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About Retirement Calculator, Inc.

Retirement Calculator, Inc. provides the tools and resources necessary to assist you in making critical economic decisions regarding your retirement future.

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Colleen's Corner

Asset Allocation

Often financial "experts" make asset allocation difficult to understand. My goal in this series of articles is for you to understand asset allocation thoroughly, in an easy to understand format.

Selecting A Financial Advisor

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selectingafinancialadvisor.com
Selecting A Financial Advisor

Do you remember when our elders told us that we would eventually have to start planning for the future? Selecting a financial advisor isn't what we had in mind. As a youth, we never really took the time to understand the importance of that. But, as time moved on and we moved out, we knew exactly what they meant.

Life is hard. Life takes a lot of decision making. We have many short-term and long-term aspirations and goals. We have concerns for ourselves and loved ones. What we need to do is come up with a plan that will put it into perspective.

The first step in achieving that financial security and freedom is selecting a financial advisor. This is usually the hardest part of the process. Where to look? What to look for? You should do your homework. Remember - you're not just selecting a financial advisor - you're planning for the rest of your life.

When selecting a financial advisor, make sure that he or she is licensed. Find out how they will be compensated for their services. Establish a good relationship. Make sure that they are in it with you for the long haul. And last but not least, make sure that they have your best interests in mind.

Your relationship with your financial advisor is very important. He or she must know pretty much everything there is to know about your situation in order to devise a plan that will best suit your needs and wants. Don't focus on one aspect, but look at the broader picture. This will be your road map.

After selecting a financial advisor, he or she should sit down with you and discuss your portfolio. Whether it's RRSP's (Registered Retirement Savings Plans), annuities, 401k's, securities, mutual funds, IRA's (Individual Retirement Accounts), insurance or healthcare, understand where you stand and what changes need to be made, if any. Diversify.

Your financial advisor should also make revisions at least once a year based on your lifestyle changes and priorities. Expect the unexpected. Your life changes and so should your plan. It may involve your income, education, purchases, vacations, divorce, bankruptcy or repossessions. Whatever it is, prepare for it.

If you've never given this idea much thought, maybe you should. If you have, then maybe you should do something about it if you haven't already. The best thing you can do for yourself is know where you stand right now and what you can do to fix any problems you may have.

The retirement calculator is your first step towards reaching your goals. What is the retirement calculator you ask? It is free software that gives you tools and resources necessary to assist you in making critical economic decisions regarding your retirement.

This software was recommended by Ray Martin, the top financial analyst for CBS News The Early Show. Selecting a financial advisor is as easy as a download. Install and use. Click on the red button and download this amazing tool. It's free and easy to use. What do you have to lose? It's your future. 

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Retirement Homes is a comprehensive directory of retirement homes, retirement communities, senior housing, long term care and elder care facilities. Retirement Homes will help you learn about all your retirement living, senior housing, and long term care options in the USA and Canada.

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Retire In a Weekend

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Analysis of the Economics of Early Social Security Withdrawal

Robert J. Phillips
Chief Retirement Consultant

Deciding whether or not to take the early withdrawal of social security at age 62 can be difficult. If you need this income at 62 to fund your retirement the decision is fairly straightforward. Take it early! On the other hand, if you have another source of revenue to fund your retirement your decision will be primarily based on lifestyle, health and investment preferences.

Several factors can affect your decision. First is your life expectancy. If you are in good health and have a family history of living beyond 90 then waiting for full benefits may be best. Two other factors impact this decision. First and most important is the value of money or your expected return from your investments. If you are using other investments instead of social security to fund your retirement you should use the rate of return of these investments as your value of money. There is another way to look at the value of money. If you do not require the social security money to live, you can invest the distributions for the future. The rate of return of this investment is your value of money. If your investments will make larger returns such as stocks this would favor taking the early withdrawal.

The last factor impacting your decision is inflation. Social security includes an annual adjustment based on inflation. You cannot control this variable but you should be aware of its impact. If future inflation is significant it will favor a later full distribution

FREE Social Security Calculator:

Find Out Your Breakeven Age

We developed a calculator to assist in analyzing the impact of taking early benefits at age 62 or waiting for full benefits at age 66 to 67 depending on the year you were born...If you were born in 1960 or later your full benefits will begin at age 67 and your reduction for early benefits at age 62 will be 30%. If you were born between 1946 and 1960 your full benefits begin as early as age 66. We have included a chart that summarizes information.

To use the calculator you need to input your year of birth. You also need to input a value of money up to 10% and a projected inflation adjustment. The calculator analyzes income generated over time from both the early and full benefit investments. It calculates the age at which full social security will catch up and breakeven with the early withdrawal. If you were born before 1960 your breakeven age will be impacted by the year you were born. An early breakeven age favors waiting for full benefits.

The social security calculator is not the final answer whether to take an early withdrawal but it does give you additional economic data to assist in that decision. Ultimately you must balance income, investments and lifestyle to optimize your enjoyment during your retirement years.