Clint Eastwood playing "Dirty Harry" warns, "A man's got to know his limitations." This advice is particularly appropriate for financial planners and advisors who are giving advice beyond their expertise. Though I am biased because I have over 27 years of technical expertise in the IRA and retirement plan area, the lack of knowledge in this area can cost clients hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
There are a few things to consider when you are planning for old age. You have to reach a decision with regard to the income you will need in order to live a comfortable life as a retiree. You should take into account the medical expenses and vacations that you will have while reducing costs such as your child's education and rental fees if you own a house at the same time. You should also determine the amount you need to regularly save at this very moment in order to reach your goal. In case you do not have enough yet, you can start small with what you have at the moment. It will also benefit you to select the plan that will help you achieve your requirements. Also, it is advisable for you to invest a certain amount of money on a monthly basis in order to enjoy a healthy life as a retiree. Lastly, start saving money now. This will be one of the best suggestions that you will ever get in your life.
It would be a waste someday during our non working days to live a life that we cannot enjoy because we don't have enough savings. We all know how hard and tedious it is to work tirelessly. We need to have a vision of ourselves harvesting the fruits of our labors. Having a pleasurable vision of our retired selves on how we will live our lives someday could help us pursue and endure our tasks. If we think of it thoroughly, it's not only us that would benefit from succeeding the plan, most especially our children. All we need are inspirations that would give reachable advantages to us.
All these things would look and sound challenging but there are financial planners that could assist you in achieving your plans. These professionals can prepare financial planning for folks covering various features of personal finance. It is indeed hard to manage all these things by ourselves since we are also busy working and dealing with other concerns in our lives. Good thing that there are experts that can show us the pros and cons within our plans and make adjustments to fit our needs. They determine all our financial goals by listening to our priorities and purposes in life as well as the other essential factors of our personal lives to aid us in obtaining what we desire in the future.
Retirement Planning is a Family Affair.Even if one spouse normally takes care of the retirement investments both need to be in a position to take charge of them. This means both spouses need basic information that can let them take over the investments and funds at a moments' notice. This information includes:The names and contact information for all of the professionals used including retirement planners, financial advisors, insurance agents, brokers, accountants, tax preparers and attorneys.
If you are a client looking for an advisor and you have a significant IRA, I would suggest that you learn something about IRAs by reading a book by one of the authors mentioned above or conducting some other research. At a minimum, ask an advisor what expertise they have in IRAs and retirement plans. If the advisor's answer is, "What do you want to know?" I would repeat the question, "What expertise do you have in IRAs and retirement plans?" If they provide some vague information, ask them what books they have read, seminars they have attended, or can they show you any credentials that would certify their expertise in the IRA or retirement planning area.Lack of expertise in the IRA and retirement plan area could, in many cases, be of more consequence than an advisor's ability to pick the appropriate investments.Expert advice is particularly important during life's significant transitions such as retirement and planning for your estate. Incidentally, important transitions are also a great time to have money transferred to a new money manager, one who hopefully is competent with IRA and retirement plan issues.
Is amazing how many questions a retirement planning consultant, or financial planner must ask these days to comply with all the federal and state requirements. There are what they call; "know your customer laws," and therefore the practitioner must ask all the questions and fill out all the forms. Then there are the questions that the retirement customer asks. Sometimes they are silly things such as; "should I be buying gold?"Another challenge that retirement planners and financial consultants must deal with is that they generally work for a larger firm that also has rules to stay out of hot water with the SEC and consumer protection agencies. Often this can get in the way of asset allocation when a given client wants to play it safe for their retirement, and then gets some wild hair up their rear end to go and make a silly and non-prudent financial investment decision on their own.
So what should you expect out of a retirement planner? According to Investopedia, a retirement planner is "A practicing professional who helps individuals prepare a retirement plan." That's pretty straight forward. Two certifications to look for are the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). The CFP certification requires a college degree, passing a 10 hr exam, 3 years of experience in the financial planning field and an extensive background check. The CFA requires a bachelors degree, passing 3 6 hr tests and 4 years of work experience.Baron's recently published an article identifying the top financial advisors for 2010. When looking at which companies held the top spot for each of the states the outcome was as follows:Merrill Lynch (Top position in 20 states) Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Top position in 7 states) Wells Fargo (Top position in 6 states) UBS (Top position in 5 states) Raymond James (Top position in 2 states).So if you want the help of a reputable retirement planner you can't go wrong with any of these companies. Alternatively, if you don't need such high-end advice then look for a local advisor with the right certifications and check as many references as you can.By the way, don't forget to sign up for those retirement club benefits. Even if you don't want to admit you're getting old those grey hairs can get you some serious discounts!
