Retirement Plan
Decline in ownership of life insurance
This week an insurance research firm reported that ownership in life insurance has reached a 50-year low, with nearly a third of U.S. households not having a form of this financial protection. As the benefits industry begins Life Insurance Awareness Month in September, Unum (NYSE: UNM) shares the concern that this decline exposes working Americans to financial uncertainty.
Read more on News-Medical-Net
The misnamed Employee Free Choice Act does more than take away workers’ rights to vote in private. It also gives control of the workplace to government bureaucrats.
Government officials would write the collective bargaining agreements of most newly organized companies. The government would set not just wages and benefits but all business operations that significantly affect workers, such as promotion procedures, retirement plans, health benefits, subcontracting, mergers, work assignments, even the machines used to run a plant. Employers would lose the ability to pursue their business strategies, and workers would lose all say about their workplace for two years.
EFCA effectively constitutes a government takeover of America’s workplaces.
http://www.heritage.org/News/employee-free-choice-act.cfm
Tell President Obama and Congress where you stand.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=12990786&type=ML
If you don’t do something right now to assure your retirement, you’ll end up living in an alley fighting the stray cats and dogs for your meals. Sounds blunt, but it is a fact.
I actually did not think about retirement until it was almost to late. I have seen other people my age do the same thing. The reason is NO ONE talks about it. We don’t want to be reminded that we are getting older. We walk around spending money, not saving it. We buy every gadget we can get our hands on, or do the typical ‘keep up with the Jones’ where we must do, look and be better then our neighbor. STOP! Take a deep breath, exhale and let’s review what we should be looking and thinking about instead.
Your retirement plan will not look like your parent’s retirement plans. IRA’s were just being created back when your parents were planning, or not planning their retirement. 401k’s did not exist. So, what did they rely on for their retirement money? Pension plans, social security and savings accounts. Also, people did not live as long as we do now, so their money did not have to go as far.
Your retirement will be different. You will live longer and have a more expensive lifestyle. Back in the day, your parents could live on 70% of their income, but that probably won’t do for you.
Social Security for us may not be a reality. As they say, no one has your back, sorry! We cannot rely on the government to subsidize our retirement. The Social Security system is broken, and many of us have heard that we will be lucky if we see a dime of the money we invested into it. As the baby boomers retire and put a strain on Social Security, benefits will have to be cut or taxes raised. For those in or near retirement, your benefits are pretty safe. For the younger crowd, don’t count on receiving all of the benefit estimated in the statement sent to you by the Social Security Administration every year, three months before your birthday. Make sure you read that statement by the way; you will find that there are no guarantees being made!
What can you do now? It is never to early or late to start saving for retirement. However you decide to structure your investment is up to you. But like I have been saying over and over again, start saving now! Invest in an IRA or if you are self-employed, consider a SEP IRA. You can also contribute to your employers 401K plan, and open a money market savings account.
Your contributions to a 401K or IRA plan lower your taxable income, so you immediately cut your income tax bill. (Be greedy!) Plus, the investments grow tax-deferred — i.e., you don’t pay taxes on the growth and income until you make withdrawals in retirement leaving more of your money to compound through the years.
**Please speak to your CPA or Financial Advisor about all your options and find out what is best for you before making any decisions.
By © Arthur, The MLM Business Home
Building a mlm business part-time is the greatest gift you can give to yourself when you retired. Retirement should be a time when you can relax and forget about work completely. Unfortunately, many people are unable to retire comfortably due to the lack of proper financial planning.
When retirement hit them, many find themselves in an awkward position as they do not have enough savings and their insurance are not adequate to cover their lifestyle that they want. Investing in stocks and property may or may not earned them the income that they need for retirement as it really depends on the market condition when you retired.
You could try your luck on buying lottery or on the gambling table but you should know that the odds are against you. That is how the lottery and gambling business operate and make money by engaging mathematical expert to design games that the probability are in favour of them.
