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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.
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NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
30 yr fixed mtg 3.80% 3.76%
15 yr fixed mtg 3.11% 3.02%
5/1 ARM 2.69% 2.68%
30 yr fixed jumbo mtg 4.38% 4.39%
5/1 jumbo ARM 2.94% 2.89%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
$30K HELOC 4.60% 4.59%
$50K HELOC 4.24% 4.24%
$30K home equity loan 5.77% 5.76%
$50K home equity loan 5.50% 5.47%
$75K home equity loan 5.47% 5.44%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
36 month new car loan 3.13% 3.13%
48 month new car loan 3.24% 3.25%
60 month new car loan 3.34% 3.35%
72 month new car loan 3.31% 3.31%
36 month used car loan 4.36% 4.36%
Rates may include points
NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGESTODAY+/-LAST WEEK
6 month CD 0.46% 0.46%
1 yr CD 0.70% 0.70%
5 yr CD 1.38% 1.38%
1 yr IRA CD 0.71% 0.71%
5 yr IRA CD 1.49% 1.49%
Rates may include points

Get Ready for Retirement Quickly

Colleen Mulder-Seward, MBA
Retirement Calculator, Inc.
retirementquick.com

Get Ready for Retirement Quickly

There really is no magic retirement plan that can get you ready for retirement quickly. But the good news is there is still hope. The sooner you start, the more likely that you will meet your retirement goals - both financially and emotionally.  Even if you are late (over fifty) to the retirement planning stage, there is no need to surrender to a bleak retirement future.

At a recent BetterInvesting CompuFest, the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Lori Schock, warned against different investment scams.  Often times, unscrupulous, so-called financial advisors take advantage of investors looking to make money quickly.  According to Ms. Schock, "they use buzz-words to sell you their investment products, like "guaranteed", "limited offer", "safe as a Certificate of Deposit", and "risk-free"."  Use of complicated language is also used to confuse you. They do this because they know most people will not ask for clarification, because it may make them appear stupid.  Ms. Schock also advises, to be weary of advisors who recommend exotic or unusual products.  If your inner voice is telling you it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

"Pump and Dump" are the most common investment scams. These scams are where promoters urge you to "buy now, or lose out."  You may be contacted via email, telephone, and the internet. When people invest in the stock, the price rises sharply. The con artists sell at the peak and leave the investors holding an empty bag after their promotions effort stops.

But, if you are looking for hot investment tips, there are four internet sites I can recommend:

If you feel you were the victim of fraud, (1) act quickly, (2) call the advisor who sold you the security and write a letter to their firm, (3) contact your state regulator at www.nassaa.org and (4) use the SEC's online complaint form at www.sec.gov.

If you visited any of the hot investment tip web sites I suggested, consider yourself lucky.  You have had a preview of how easy it is to fall victim to a scam. If you did try to invest in any of these scams, you will get a polite message from Ms. Schock's office advising you that you have been taken.  Lucky for you the government, at least in this case, won't take your money.

Start Late, Finish Rich is a good resource book for late comers.  In Bach's book, he says that anyone can finish rich, if they are willing to "spend less, save more, and make more." The book describes simple ways to accomplish to this. To stay informed about the latest retirement news and how to avoid investment disaster, consider a FREE subscription to the Retirement Intelligence Information Services newsletter.  Your retirement future can be bright, if you take the right steps toward retirement planning now. Remember you control your retirement future.

How do I keep up-to-date on the latest news impacting my retirement?

To keep informed about retirement topics, try a FREE membership to Retirement Intelligence Information Services. At no cost to join, you will receive a bi-monthly newsletter full of financial information to inform and empower you to have a successful retirement. As an added bonus, www.retirementcalc.com will include the Retirement Calculator Software Version 2.0 (a $24.95 value seen live on CBS TV) for FREE.

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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.