There are a few things to consider when you are planning for old age. You have to reach a decision with regard to the income you will need in order to live a comfortable life as a retiree. You should take into account the medical expenses and vacations that you will have while reducing costs such as your child's education and rental fees if you own a house at the same time. You should also determine the amount you need to regularly save at this very moment in order to reach your goal. In case you do not have enough yet, you can start small with what you have at the moment. It will also benefit you to select the plan that will help you achieve your requirements. Also, it is advisable for you to invest a certain amount of money on a monthly basis in order to enjoy a healthy life as a retiree. Lastly, start saving money now. This will be one of the best suggestions that you will ever get in your life.
It would be a waste someday during our non working days to live a life that we cannot enjoy because we don't have enough savings. We all know how hard and tedious it is to work tirelessly. We need to have a vision of ourselves harvesting the fruits of our labors. Having a pleasurable vision of our retired selves on how we will live our lives someday could help us pursue and endure our tasks. If we think of it thoroughly, it's not only us that would benefit from succeeding the plan, most especially our children. All we need are inspirations that would give reachable advantages to us.
All these things would look and sound challenging but there are financial planners that could assist you in achieving your plans. These professionals can prepare financial planning for folks covering various features of personal finance. It is indeed hard to manage all these things by ourselves since we are also busy working and dealing with other concerns in our lives. Good thing that there are experts that can show us the pros and cons within our plans and make adjustments to fit our needs. They determine all our financial goals by listening to our priorities and purposes in life as well as the other essential factors of our personal lives to aid us in obtaining what we desire in the future.
Retirement Planning is a Family Affair.Even if one spouse normally takes care of the retirement investments both need to be in a position to take charge of them. This means both spouses need basic information that can let them take over the investments and funds at a moments' notice. This information includes:The names and contact information for all of the professionals used including retirement planners, financial advisors, insurance agents, brokers, accountants, tax preparers and attorneys.
If you are a client looking for an advisor and you have a significant IRA, I would suggest that you learn something about IRAs by reading a book by one of the authors mentioned above or conducting some other research. At a minimum, ask an advisor what expertise they have in IRAs and retirement plans. If the advisor's answer is, "What do you want to know?" I would repeat the question, "What expertise do you have in IRAs and retirement plans?" If they provide some vague information, ask them what books they have read, seminars they have attended, or can they show you any credentials that would certify their expertise in the IRA or retirement planning area.Lack of expertise in the IRA and retirement plan area could, in many cases, be of more consequence than an advisor's ability to pick the appropriate investments.Expert advice is particularly important during life's significant transitions such as retirement and planning for your estate. Incidentally, important transitions are also a great time to have money transferred to a new money manager, one who hopefully is competent with IRA and retirement plan issues.
Is amazing how many questions a retirement planning consultant, or financial planner must ask these days to comply with all the federal and state requirements. There are what they call; "know your customer laws," and therefore the practitioner must ask all the questions and fill out all the forms. Then there are the questions that the retirement customer asks. Sometimes they are silly things such as; "should I be buying gold?"Another challenge that retirement planners and financial consultants must deal with is that they generally work for a larger firm that also has rules to stay out of hot water with the SEC and consumer protection agencies. Often this can get in the way of asset allocation when a given client wants to play it safe for their retirement, and then gets some wild hair up their rear end to go and make a silly and non-prudent financial investment decision on their own.
So what should you expect out of a retirement planner? According to Investopedia, a retirement planner is "A practicing professional who helps individuals prepare a retirement plan." That's pretty straight forward. Two certifications to look for are the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). The CFP certification requires a college degree, passing a 10 hr exam, 3 years of experience in the financial planning field and an extensive background check. The CFA requires a bachelors degree, passing 3 6 hr tests and 4 years of work experience.Baron's recently published an article identifying the top financial advisors for 2010. When looking at which companies held the top spot for each of the states the outcome was as follows:Merrill Lynch (Top position in 20 states) Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Top position in 7 states) Wells Fargo (Top position in 6 states) UBS (Top position in 5 states) Raymond James (Top position in 2 states).So if you want the help of a reputable retirement planner you can't go wrong with any of these companies. Alternatively, if you don't need such high-end advice then look for a local advisor with the right certifications and check as many references as you can.By the way, don't forget to sign up for those retirement club benefits. Even if you don't want to admit you're getting old those grey hairs can get you some serious discounts!
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