Retirement Planning

Your Roth IRA beneficiary decision has to be considered very carefully. That’s because IRA beneficiary rules are very specific to the IRA and also because a Roth is a very different animal than a traditional IRA.   The real power of a Roth IRA comes over time. The longer you keep the Roth (rather than […]

If you’re like me, you’re thinking about how to generate income during retirement .  No…I’m not thinking about retiring just yet. I figure I have another 20 years to go at least. But I don’t like surprises and I want to do whatever I can to make sure my retirement doesn’t surprise me. I don’t […]

Inherited IRAs are nice. They’re found money…right? Someone else worked hard and built up their IRAs so you could inherit them. Sweet. What’s not to love? But there are big problems too. It’s so easy to make mistakes. A few weeks ago I received a question that illustrates the issue from Z, a loyal Pilgrim. […]

Now is the time to confirm that your IRA beneficiary form is completed correctly.

Why is now the perfect time?

Two reasons.

First, you’re still alive.

Once you’re gone, the mistakes you made with your IRA beneficiary forms can’t be undone. (Being alive has it’s advantages sometimes.)

Second, it’s tax season and you are probably going to contact your IRA custodian to make contributions. So while you’re at it, why not make sure everything is set up properly?

In order to make sure your IRA beneficiary form is filled out correctly, you need some background.

Do you know if you are saving enough for retirement? Most people don’t have a clue. And when they ask me, “How much money do I need to retire,” they don’t like my answer. According to an ING survey, a third of the people over 55 think they need to save $250,000 in order to […]