Working After Retirement

* /*Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin*/ *

One of the new rules of retiring is to keep working after retirement.  Many of us will continue to work because we want to.  But a lot of retirees will have no choice except to keep working to pay the bills.

If we look at all the things that we go into debt for, house payments, rent, transportation, utilities we come to the scary realization that we really are not all that secure in our retirement.

One of the real problems is that a bunch of us will retire with a lot of credit card debt and will have no idea about how to fix the situation.  Debt is something that we have learned to live with and also something that wastes a very large chunk of our retirement income.

So, the question is “How do we reduce our debt to increase our standard of living?”

There are millions of websites that have the answers.  But unfortunately, none of them are easy and all of them take some sacrifice.  When we tighten our belts to get out of debt, there is always some pain involved.  The trick is to minimize the pain.

When we start working debt elimination, we should keep several things in mind.  One is that we should start paying hard cash for things to limit our expenditures and another is that we need to have enough money set aside for living expenses and for emergencies.  The easiest way to get money for emergencies is to use plastic credit cards.  Credit cards are also the most expensive and difficult to pay off.

Credit card debt is usually the one that most people want to pay off or down.  But to do that requires a plan and discipline to work the plan.  Some people have included debt consolidation loans or used the equity in their homes  to reduce debt.  Without discipline, this is a  short-term solution and the credit card debt just piles up again.

So, most of us need some help in managing our credit card debt.  We need to find out how to make a plan then work the plan to annihilate our credit card debt and break the vicious cycle of debt.

It turns out that most people get into credit card trouble because they were never taught how to manager their credit cards.  For that matter, very few of us get any training on how to manage our finances until  we get to the point where we are in trouble.

One of the best  resources I have found to help reduce credit card debt is an e-book titled “Credit Card Management Philosophy“.  Check it out if you want to get serious results in eliminating credit card debt.

CLICK HERE and check it out.  It does not cost much and your results could be priceless.

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The New Retirement Rules

* /*Posted on December 26, 2011 by admin*/ *

Welcome to the New Retirement Rules.

Times have changed, and how we look at retirement have changed along with them.  Remember when people retired and just stopped working.  I can.  I know people who spent a lifetime working for worked for companies like NCR, IBM, and retired from that company.

But, job security is a thing of the past.  Anyway, I don’t know anyone who has retired in the past ten to twelve years and stopped working at something.  It may not be the same work they did before retirement, but it is work never the less.

If you are thinking about retiring, the old rules don’t apply to you. There are not many companies that offer a defined benefit retirement plan now and few people that will work for a company long enough to qualify if one is offered.

The days when a person would spend his entire working life with one company are long gone.  Politics, the economy, business globalization and a whole raft of poor business decisions may be to blame.  But the fact is change has arrived and we have to deal with it.

For better or for worse – mostly for better (my opinion) – the retirement game has changed. It’s time to start playing by the new rules.  It’s time to start winning!  But we need to know what the rules are.

The Old Retirement Rules:

>·    People could count on Social Security making up most or part of their retirement income.
>·    Some large companies offered lifelong company pensions for a lifetime of service.
>·    Retirement meant kicking back on the porch or going fishing.
>·    The defined benefit plans and Social Security meant letting someone dictate your financial future.

The New Retirement Rules:

>·    Planning and investing for your future is in your hands.  Social Security is no not a certainty anymore and most company retirement plans are in the toilet.  
>·    Congress has given us a lot of tools (401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs, etc) to help build our retirement streams.
>·    People are living longer and staying engaged in life.  We are looking for ways to stay active, involved and busy.  For most of us that means changing careers, not just quitting work.
>·    Retirement is a time for taking control of your personal, professional and financial destiny.   For many of us, that means continuing to work at things that we love to do and earn and income at the same time.  The internet offers endless opportunities for engagement and earning.  Or we move into consulting or doing contract work or make a favorite hobby a new career.  The sky is the limit.

There’s More to Retirement Than Money.

And money cannot buy happiness.  But not having enough money in retirement can bring a whole lot of anxiety, stress and misery.  I know several people who retired years ago, but for one reason or another, have re-entered the work force mostly because of money issues.

