Life is fraught with difficult questions. Some can be resolved smoothly and some may require a great deal of effort. But, as per retirement planning is concerned, there are so many ways to secure our future that we really needn’t worry. The common problem in this realm is we don’t know how much money needs to be saved for that better tomorrow.
According to survey results, about 44% of the American professionals along with 29% of mature adults of the age group 55 and more hold that they don’t know what percentage of money should be saved for retirement. However, some of the people belonging to the age bracket of 55 and more opine $250,000 or may be less than this should be sufficient when they retire. Moreover, President of ShareBuilder Dan Greenshields holds retirement savings need to be pretty much higher as in old age an individual is more prone to illness which results in greater healthcare and medical expenses.
According to Mr. Dan Greenshields, an individual’s retirement savings should be around $500,000 and $1 million. However, it may vary depending on the living style of the person. To be more precise, he added “If you live in a low cost state you need less because the cost of living is lower” and “If you live in Washington DC, New York, or Los Angeles, you need more.”
It has been found that as much as 20% of the American population nearing their retirement age believes that saving $500,000 should be adequate while 13% aims at $750,000 retirement savings. The survey reports also reflect that about 20% of Americans are trying to save $1 million minimum and 6% aiming at $1.5 million savings before retiring. About 8% of the American population is striving to maintain $2 million in their bank accounts for the retirement.
However, it is interesting to note a large number of Americans do not calculate savings for retirement in actual terms. Almost 47% of them indulge in guesswork to decide the amount of savings to be adequate in their retirement age. In contrast, 29% of the Americans believe in doing their own research, 9% take the advice of the financial consultants and another 9% rely on the retirement calculator. Those who calculate their retirement savings on their own consider factors like healthcare and living costs, inflation, income at retirement age and Social Security income.
The Olympic Games are the largest event to all the athletes indeed. This is the platform that brings opportunity to demonstrate their skill and excellence before the spectators and sports analysts from across the world. The 2010 Winter Olympics or the 21st Winter Olympics is in full swing. This year, it has been organized in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from February 12 to 28, 2010. Athletes who are in their late teens, 20s, and 30s are vying for the best pennant in the sports realm. Not just the youths, as per the U.S. News analysis, 30 Olympic athletes are representing 19 countries in 9 sports, and all of them are at the age of 40 and above.
With 5 athletes Germany is leading the list of the older competitors and it is closely followed by Sweden and Canada. The list also include counties like the United States, Great Britain, Denmark, Nepal, Norway, Japan Latvia, Italy, Greece, Argentina, Mexico, Slovenia, Croatia, Switzerland, and the Russian Federation.
Some 50% (14 athletes) of all the older athletes are contending in curling events. Rest of the others are competing in sports like biathlon (3 athletes), bobsleigh (3 athletes), free style skiing (3 athletes), alpine skiing (2 athletes), and ice hockey (2 athletes). Some of these competitors are even in the age group of 50. The name of the senior-most competitor participating in Vancouver 2010 Olympics Games is Hubertus von Hohenlohe. This 51 year old alpine skier is representing Mexico. Tracy Sachtjen is the oldest American athlete. She is 40 years of age and competing in curling events.
It could unquestionably be said that to enjoy life, one must have sound health. If you are at the age of 50, you need to be extra cautious about your health. In most of the cases, it is seen that healthcare expenses increase after retirement. The main reason is that, at this age people become more prone to illness. But, there are innumerable activities which will facilitate you to remain fit after 50. Your food habit also plays an important role in this context.
Research shows that physical activity and exercise are the best ways for a healthy body after 50. But before you start exercising, you must know what type and amount of exercise would be right for you. According to the experts, at least twenty minutes of exercise will help your heart and lungs. You need to exercise at least three times a week.
Are you wondering what type of exercise will be perfect for you? You can consider walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, and water aerobics, etc. Weight training and yoga are also very good options to remain healthy after 50.
Along with exercise, proper diet is also important for keeping fit after 50. According to Dr. Robert Butler, president and CEO of the International Longevity Center, men or women over 50 must curtail iron supplements as it could cause heart diseases. He suggests that to remain fit, one needs to consume 5-7 fruits and vegetables a day. The diet must also include 30 grams (for men) and 21 grams (for women) of fiber per day. Fiber helps the digestive system to work well.