What you should be seeking are money making opportunities that the probability are in your favour. One business you should consider and think about is building an online mlm business. First, remember that an online mlm business is not a get rich quick scam. It require mental hard work in the beginning as you need first to educate yourself on how stuff work on the internet.
You have to learn and gain knowledge in area such as:
– Creating and updating website.
– Optimizing your website with relevant keywords for free web traffics.
– Bid for targeted keywords using Google Adwords (http://adwords.google.com).
– Article marketing to drive free traffics to your business.
– Submit online press release etc.
That is why in any kind of offline or online business, it take both time and effort. However, the great thing about building an online mlm business is its leverage income. Leverage income means that you earn a lifetime commissions by grooming team leaders that were recruited by you. You guide and teach them to duplicate your success.
In the long-run, an online mlm business opportunity beats any other online opportunities due to its lifetime leverage income. Leverage income take into consideration that all human have a limited amount of time and money. Alone, we have limited amount of advertising budget. Alone, we can only managed a limited number of high traffics business website.
As humans, we need to sleep, rest and spend time with our family. Our time to run our business is also limited. There are no way a person can earn a five to six figure of consistent online income without any kind of team effort in the long-term.
Planning to make more money and living a comfortable life after retirement is definitely possible. Building a successful business is a slow process, however, the knowledge gain will become part of you. That is the real secret of wealth of the rich and wealthy.
One of the rules of life is that, sooner or later, everyone has to stop working and retire. For some, this is a golden opportunity to enjoy life and do things they never got the chance to do while they were busy with working and raising a family. For others, however, retirement can be a very scary prospect, with no money coming in and yet some of the biggest expenses still needing to be taken care of. Even though work stops, the truth is that life (and your bills) doesn’t. Here are some ways to plan ahead and develop a secure source of income for when you retire.
The most important factor in planning out your retirement income is to plan ahead- the sooner you start to plan, the better. As soon as you reach that stage of life where you are receiving a secure income, you should begin to put money aside in order to draw off of when you retire. You can do this by diversifying your investments- small contributions to several areas will add up when you retire to provide you with a comfortable living- if you are very wise and frugal you may find that your retirement income is actually more than your regular working income was!
The best places to put this money are in areas where they will be able to accrue interest, especially of the compound variety. Some safe investments include mutual funds and saving bonds, in which an investor agrees to leave the money aside for a stated amount of time in order to earn the interest that will often be guaranteed. In some areas, it is also possible to invest in Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) which will not only accrue interest until the time you retire, they are also usually tax deductible in the present.
You should also look for a job in which a regular contribution is made by both the company and by yourself to a pension plan. Ask your employer if it is possible to have some money deducted from each paycheck and deposited to a specific pension plan- many employers will meet the contributions made by the employee.
The most important thing when you are planning out your retirement income is to make sure that the money you invest for that purpose remains there. Many people lose their retirement nest egg in emergencies or even investing in opportunities that seem iron clad, but aren’t. When you make investments towards your retirement, do not touch them. Remember that this money will be all you have at that time in your life, and if you lose it you are going to be in for some hard times, with no chance at recuperation. Any risks as far as investments go should be undertaken with money that you budget for that purpose, and not with any of the money that you plan on setting aside for retirement purposes.
Prudence and long-term planning are the watchwords when you begin to develop your secure retirement income. Make a plan and stick to it, and your golden years will be the best time of your life.
Are you starting to plan your retirement and worrying about how the state of the economy will effect your life style after you turn 65?Are you watching your friends make plans to cash in their paper assets, move to a smaller home, and cut down on spending? This is what many people are doing in the face of a recession in the United States right now. But you imagined having a little money to travel, visit Paris maybe, or go on a cruise. Is all of that just a fantasy now?
Well some people have discovered out how to make the dream a reality and retire in style by living and investing in the heavenly paradise of Costa Rica! It all begins with the real estate market. Those who know say the real estate market in Costa Rica is one of the most stable in the world, and prices are easily comparable to US property or lower. You could easily find a beautiful beach house for $300,000 overlooking the ocean. Or buy a piece of land near the beach for $100,000 and build your dream home. Imagine spend your days walking on the beach, a drink on the terrace, watching the sunset, and socializing with new friends who share your enthusiasm for a good retirement!
