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Protection of Your Hard-Earned Retirement

Copyright (c) 2009-2012

Many articles discuss debt, what it is, how to get out and stay out, how to learn to spend cash instead of using credit cards and how to give up the bad debt habits developed over a lifetime. More articles discuss your retirement accounts, what the mutual funds really look like internally, how to choose investments based on your tolerance for risk and different strategies for investing in today's economy.

What is only lightly touched on is protection of your lifestyle today and in Retirement. In the recent past, one year ago, I would have recommended today's protection begin with a cash reserve of 3-6 months of cash to carry your debts of mortgage, taxes, utility bills, food, and gas for your car. Added up this amount may total $10,000. The economy may be coming back or it may be a bubble that could burst into a new down market or bear market therefore, saving in a cash reserve today doubles the amount of money you need to protect your lifestyle for 6-9 months.

Obviously, if you don't have a cash reserve trying to get thousands of dollars into a cash reserve fund may be really difficult. In financial planning programs, I usually encourage my clients to consider 60 months of saving to come up with the money. Does not having the time to save mean you should not start to save? Absolutely not! Primarily, because you may not lose your job or have emergency expenses that will drain your savings.

You need to start somewhere to protect your lifestyle. So while you are paying down any credit card debt try to save some money in a bank account. Increase the savings as your debt decreases always keeping in mind that purchases must be managed as well to keep from being overburdened again, with debt. If necessary save some money into another account for those items you feel are essential to buy.

This is also a good time to review your life insurance or disability insurance available through your employer. You are probably aware of your health insurance benefits and may not have decided to take advantage of the insurance opportunities that are yours for very little money through your employer. Talk to your Human Resources department or your benefit manager to find out what your costs are, what coverage you will have and the possibility of covering your spouse and children. Protection of your lifestyle depends on making sure you will not go into debt through the use of credit cards to manage your bills while you are unable to work.

If you are retired or soon to be retired, you may want to evaluate your benefit package to see how it is impacted once you are retired. Start with your health insurance. Medicare does not become available until you are 65. You will need to have coverage until then. Check with your employer based program. Understand the benefits and consider changing your health benefits to two single plans instead of a family plan as long as there are no dependents. College-age students may benefit from their School Health Plan and save you money as well.

Once you quit working disability benefits, through your employer, may not be necessary. Private plans may give you coverage until age 65. If you are considering working a part-time job, consulting, etc. you may want to call your agent and discuss continuing your plan. Understand exactly what your coverage will be, when it will start, how much you will receive and the taxable nature of your coverage.

For all of you looking to protect your lifestyle in retirement reviewing your life insurance and discussing long-term care insurance with an advisor would be very beneficial. Make sure any term life insurance held by your employer will still be a benefit for you after retirement. It usually decreases and becomes a nominal amount of coverage. Know it ahead of time. Make sure the amount will cover any existing debt, mortgage included.

Long Term Care is nursing home coverage. Do not confuse this with the health care benefit of coverage for acute illnesses, often found in many health insurance benefits. Few companies include this new benefit for their employees, You will need to purchase these plans, privately. Many people feel that the expense for nursing home coverage is way too expensive. Unless you are on Medicaid, you could lose your home, your social security benefits, your pension and your income from annuities and retirement funds without Long Term Care Coverage. Protection of your lifestyle for yourself and your family are most important.

There are Long Term Care benefits available through many agents and insurance companies. The New York State Partnership is one plan to consider because it initially, covers your admission to nursing homes, assisted living programs and many begin with home care coverage. The most important part of these plans is to make sure that the decisions for coverage begin with your doctor and not with the insurance company or their case managers. Nursing home costs today in our area average about $60-75,000 per year. Policies covering these costs usually include a 5% cost of living increase to keep pace with the growing inflationary costs of coverage.


About The Author:
Irene A. Majchrzak helps people retire debt-free with a sense of well-being and the freedom to have the things they want. Get her free ebook, Debt Free to Retire, by going to http://debtfreetoretire.com

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Top-Level Category: Finance Articles

10 Most Recent Articles Written by Irene A. Majchrzak

Understanding Your 401(k), IRA and Other Pre-Tax Investments
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2010-08-03 | Word Count: 1005 | Page Views: 913
What does all of the bad economic news mean to you, the average investor. Well, if you are still working and contributing to your pre-tax 401(k)'s, 403(b)'s, or IRA savings your strategies for salvaging your retirement will include reviewing all of the investment options found in your 401(k), etc.

