Retirement

Your 401(k) can be either a trick or a treat depending on how you use it. Not funding your 401(k) is a trick that could jeopardize your financial future, while regular contributions are one of the best financial treats you can give yourself.

Part Three of Three Joslyn G Ewart, CFP® — September 15, 2020 There may be no better starting place for a discussion of Retirement Security in a Pandemic, III: Invest for the long-term, than a refresher regarding the marshmallow test. The marshmallow test was a study on delayed gratification led by Stanford University professor, Walter Mischel. The study offered young children two choices: one immediate small reward—a marshmallow—or, two small rewards if they waited for a period of time ...

Part Two of Three Joslyn G Ewart, CFP® — August 4, 2020 It is not uncommon for considerations of retirement security to begin with a debate about the capital markets: Will they go up or will they go down? This focus—just as you are trying to plan your retirement savings, establish your retirement date, or generate your desired amount of retirement income—can derail you from the actual considerations that lead to retirement security. The purpose of this series is ...

Part One of Three Joslyn G Ewart, CFP® — July 14, 2020 A nugget of wisdom that Warren Buffet has passed along more than once offers the perfect introduction to our discussion about retirement security: You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out. In other words, any investor whose retirement plan was not formulated on a solid foundation was just faced with the truth during the pandemic-driven rapid market decline of March 2020. If ...

For the past twelve weeks, we have provided weekly perspective about the medical and financial crises that struck in the early spring. As the nation segues from sheltering-in-place to heading back to some normal activities, many of us face a similar concern: What can we do to minimize our risk from the pandemic? This concern will likely be around for some time. Therefore, we would like to share the following New York Times article that offers helpful guidance for ...

Your 401(k) Plan: Business that’s Personal Over the past couple of decades, “401(k)” has become the catchall term for retirement savings. As financial advisors, we at Entrust could not be more pleased that 401(k) plans are widely familiar. After all, clients want a comfortable income during retirement, just as they do while working, and that requires assets. Many aspire to leave a legacy as well. Speaking of comfort and legacy, assuming you have good longevity, retirement will be the ...

Good News, Bad News for Your Retirement Accounts: The SECURE Act If you own a retirement account, you could experience good or bad news in the year ahead due to the recent passage of the “SECURE Act.” Good News If you have not yet been required to begin distributions from your retirement account(s) (the minimum amount you must withdraw from your account each year), you are now permitted to wait until you reach the age of 72, providing you ...

It is easy to be daunted by the need to save for retirement. For starters, your retirement savings plan requires setting goals, determining timelines for achieving them and the acceptance of investment risk, so that your invested retirement accounts may appreciate. However, aiming to secure your retirement does not stop there. The next step of the process is to identify how much income your portfolio of assets can reasonably generate, year after year, when you stop working. How do ...

Owning your own home was a fundamental American value for many of us when we grew up. It was considered a symbol of success, of having “made it.” Those who did not felt they had missed out on something, that not owning helped prove their marginal financial success. For instance, Joslyn remembers her father freely expressing his frustration about not owning their family home. Because he was a minister, the tradition was for the congregation to pay a very ...

Entrust hosts periodic educational sessions to help women ensure that they are on track financially. One vital educational topic is: What Matters Most in Retirement? Income. In fact, just the other day we enjoyed a robust discussion at our session that was devoted to retirement planning. The women in the group who admitted they are not yet on track with respect to their retirement planning reported that they lost ground due to divorce. Fortunately, our session showed it is ...