So, rather than just make do with what you have.  If you are retired, or you are thinking about retirement, take your future into your own hands and look closely at the New Retirement Rules.  Do your research, make a plan and follow your plan.

Once you make a plan and take control, you will have a blast at whatever you are doing.

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Make Your Retirement Plan

* /*Posted on March 4, 2011 by admin*/ *

I want to retire now

I have heard these words a lot lately but getting ready for retirement is not something that  just happens.  Some of us will wait until the last minute to start planning our retirement and we will be unprepared for the changes that retirement brings with it.   No plan makes it more difficult to avoid some of the retirement pitfalls.

When I hear those words, I usually ask “What are you going to do when you finally retire?”.  Sometimes the answer leads to a discussion about what retirement is and how does a person avoid the pitfalls of boredom and depression.

Everyone who is enjoying retirement today and living a leisurely life are where they are because they planned for it. The first question that comes to mind is “when the right time to start planning for retirement?”. The answer is that if you need to ask the question, it’s the right time for you.

Planning for retirement can’t start too soon. Building a comfortable nest egg takes a lifetime of work and with the current state of our economy, a bit of luck. If you could start saving money for retirement right out of high school, that would be just that much more time you have to build up a really comfortable retirement nest egg that will last the rest of your life.

Humans are prone to procrastinate.  And, unfortunately, most of us start thinking about retirement late in our adult life.  But sometimes a big life event such as getting married or having a baby will jump-start the planning process.

A word of advice here, if you have been thinking about making a retirement plan, stop thinking about it and take action. Waiting just makes it harder to achieve your retirement goals. If you make the subject something for you and your spouse to look at, you both will be glad you got stopped thinking about it and got moving on a plan.

For some of us, the trouble with making a retirement plan is not knowing where to start. Many people join their employers 401K plan, dump some money into it and count on Social Security to be there for retirement. That’s the retirement plan. It is a plan, but it might not be enough later on.

All of us know that our security in our golden years is too important to not take more seriously than that. Set aside some time each week for you and your spouse to sit down and talk about how to create a retirement fund and how to build a retirement plan that you can grow into and one that will work. The plan must be flexible and the temptation to take part of it for other purposes must be avoided. The first step is the hardest and always begins with you.

You are reading this article so the planning has already started. If you don’t know where to start, there is lots of material available to get ideas from. There is a lot of information available on the internet, from insurance companies, banks and the government. There are a lot of good books on retirement planning from Amazon that can help with the planning process. I suggest getting information from a few good sources and implement ideas that you like and that apply to your situation.

Most states have a retirement section on their official website. There are some great books on retirement planning. Take the time to find and read them. Do the research. You will start out with no ideas and end up an expert in retirement planning.

Keep plenty of notes during the research and learning phases so you have a road map of ideas to build into a plan for building a retirement fund. After you have a simple plan in place or some concrete ideas, it may be time to talk to a financial advisor. If you trust your bank or insurance company, see what they can do for you. Some banks offer free financial planning. Talk to a trusted friend or someone in your community who may be able to steer you toward building a retirement fund properly structured to protect your retirement savings from taxes and provide safety to be there for you when you need it when you are old and grey.

Now it is time to kick the plan up to the next level. Once you have a plan and perhaps are seeing it start to take off, you should start learning about investments. There are a lot of places you can put your retirement funds that will give you a nice yield that can make that fund grow more quickly. You can divert money to real estate, the stock market, mutual funds or other well known investments. Diversify where you put your money so no one financial reversal can whip out your retirement fund.

Above all stay on top of your retirement fund and your retirement plan. Review it with your significant other frequently to see if your retirement goals are still the same and your investments and plans for building your retirement fund line up with your plan. By making retirement planning as big a part of your thinking as planning your family or your career, you will give it serious attention over the years. The result will be a strong financial plan that will give you good resources to enjoy a happy and worry free retirement life.

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Avoid Retirement Shock

* /*Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin*/ *

Have you ever talked to someone who was thinking of retiring.  Some people act like retirement is like accepting a death sentence.  For some people, the work ethic is so strong that the idea of not working  is frightening and causes a lot of stress.  A big part of planning for retirement involves getting emotionally ready for the change in lifestyle.  Hopefully, there won’t be a shock when you become a person of leisure and don’t have to go to work.