Stock Market Falls Sharply
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2010-07-27 | Word Count: 879 | Page Views: 871 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 1.00
The stock market has been having a bad week. Wednesday the market ended the day down over 300 points. I heard reports that this was the result of investors taking their profits. Happens all the time. Then within a few days, the prices on many great stocks is so low that the investors are buying the stocks right back up.

The Decline and Fall of the Retirement Empire
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2010-03-10 | Word Count: 1317 | Page Views: 959
"I have a pension and it'll have to be enough!" As a financial Advisor over the past 10 years I have often heard this statement. It was difficult 10 years ago to explain to future retirees why this was an impossible belief to hold. 10 years ago no one would believe the changes that would occur in our world view.

The Effect of Inflation and Deflation on Retirees
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2009-10-27 | Word Count: 1324 | Page Views: 1504 | Votes: 1 | Rating: 0.00
When we worry about how long our retirement income will last, we consider so many factors. The current economy is causing a drain on 401(k)'s and IRA's. So we have become much more cautious about withdrawing money to use it as part of our pensions.

Taking Advantage of the Stock Market
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2009-07-09 | Word Count: 738 | Page Views: 910 | Votes: 8 | Rating: 3.50
Is the market rebounding? The Dow, leveling out each week because it gets a rise in the market one day and a pullback the next day, comes from investors' taking their profits. This will probably continue for a year or so until the really large investors such as Hedge Fund Managers, Institutional Investors like Mutual Fund and 401(k) managers start purchasing the really great stocks at lower prices for the longer term. You may have questions... This article will show you how you can take advantage of the current stock market conditions...

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Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2009-04-21 | Word Count: 775 | Page Views: 921 | Votes: 2 | Rating: 3.00
The truth is debt management cannot start early enough. When your debt is minimal, for needs only, you can stop the bleeding from your bank account and investments by buying less. Begin to learn how your buying and spending habits contribute to your debt. Uncontrolled Debt has the most disastrous effect on your lifestyle and retirement.

The Joy of Being Debt-Free
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2009-04-16 | Word Count: 429 | Page Views: 1712 | Votes: 9 | Rating: 3.00
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Xerox Follow Apple on the Comeback Trail
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We are all different. At different times in our lives we have different goals and needs. You can ask different experts in financial planning, Texas mortgage brokers, and your banker "should I prepay on my home mortgage?" and you will get answers from "that is the greatest idea" to "that will be the worst financial mistake you will ever make". So what is a person to do? Let us look at 9 things you need to consider and have answered before you "prepay your home mortgage".

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Written by: Sean Marten | Distributed: 2007-10-17 | Word Count: 698 | Page Views: 1243 | Votes: 6 | Rating: 3.50
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Reverse mortgage costs are repeatedly cited as one of the main reasons for seniors not to get a reverse mortgage loan. However, the same folks that harp on costs as being a reason not to use this financial resource rarely offer a less expensive option or an alternate proposal. Don't fall into the trap of listening to the negative hype without doing your own research. Find out what the true costs are and whether they are justified or not. Compare the cost of a reverse mortgage to the cost of selling your home, downsizing or moving into assisted living. Pull back the curtain and take a good look, then make your own determination. Don't base your decision on an uninformed friend, relative or media reporter.

Taking Advantage of the Stock Market
Written by: Irene A. Majchrzak | Distributed: 2009-07-09 | Word Count: 738 | Page Views: 910 | Votes: 8 | Rating: 3.50
Is the market rebounding? The Dow, leveling out each week because it gets a rise in the market one day and a pullback the next day, comes from investors' taking their profits. This will probably continue for a year or so until the really large investors such as Hedge Fund Managers, Institutional Investors like Mutual Fund and 401(k) managers start purchasing the really great stocks at lower prices for the longer term. You may have questions... This article will show you how you can take advantage of the current stock market conditions...

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Written by: Rocco Beatrice | Distributed: 2007-01-23 | Word Count: 646 | Page Views: 1285 | Votes: 7 | Rating: 3.43
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Written by: Sarah Simmons | Distributed: 2009-07-08 | Word Count: 692 | Page Views: 760 | Votes: 8 | Rating: 3.38
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Use the power of available deductions to boost your business's bottom line in 2007. Purchase new or "new to you" used business equipment now. Then place it in service by December 31st to realize exceptional tax savings.







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