Sometimes I wish I was still in the military. I miss the camaraderie, doing something different all the time, and the chance of adrenaline driven action. Most of all, I wish I had access to the Thrift Savings Plan. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) became available to the military in late 2001. It’s a 401(k) [...]
Read More» Posted by LongFidelity Investments reported that the average balance of a 401(k) account grew to a record $77,300 at the end of 2012. This is an 11.87% increase from 2011′s average 401(k) balance of $69,100. Further, Fidelity says participants saved an average of 8% of their annual salary. When employer contributions (matching) is included, the amount increased [...]
Read More» Posted by LongIt wasn’t really that long ago when people used to work for one employer their entire life. That was when the reward of a pension was commonplace. With the proliferation of the 401(k) account that puts retirement planning squarely on the shoulders of the employee, changes have occurred in our culture that makes changing careers [...]
Read More» Posted by LongLast this week, I was reading Individual Investors Help Drive Stock Surge in The Wall Street Journal. The opening sentence, “Small investors are jumping back into the stock market after abandoning it during the financial crisis” got me thinking about why this is happening. The market is reaching levels not seen since 2007, prior to [...]
Read More» Posted by LongThe year is almost over, but it’s not too late to contribute to an IRA. You have until Monday April 15, 2013 to contribute to a 2012 Traditional or Roth IRA. The maximum amount you can contribute to an IRA for 2012 is $5,000. If you are age 50 or over, you can contribute an [...]
Read More» Posted by LongI’ve always thought that IRAs were pretty sexy. Being able to invest money in an account that grows tax-free, with tax-free withdrawals on all of the gains (as in the case with qualified distributions from a Roth IRA) is an extremely generous incentive to save for retirement. Pretty sexy, until The Wall Street Journal burst [...]
Read More» Posted by Long