement is critical. There is no magic ball to tell us what the coming years will bring; this is why it is up to each individual to have their own financial lives under control. Having a concrete financial plan now will secure an increased comfortable future.
Retirement comes early for most people. Early meaning that we are not ready for what comes with it. Most people would love to retire today, but unfortunately it is nearly impossible. It takes a lifetime for a person to become financial stable and adequately equip with assets that have been gained throughout someone’s life. Everyone must start young, in fact the sooner the better. Any money, or savings that can be applied today will always come with an enhanced future. So is it worth it to work harder and save now in order to possibly access a pleasant retirement? With out effort now we will be dependent on other sources in our retirement years, sources that may not come through for everyone who needs it. There are three ways to help Americans be better prepared now. These methods include saving money now, and investing in sources with returns. Do not become one of the millions of Americans who fall into government assisted retirement plans by lack of preparation and planning.
The importance of saving for retirement is all based on how the individual wants their lifestyle to be after their career. The sooner they begin saving and investing their money, the more profound lifestyle they are bound to live. There is a saving plan called the 401(k) that lets employees have a percentage of their net pay withdrawn before taxes. This helps significantly if they are planning to retire earlier on in their lifetime because it can also lower the amount of taxes owed each take which essentially is more money in your pocket every paycheck. America as a whole downplays the significance of saving for retirement until they get of a certain age and they are too drained to get up for work and work a full shift as they would when they were of a younger age. Typically, when living in retirement you are free to travel and reach goals you were not able to achieve because life and work got in the way. Enjoying your retirement is the goal, not to make your retirement a burden to you or their