If we don’t want a lot of shock when we leave the high pressure world of work for the low pressure world of retirement we need to make a plan and the work the plan.  Being prepared will eliminate a lot of the shock of retirement.

You should start well before the retirement party.  The worst thing you can do is wake up on the first day of your retired life with nothing to do.  It’s natural for a feeling of emptiness and loneliness  to set in because you miss going to work if you have made no plans for filling the hours and days that lay ahead when you become a retired person.

Another way to cope with the shock of retirement is to ease into it slowly.  Continue to work in your profession, but at a reduced pace.  It may be possible to work part-time or do some consulting that may make your transition out of the work force and into retirement a success.

Retirement is a time when you can travel and spend more time with family and friends or doing whatever you want.   A lot of us want to be able to spend more time with family.  You can enjoy getting to know your grandchildren better and maybe being a kid with them for an afternoon as well.

Another way to cope with retirement shock is to volunteer your time or service. Volunteerism is on the rise again and can be a great way to fill some of the time you now have on your hands.  By  helping other people or working on causes you like, you can make a real difference in the lives of others. You can meet many wonderful people and make new friends while volunteering.  This should help keep you young and overcome stress that can be a big problem when you enter your retirement years unprepared.

Another thing that can help reduce retirement shock is a hobby that occupies your mind and keeps your hands busy. Everyone has something that they enjoy doing. Woodworking, building models, gardening, crocheting, and knitting are examples of hobbies that work and can lead to extra money that may be needed as retirement income.

If you’re interested in finding out more ways to relieve stress, check out the e-book called “Conquering Stress – Get Your Life Back”. It’s a cheap way to get insight into what causes stress and how to cope with it. It worked for me.

What ever you do, get excited about this new phase of life and the things that lie ahead of you in retirement.  The journey makes the trip worthwhile.

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Retirement – Your New Career

* /*Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin*/ *

The idea of not working in retirement is not acceptable anymore. For many people, work actually defines their lives. Work gives them a reason for getting up, provides personal satisfaction and social contact with other people.

Work has become such a strong force in most of us that we can’t imagine anything else. It’s what we do most of our lives and it is not easy to just turn it off. In fact, not having a job to work at can cause a lot of unwanted stress. If you have been a productive worker all of your life and you quit or lose your job, feelings of uncertainty, fear and sometimes confusion set in.

The idea of not having to go to work may be attractive, but if you are one of those people that get meaning and purpose from work, the bloom will soon wear off unless you have something that take the place of work.

Retirement is an individual thing and will not the same for everyone. Some people want to retire and go fishing, or start sleeping until noon or just sit in a rocker and watch the days go by. But, fishing and sitting can get old after awhile. For some of us soon to be old folks, this image of retirement may not be enough to make life meaningful and besides, it is not fair to impose the same standard of retirement on everyone.

For many of us, working at something, even part-time, will be what makes retirement meaningful and for some of us, retirement means finding something else to do. The reasons people continue to work in retirement are as varied as the people entering retirement.
Economic conditions may have some bearing on what we do after retirement.

Many people will continue to work after retirement because they did not or could not prepare for retirement. Some of us may have to put off retirement for several more years simply because our retirement funds have lost so much of their value.

Financial independence, having enough money to retire on, is probably second only to good health as a necessity for a successful retirement. But, whatever the situation, there are some adjustments that should be made to shift to a retirement career that you can do well into your senior years.

You can get a head start on your retirement planning if you look at retirement as a career change. We may change careers several times in our working life and retirement is just like any other career change. It just happens later in life.

Approach your retirement like you would a career change. Assess your strengths and desires, make a retirement plan and try work the plan. Be sure to make it flexible enough so that you can adjust to unexpected changes or events. The big difference will be that this career change may be the last one you make.

With a retirement plan, you can get a jumpstart on finding something you enjoy doing well before you retire. It is very possible that some of the things you want to do in your retirement career could become an income generator. It would be nice to have your cake and eat it for a change.

