Retirement

Morningstar's Director of Personal Finance writes about the factors that are within an individual's control and therefore manageable through good planning. The economy and stock market movements are not on the list. Prudent risk management in retirement is on the list. The items that fall into the risk management category include: Longevity risk . Long-term care. Inflation . Regulatory risk and higher taxes. Longevity annuities are discussed in the context of longevity risk. Source: Morningstar...

Two industry-leading consultants have published a study that compares a range of wealth management strategies that are available to individuals in retirement. None of the strategies are dominant on an overall basis, but certain approaches show clear strengths in terms of income generation, levels of wealth, and the impact on bequest motives. The dramatic impact of product fees is also addressed. Six different retirement strategies are discussed: Systematic withdrawal from mutual funds. Fixed...

This past weekend President Obama discussed his "common sense" steps to reform and simplify the system of retirement savings in the United States. President Obama seeks to extend incentives and simplified savings vehicles to the 78 million Americans who do not have access to a retirement savings plan through their employer. Some of the President's proposed changes include: The ability to put unused leave time, sick pay and tax refunds directly into retirement savings accounts. Simplified 401k...

John Bogle thinks that the notion of leaving an inheritance is nice but certainly not essential. The Vanguard founder suggests that paying attention to one's personal finances and standard of living in retirement trumps the bequest motive since adult children should be able to take care of themselves: A lot of older people believe they should not spend their last dollar on the last day of their life. A lot of parents want to leave a nice little nest egg to their children. That's nice but not...