Most of us work tirelessly to earn a good profit and invest for our retirement planning. We all know that it is always an advantage to prepare for tomorrow. There are no limitations in how much we could invest for the security and pleasure of our non working days later on. Retirement is one of the most important moments in our lives that we are all destined to face. Nobody can tell us that we are too young to start planning since most people know that the earlier we begin, the more we can save. It is better to invest more than having just enough since we do not know what will happen in the future.
It is always beneficial if we have extra credits for surprises. We must consider the inflations when we really want to enjoy life when we get old. What we earn now no matter how big it might be, could just be enough when our time to retire comes. Focusing on this plan would require intensive process and wise planning for years. Many people know that taking this plan seriously means being persistent with the process as well. Managing a retirement is a continuous obligation even until it is already attainable. It would require the planner's patience and wise management.
For example one advisor had both a father and son as clients. The father died leaving his IRA to his son. The advisor promptly transferred the IRA from the father's name to the son's name? Sounds o.k. to you? But it isn't o.k. If you transfer an inherited IRA to a non-spouse beneficiary without a special designation like "inherited IRA of Dad for the benefit of Son" you cause immediate income tax acceleration for the IRA beneficiary. So rather than having the ability to stretch an IRA or defer taxes for forty years, the son had to pay the taxes on the entire IRA distribution the year after his father died. Using reasonable assumptions, this mistake cost the son one million dollars over his lifetime.
All these things would look and sound challenging but there are financial planners that could assist you in achieving your plans. These professionals can prepare financial planning for folks covering various features of personal finance. It is indeed hard to manage all these things by ourselves since we are also busy working and dealing with other concerns in our lives. Good thing that there are experts that can show us the pros and cons within our plans and make adjustments to fit our needs. They determine all our financial goals by listening to our priorities and purposes in life as well as the other essential factors of our personal lives to aid us in obtaining what we desire in the future.
Not long ago, I was talking to a registered investment advisor or what is known as a financial planner. No, it wasn't mine rather I met the individual in passing at the local Starbucks. In talking about all the ongoing educational requirements and all the new regulations in that financial sector I realized how difficult it was for the practitioners to deal with their clientele.
The basic information for all your bank, brokerage, retirement and other financial and investment accounts. This includes the name of the institution, the institution's contact information, the account numbers, passwords and user names for online account access and the addresses of any websites used to access or monitor the accounts.The location of all paperwork related to retirement planning including wills, legal documents, insurance policies, annuity policies, prospectuses, checkbooks, etc.How to access all of the investment and bank accounts. If you have an IRA, 401k, money market account, brokerage account or CD both spouses should know how to access it and withdraw money. If you have a life insurance policy with cash value both spouses should know how to access it and borrow money.
Is amazing how many questions a retirement planning consultant, or financial planner must ask these days to comply with all the federal and state requirements. There are what they call; "know your customer laws," and therefore the practitioner must ask all the questions and fill out all the forms. Then there are the questions that the retirement customer asks. Sometimes they are silly things such as; "should I be buying gold?"Another challenge that retirement planners and financial consultants must deal with is that they generally work for a larger firm that also has rules to stay out of hot water with the SEC and consumer protection agencies. Often this can get in the way of asset allocation when a given client wants to play it safe for their retirement, and then gets some wild hair up their rear end to go and make a silly and non-prudent financial investment decision on their own.
So what should you expect out of a retirement planner? According to Investopedia, a retirement planner is "A practicing professional who helps individuals prepare a retirement plan." That's pretty straight forward. Two certifications to look for are the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). The CFP certification requires a college degree, passing a 10 hr exam, 3 years of experience in the financial planning field and an extensive background check. The CFA requires a bachelors degree, passing 3 6 hr tests and 4 years of work experience.Baron's recently published an article identifying the top financial advisors for 2010. When looking at which companies held the top spot for each of the states the outcome was as follows:Merrill Lynch (Top position in 20 states) Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Top position in 7 states) Wells Fargo (Top position in 6 states) UBS (Top position in 5 states) Raymond James (Top position in 2 states).So if you want the help of a reputable retirement planner you can't go wrong with any of these companies. Alternatively, if you don't need such high-end advice then look for a local advisor with the right certifications and check as many references as you can.By the way, don't forget to sign up for those retirement club benefits. Even if you don't want to admit you're getting old those grey hairs can get you some serious discounts!