A hobby or a creative talent can be a natural transition into retirement. The skills and knowledge learned in the business world can sometimes be used to get into a lucrative consulting career after retirement. One way to explore this option is to contact the venders you worked with in your previous career and find out if you might now represent their services as a former satisfied customer.

If you have some specialized knowledge or training, that could transition into a full or part-time consulting career. If working for someone else is more appealing, it may be possible to become a sales representative or sales support for the companies who once had you as a customer.

The internet can provide lots of money making opportunities that can be used to start a home based business. You could sell physical things by setting up your own web site and learning how to promote yourself online. Many cottage industries and family owned businesses have been started and become hugely successful just putting what they do out into cyberspace. For example, if you are talented at making pottery, you could create a line of pots that you could sell over the internet.

You could work with a skilled internet web developer and marketer to get your product out on the internet or learn to use some of the marketing websites, such as e-bay, and before long, you might have more orders than you know what to do with and fill your bank account up with all the profits.

Creating a retirement business is only limited by your imagination. Get into something you like or find a niche that has not been exploited. Once you have a new career going that you can continue to do well into retirement, you won’t have many of the worries other retired people have. You can enjoy the freedom of a successful retirement and perhaps make some extra money at the same time. Now that is a great combination.

Get a free copy of “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles. When reading the book, it occurred to me that the principles described, while dedicated to making money, apply to anything you might try to do. Apply them to retirement and you have a very good opportunity to be successful.

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Using A Professional Planner

* /*Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin*/ *

Retirement is a big career change for most people. Just like changing professions, it takes planning and preparation. Like most things in life, you have to accept responsibility for your own retirement.

There is a lot of good information available from most state websites and insurance companies always advice to give. Books on the subject are available from your local library or any book store. And, you can order a lot of information from Amazon or Barnes&Noble that can help with your retirement plan.

Most people don’t want the hassle of planning something that far in the future. Do you see planning for your retirement as your responsibility or is it something you can let someone else do for you? Is that a shocking question? During the preparation phase of retirement planning, we often let our employer hire a fund manager to take care of our 401k.

So, letting someone else take care of the plan is not unusual, but you still have to watch it and take the responsibility to make sure it is managed properly. When someone else is watching over it, it becomes really easy to forget about the retirement plan.

Of course the purpose of the question is not to suggest that you are not a responsible person. If you are participating in your employer’s retirement program or 401K, then you are showing plenty of personal responsibility for your retirement planning.

When you stop to think about it, most of us don’t know what happens to 401K funds after we give them to our employer? We get statements that show that what we invest is gaining (or not gaining) in value and we hope that the principle is safe. For most of us, that is enough.

It is easy to trust your employer to manage the funds well and hopefully it will all be there when the time comes to retire and that 401K is needed. The truth is that your employer probably has nothing to do with how well your retirement portfolio performs once the funds are taken out of your paycheck.

In most cases, your employer hires a professional retirement planner who invests those funds to give you at least a modest return on investment. That service is also taking a fee from your funds. The fee is usually taken without giving you the chance to evaluate the service to determine if they deserve the money they are making.

Part of your responsibility is to see that people that work for you, such as a retirement planner or fund manager, know what they are doing and are held accountable for the outcome of their management of your retirement funds. You probably can’t fire the financial planner or fund manager, but you can vote at shareholder’s meetings. But you can communicate your financial plans and you can find out who is responsible for what happens to your money. If you talk to them or meet with them, you may have more success in getting them to be accountable to you.

You may find yourself engaging a financial planner for funds that fall outside of an employer 401K plan. For example if you leave a job and roll a 401K into a private IRA account, you may engage a financial planner or firm to invest that money so it continues to grow until you need it at the time of retirement.

It is a good idea to develop some standards that you can use to judge any retirement planner you engage. Make a list of questions to ask on your initial meeting. A referral from people you know and trust is a good way to pick a financial planner. If your family members or close associates are already using a good financial planner, get that person’s name and schedule an interview.

Check with your bank, insurance company or credit union. Most provide financial planning services. They already work for you and they will be eager to provide financial planning for your retirement.
Put some time and effort into finding out if the retirement planner you are considering is capable and has a good reputation. They should willing to give you references and have documentation of their success to show they can be trusted to take good care of your retirement funds.

