Here's a piece from Yahoo that lists their top 10 things to know about retirement planning:
1. Save as much as you can as early as you can.
2. Set realistic goals.
3. A 401(k) is one of the easiest and best ways to save for retirement.
4. An IRA also can give your savings a tax-advantaged boost.
5. Focus on your asset allocation more than on individual picks.
6. Stocks are best for long-term growth.
7. Don't move too heavily into bonds, even in retirement.
8. Making tax-efficient withdrawals can stretch the life of your nest egg.
9. Working part-time in retirement can help in more ways than one.
10. There are other creative ways to get more mileage out of retirement assets.
My thoughts on these:
1. Oh yeah! Saving early and often is a great way to become rich. If you start early enough and save enough, you'll be able to retire early.
2. Retirement is more expensive than you think. As such, you have to work at developing a specific retirement goal. I'm working through setting my retirement number right now, so this is very much on my mind.
3. I'm a big believer in 401ks. Be sure you make the most of your 401k.
4. After contributing enough to maximize your employer's contribution to your 401k, you need a Roth IRA.
5. Here are my four rules for asset allocation. Getting your asset mix right is a vital part of making sure you maximize your retirement funds.
6. Yep, I'm a big believer in stocks. I invest in them through index funds.
7. I would guess that this is good advice, but to be honest I haven't studied it enough to recommend this myself.
8. As always, tax costs can make a huge difference in your total return.
9. Working during at least part of your retirement can greatly reduce the amount you have to save.
10. There are lots of creative ways to look at "different" retirement options including retiring south of the border.
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