In short, if you want to keep fit after 50, you must watch what you eat, exercise regularly and lead a disciplined life.
According to a recent study, older adults, more precisely, healthy adults need lesser sleep than younger people. Dr Elizabeth Klerman, researcher from the Harvard Medical School, said, “The most parsimonious explanation for our results is that older people need less sleep.”
As per the research done by the scientists at the Clinical Research Centre of the University of Surrey, it is seen that older adults between the age group of 66 and 83 sleep 20 minutes lesser than the middle-aged adults from the age group of 40 to 55. Not just that, in the February edition of the journal SLEEP it has been stated that the duration of deep sleep also declines to a proportionate degree for both older age groups.
But, the most interesting thing is that although the older and healthy adults sleep less, but it does not mean that they feel tired at daytime than the younger people. Research also shows that it takes longer time to fall asleep for the older people and they sleep for lesser time as compared to the younger people.
Derk-Jan Dijk who is a professor of sleep and physiology at the University of Surrey, U.K. claims, “Our findings reaffirm the theory that it is not normal for older people to be sleepy during the daytime.” He also says, “Whether you are young or old, if you are sleepy during the day you either don’t get enough sleep or you may suffer from a sleep disorder.”
Retirement is one of the most important and inevitable part of everyone’s life. After shedding sweat for long years, this is the time when you would like to rest and enjoy the remaining days of your life by just relaxing and spending time with your grandchildren. But for dream retirement days, you must make right financial plans well in advance.
Once you start your retirement planning, you will have to cope with numerous difficult decisions. Retirement planning is a long term process. And you need to boost income potential in this context as it will come to a great help to you and your family at retirement age. With right tips, you can make your retirement days enjoyable and full of fun.
Since you know the specific time of your retirement, you must calculate approximately how much money you need to amass by that particular retirement date. There is no dearth of companies that will assist you to chalk out right financial planning. Retirement planning is a very difficult decision and advice and assistance of these companies will facilitate you to make the best possible decision. To pick up the best company, you must do some research and take help from your friends and colleagues.
Tax-advantaged plans like 401K or the corresponding non-profit program 403B could come to a great help for your retirement planning. Through 401(k) account you can determine how much you need to invest for your retirement.
Learn as much as possible about retirement planning process. If you are well informed, you can make tactical retirement planning. It is strongly recommended not to fall for any investment scams. To resolve any doubt or any such suspicious contact, you can get in touch with the Secretary of State or your local Better Business Bureau.
One of the greatest advantages of 401(k) account is that it allows you to specify how your retirement stash would be invested. And by knowing those, you can use your funds to get optimum results. According to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt, around 69% 401(k) plans offer 10 to 19 investment options, which you can opt for. On the other hand, 11% 401(k) accounts offer 25 or more options. So, before choosing your 401(k) accounts, learn about various investment options that are available with 401(k) accounts and then pick your chosen ones.
So, you might be getting interested to know why the investment options are important for you, isn’t it? To tell you in short, there are plenty of reasons. 401(k) fees may differ at a large extent depending upon the investments chosen. It has been found that the average expense ratio of most of the 401(k) plans lies between 0.5% and 0.84%. Only 33% of the 401(k) plans have an average expense less than 0.5%. Only 10% plans charge more than 0.85% fees.
Moreover, there are also ‘recordkeeping fees’ that are levied to the retirement savers, which most of them pay by subtracting it from their investment revenue. Some 401(k) accounts are also charged a ‘direct fee’.
It has been observed that most of the employees fail to register to 401(k) of employers and hence miss the opportunity to actively participate in the investment choice process. And this is the reason why many organizations are currently enrolling their employees in retirement accounts automatically, unless they specifically choose to stay away from it.
The most accommodating part of your 401(k) is perhaps the contribution by your employer. However, it has been observed that many organizations have stopped their matching contributions.
Finally, when you reach at the retirement age, you will largely be able to decide how and where to invest. If you know about all the available options in detail, it becomes quite easy to take right decision. Happy investing!