If you do some due diligence up front, you will find someone you can trust this important resource to and have confidence in knowing they are good stewards of the money that is going to give you a happy and peaceful retirement life.

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Planning For Retirement – Are You Ready

* /*Posted on January 22, 2011 by admin*/ *

Are You Ready For Retirement?

Everyone is going to retire eventually, either voluntarily or have it forced upon us by events we really cannot control.  The recent economic meltdown is a good example of an event we did not have control over.

For many of us, the transition between working and retiring will happen sometime between our 50′s and 70′s, and most of will not be prepared for it. Retirement initially can be a time of confusion and frustration for many workers, especially for those whose identity is tied to their jobs and their lives are defined by work. But, on the plus side, it can be a time of learning, growth and redirection.  Retirees are the largest growing segment of our population and advertisers and businesses are beginning to recognize that.

Many people will not have the option of retiring because of financial necessity. Many of our peers are stuck in low-paying jobs or have or no retirement plans either through poor or no planning or may have other financial hardships.  Many folks will reach retirement age, but will need a job just to survive. U.S. News recently reported that only half the workforce has an employer pension plan and many people with one do not contribute enough to it to ensure a successful retirement.  This fact only increases the stress, uncertainty and fear of retirement.

Getting good information about retirement is not difficult, but many potential retirees fail to get enough information or do not know what information is needed.  Unfortunately, most information is geared toward those people who have been able to save enough money to retire.  And there are many of us who have not saved enough or have had events that caused our retirement income to be less than enough.  For a lot of people facing retirement, the question becomes, how do I continue to earn money while being a retired person?  There are answers, but there are no easy answers.

There are many government websites and organizations that offer reliable information.  AARP, one of the leading organizations dedicated to people who are 50 or older, publishes a list of positions that is considered to be suitable for mature workers (read that as “older”).  AARP also publishes an annual list of the best employers for older workers.  Visit the AARP website.  Sometimes you have to search for the information you want, but the trip may be worth the effort.

Planning a retirement is very important to avoid the shock that comes from not going to work.  Older workers facing retirement should consider the possibility of finding a new job (either part time or temporary) or going into career direction. One of the keys of continuing to work in retirement is finding an employer that respects older workers and offers flexibility in work schedules.  There are a lot of companies that have a growing reputation for hiring and valuing older workers.  These include such giants as Wal-Mart, CVS, Radio Shack and John Deere.  Other avenues might inclued the healthcare industry, security and temporary agencies.  Many times, it may be possible to work out an arrangement with the current employer to work as a part time or contract employee.

If working is desired after you retire, consider taking the time to do a self-assessment and find out what you would like to do. If you are not sure about what to do, examine your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and maybe even consider talking with a career counsellor. Your self assessment should include a list of everything you know something about.  Hobbies and special interests can sometimes lead to rewarding after retirement careers.

While it is always easier to work for someone, another option for a retiree is to start and run a business. It is riskier to start a new business later in life but many have been successful and enjoy a greater sense of freedom than they will get from being an employee.  The Small Business Administration offers a lot of free information in a Small Business Startup Guide available from their website.  Another valuable resource that I have used many times is Entrepreneur Magazine’s website for business ideas and low cost franchise opportunities.

If you are enough not to need the additional income but still want to stay busy and involved, volunteering is a wonderful option. Volunteering allows you stay active while also making a significant contribution to your community and meet new people.  There are volunteer opportunities in every community. Salvation Army, every hospital, Habitat for Humanity and veterans organizations never seem to have enough volunteers. For more information on volunteering, check with your local chamber of commerce, yellow pages or do an online search.

But, why bother?   Why in the world should you work or volunteer if you don’t have to?  The answer is easy if you consider that most of us baby-boomers have always worked and we do not know how to turn off the desire to work.  I have talkded to many people who were facing retirement and many were actually looking forward to the day when they did not have to go to work.  However, I have found that most of them are not interested in “not working”, they really just want to change what they are doing now.  This is especially true for people in the construction industry, where work is often hard, with long hours and extended periods of time away from family.