It is always beneficial if we have extra credits for surprises. We must consider the inflations when we really want to enjoy life when we get old. What we earn now no matter how big it might be, could just be enough when our time to retire comes. Focusing on this plan would require intensive process and wise planning for years. Many people know that taking this plan seriously means being persistent with the process as well. Managing a retirement is a continuous obligation even until it is already attainable. It would require the planner's patience and wise management.
For example one advisor had both a father and son as clients. The father died leaving his IRA to his son. The advisor promptly transferred the IRA from the father's name to the son's name? Sounds o.k. to you? But it isn't o.k. If you transfer an inherited IRA to a non-spouse beneficiary without a special designation like "inherited IRA of Dad for the benefit of Son" you cause immediate income tax acceleration for the IRA beneficiary. So rather than having the ability to stretch an IRA or defer taxes for forty years, the son had to pay the taxes on the entire IRA distribution the year after his father died. Using reasonable assumptions, this mistake cost the son one million dollars over his lifetime.
All these things would look and sound challenging but there are financial planners that could assist you in achieving your plans. These professionals can prepare financial planning for folks covering various features of personal finance. It is indeed hard to manage all these things by ourselves since we are also busy working and dealing with other concerns in our lives. Good thing that there are experts that can show us the pros and cons within our plans and make adjustments to fit our needs. They determine all our financial goals by listening to our priorities and purposes in life as well as the other essential factors of our personal lives to aid us in obtaining what we desire in the future.
Not long ago, I was talking to a registered investment advisor or what is known as a financial planner. No, it wasn't mine rather I met the individual in passing at the local Starbucks. In talking about all the ongoing educational requirements and all the new regulations in that financial sector I realized how difficult it was for the practitioners to deal with their clientele.
The basic information for all your bank, brokerage, retirement and other financial and investment accounts. This includes the name of the institution, the institution's contact information, the account numbers, passwords and user names for online account access and the addresses of any websites used to access or monitor the accounts.The location of all paperwork related to retirement planning including wills, legal documents, insurance policies, annuity policies, prospectuses, checkbooks, etc.How to access all of the investment and bank accounts. If you have an IRA, 401k, money market account, brokerage account or CD both spouses should know how to access it and withdraw money. If you have a life insurance policy with cash value both spouses should know how to access it and borrow money.
Is amazing how many questions a retirement planning consultant, or financial planner must ask these days to comply with all the federal and state requirements. There are what they call; "know your customer laws," and therefore the practitioner must ask all the questions and fill out all the forms. Then there are the questions that the retirement customer asks. Sometimes they are silly things such as; "should I be buying gold?"Another challenge that retirement planners and financial consultants must deal with is that they generally work for a larger firm that also has rules to stay out of hot water with the SEC and consumer protection agencies. Often this can get in the way of asset allocation when a given client wants to play it safe for their retirement, and then gets some wild hair up their rear end to go and make a silly and non-prudent financial investment decision on their own.
So what should you expect out of a retirement planner? According to Investopedia, a retirement planner is "A practicing professional who helps individuals prepare a retirement plan." That's pretty straight forward. Two certifications to look for are the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). The CFP certification requires a college degree, passing a 10 hr exam, 3 years of experience in the financial planning field and an extensive background check. The CFA requires a bachelors degree, passing 3 6 hr tests and 4 years of work experience.Baron's recently published an article identifying the top financial advisors for 2010. When looking at which companies held the top spot for each of the states the outcome was as follows:Merrill Lynch (Top position in 20 states) Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Top position in 7 states) Wells Fargo (Top position in 6 states) UBS (Top position in 5 states) Raymond James (Top position in 2 states).So if you want the help of a reputable retirement planner you can't go wrong with any of these companies. Alternatively, if you don't need such high-end advice then look for a local advisor with the right certifications and check as many references as you can.By the way, don't forget to sign up for those retirement club benefits. Even if you don't want to admit you're getting old those grey hairs can get you some serious discounts!
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