You may think it sounds crazy, that people only go to Costa Rica on vacation, but that’s no longer true. More and more foreigners are retiring in Costa Rica, especially Americans but also Europeans and other foreigners. And they are all doing it the same way: investing in property which will only go up in value for years to come, while living their retirement in the sunshine. But how? you ask. The following are just a few examples of the things that make it so easy to live the dream and retire in Costa Rica:
ONLY 2 HOURS AWAY
Costa Rica is only 2 hours away from Florida and all the comforts of home. Take a log weekend in Miami and do some shopping, or grab a connector flight to visit your family, and have them come visit often! And be careful who you invite to come visit you, it is so easy to get to Costa Rica that they will certainly come!
ESPANGLISH
Maybe not everyone speaks English, but no matter where you are, there is probably someone around who will be able to translate. A large majority of the population can speak at least some English, and most of the private schools are English Immersion, so from a young age many of these kids are bilingual. And hey, why not take some Spanish lessons yourself? Stretch your brain a little and make some friends while you are at it.
COST OF LIVING
The cost of living is comparable to the US if not slightly lower. There are some items which are shockingly inexpensive, while others are what you are used to at home. Groceries, restaurants and shopping tend to be about what as you are used to, however workers such as a live in maid or gardener are much less expensive than in the US. During retirement, it can often be a great blessing to have people around to help you with the daily chores.
HEALTH CARE
Health Care in Costa Rica is known for its quality and inexpensive price tag. Many of the doctors are trained in the US or Europe, and hospitals are very modern with all the latest equipment and technologies. Not to gossip but Costa Rica is known for its movie star plastic surgery!
MEDICARE
Both the Costa Rican government and Medicare and are making it extremely easy for ex-patriots to receive their Medicare cheques in Costa Rica through a network of banks in now offering direct deposit to your Costa Rican bank account.
VISAS & LEGAL ISSUES
Do I need a visa, or how does it work? If you are 45 years or older you can apply to be part of a retirement program set up by the Costa Rican government to encourage foreigners to come to Costa Rica. Benefits include tax exemptions and incentives, but the greatest thing is that you don’t have to pay tax on your retirement income in Costa Rica!
CAN I OWN PROPETY IN COSTA RICA?
In Costa Rica foreigners are in no way penalized when purchasing property. Foreigners have the same rights as a Costa Rican and the law will treat them as an equal. You can also incorporate your own company and purchase the property through your company for additional tax breaks.
OF COURSE THE BEAUTY …
The words Cost Rica actually mean Rich Coast, a name Christopher Columbus bestowed on this country overflowing with natural beauty, lush rainforests, mountains, cloud forests, and sandy beaches. Costa Rica is world famous for its diverse natural habitat and beautiful sunsets.
So there you have it, not a bad list of reasons to rent out your house, cash in your paper assets, and retire to a beach house in Costa Rica! There may be a coming recession, but you don’t have to live in it, or let it spoil your long awaited liberation from the rat race.
Schneider: Avid MSU football fan gets surprise visit from athletic department
EAST LANSING — It’s only fitting that Tom Tabler’s 90th birthday is Saturday – on the day of the MSU Spartans’ first football game of the season. Tabler is, by all accounts, as avid a Spartans football fan as they come.
Read more on Eaton Rapids Community News
French unions pressure scandal-hit minister
Trade unions on Friday branded France’s labour minister unable to defend the government’s cherished pension reform, despite fresh backing from President Nicolas Sarkozy over a damaging scandal.
Read more on AFP via Yahoo! Philippines News
For Aging New Mexico Chimps, Retirement or Medical Research?
A move of some of 186 chimpanzees to a research center in Texas has spurred outrage among animal rights advocates, primate experts and politicians.
Read more on New York Times
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