The 401(k) Challenge!
Welcome to the 2013 Rockbridge 401(k) Challenge. This is the easiest competition you will ever face and will take less than 10 minutes to complete! The challenge is simple, increase your employee 401(k) contributions by 2% or more and see if you actually notice the difference in your day-to-day life. Our guess is that you […]
Finding Advice for More Modest Retirement Investments
The New York Times recently published an article about the various ways people are using the web for retirement planning. More and more companies are trying to find solutions to help people with less than $500k in assets manage money in a similar fashion to large pension funds. At Rockbridge, we have cost effectively been doing […]
It’s a New Year: Get Your Retirement Back On Track
In a recent WSJ article, Seven Resolutions to Get Your Nest Egg in Shape, the author points out that many Americans are behind on their preparations for retirement. Below are some eye-opening stats: – 67% of workers say they are behind schedule in planning and saving for retirement! – Less that 60% of […]
What Grade Does Your Retirement Account Get?
Schools and parents have always taught students to strive for A’s and B’s. In fact, it would be hard to do well in school without using grades as goals or milestones. Unfortunately after school, grades fall off the radar. By translating retirement savings into something as simple as a letter grade, retirement preparation can be […]
Diversify your 401(k)
If you currently work for a publicly traded company, there is a good chance that you own some of their stock in your 401(k). You may even have incentives from the company to own more of it. In fact, some companies make their matches or profit sharing contributions in their own stock which just increases […]
Top Retirement Mistake
The Wall Street Journal recently published a great article called “Five Big Retirement Mistakes”. The top mistake listed was not paying for financial guidance. “People who have no problem paying for the services of an accountant or lawyer often balk at the prospect of cutting a check to pay for investment advice. Instead, they rely […]
401(k) Fee Disclosure Coming Soon . . .
If you have a 401(k) account, your next statement may not look much different, but it will contain some very interesting and powerful information. During the last several years, increased focus has been given to the expenses and fees charged to retirement plan participants. The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published regulations under the Employee […]
Maximizing Social Security benefits requires financial planning
Social Security planning has become an increasingly complex area of financial planning. As more couples reach retirement age, it’s important to review all the scenarios to maximize your hard earned Social Security benefits. Mary Beth Franklin, editor of Investment News, explains how “with the right elections, married couples can dramatically up their (Social Security) payouts.” […]
Is our retirement system broken?
Professor Teresa Ghilarducci has an opinion piece in the NY Times this week lambasting our evolving approach to retirement. She has some good points. Our Ridiculous Approach to Retirement By TERESA GHILARDUCCI Published: July 21, 2012
Planning for Medicare – Part Deux
The new 2012 Medicare & You booklets have been mailed and Medicare eligibles are receiving mailings from insurers daily about their products. This booklet contains over 150 pages of details about Medicare and the related Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans. Here are some of the key things to consider when choosing coverage for 2012: Medicare […]