Many experts (and I am not one of those) have suggested that working helps older folks stay active in mind and body, is an avenue for social interaction and relationships.  I do agree with that and ehy, we have to fight the stereotypes that only young people are good workers.

It is a fact that many boomers will keep working past traditional retirement age.  No one knows how many, but estimates range from anywhere from half our population to a vast majority.  Many boomers, myself included, say they plan to work as long as they feel good because that’s what they want to do.  Consider this, the over 50 segment of our population is the fastest growing group and when these boomers retire, there will be a talent vacuum in most industries that cannot recruit and train young workers quickly enough.  The public sector and private industry will see a mass exodus of experienced workers by the end of this decade.  Keep the faith, there will be a demand for older workers who are willing to pass along their knowledge and experience.

It is not all roses, though.  Older workers without specialized skills will find it difficult to find high paying jobs, but while there should be plenty of work because many employers say they prefer seniors to teens because older workers are more experienced, more reliable, have more motivation, and are most flexibility in work schedules.  And many times, we are not afraid to start over in a new job.

Starting retirement is like finding a new job or launching a new career.  It is full of potholes, can cause a lot of stress, anxiety and self-doubt.  If you are struggling with with retirement, find a job or career, you might even consider joining or starting a job club with other people who are retired.  Building or expand your network of business or personal contacts, conduct some informational interviews with temporary service organizations, or invest in some specialized career counseling.

Some final thoughts on retirement.  When your parents retired, that signaled the end of their productive working life, but as advances in medicine and our life span and quality of life has improved, retirement is seen as a time to begin a new phase of your life. We no longer expect to sit on a porch and wait to die.  For those approaching retirement, it is now a time to plan for it.  Develop a strategy to work fewer hours, try a new career or start business.  You can still learn new skills, improve yourself and and enjoy life.

It is your retirement, make the most of it.

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Prepare For Retirement

* /*Posted on January 2, 2011 by admin*/ *

As we get older, time goes by at an ever-increasing speed.  By the time we get to retirement age (whatever that is), time is going at several times warp speed and we rarely have time to catch our breath.  We spend so much time taking care of our families that we sometimes forget to prepare for the future.  Time goes by so fast that it seems surprising that time has caught up with us.  Some people wait until they become too old to work.

It is conventional wisdom that every person should prepare for retirement when they can just relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor. People who have spent years working and supporting their families should be given a chance to lay back, do what they want to and live life to the fullest without worrying about their finances.

Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to enjoy retirement without worrying about finances and money. People who want to enjoy their retirement without all the worries should prepare for their retirement early, when they are still able to work and have enough time to prepare effectively.  Unfortunately, a lot of people put off or are unable to save enough to pay for retirement.

All the experts agree that the best time to start preparing for retirement is when a person is young and has enough time to save an adequate amount of money.  The idea is to have enough money at retirement so that a person does not have to worry about working or earning more money after they retire.

Retirement planning is the key and saving a little on a regular basis is absolutely necessary.  It takes planning and every person should reward himself with a proper amount of savings so that when retirement finally gets here, he will be able to enjoy his new lifestyle without worrying.  Maybe even go places he always wanted to but did not have the time or resources.  Planning and saving are two areas where a lot of people have problems.

The savings plan should be the part of budget and treated the same way that you would any other bill.  Something should be set aside.  The amount is not as important as the fact of saving something, even a meager amount, every payday, to be used for retirement.

Having a retirement plan will mean that you do not have to worry about having your family take care of you when you grow old. It means not being scared that your children will be so busy living their own lives they don’t have time for you. Preparing and being ready for retirement means being secure in the knowledge that you will be able to take care of yourself, when you can no longer earn money the way you used to do.

For most of us, retirement will mean being free from having to go to work everyday.  Some people will look on retirement as the best years of their life because they no longer have to worry about working.  The children will be gone and when retirement comes, it’s just you and your spouse.

Start planning for your retirement and look forward to a life worth living after you are out of the daily grind.  You can look forward to a life of leisure and sometimes, the children or grandchildren who manage to take a break and visit you.

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