Archive for category Investment
Why Most American Workers Do NOT Participate in 401(k) s
Posted by jjrusch1 in Consumer Advocacy, Investment, Money Management, Pensions, Planning, Retirement, Savings on March 10, 2012
67 percent of Americans workers aged 21-64 with access to employer-sponsored 401(k)’s do not participate in the pre-tax retirement plan. I was absolutely floored when I read this stat published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. There had to be a typo in there somewhere. (I double checked; there wasn’t.) Virtually then, more than […]
Why Work With An Advisor?
Posted by jjrusch1 in Consumer Advocacy, Healthcare, Investment, Planning, Protection, Retirement, Savings, Social Security on February 16, 2012
There is nothing worse than a home improvement project gone wrong. You waste a ton of time running back and forth to Menards because you know you can do-it-yourself and end up wasting way more money in the long run more often than not. (Been there, done that, more times than I want to […]
Defined Benefit VS. Defined Contribution
Posted by jjrusch1 in Consumer Advocacy, Investment, Pensions, Planning, Retirement, Savings, TAXES on February 1, 2012
In speaking with a client recently, I was asked to describe the difference between Defined Benefit Plans and Defined Contributions Plans. I was a bit taken a back because I assumed these were commonly understood concepts. Investigating further, I discovered my assumption was wrong. The differences between Defined Benefit Plans and Defined Contribution Plans […]
Review, Retool & Renew
Posted by jjrusch1 in Consumer Advocacy, Daily Living, Investment, Mortgages, Planning, Protection, Retirement, Savings, TAXES on December 28, 2011
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, […]
Top 3 FAQs on 401(k)s
Posted by jjrusch1 in Investment, Planning, Retirement, TAXES on December 1, 2011
The top three questions I am asked most often these days with regard to 401(k) accounts are: Should I leave my 401(k) in a prior employer plan while out of work? Is it best to roll my account into a new employer plan every time I change jobs? Can I cash my 401(k) […]
Static Planning: The Need for Review
Posted by jjrusch1 in Daily Living, Investment, Mortgages, Planning, Protection, Retirement on October 21, 2011
In a perfect world planning would be easy. You would figure out how much of a resource you would need at a specific time and allocate assets either in a lump sum or systematically over time until this goal was reached. The account would grow steadily over time until the mark was reached – […]
Proactive Retirement Planning
Posted by jjrusch1 in Healthcare, Investment, Long Term Care, Medicare, Pensions, Planning, Private Insurance, Retirement, Seniors, Social Security on October 18, 2011
I just read an article entitled, “5 Biggest Planning Retirement Mistakes”. The problem with titles like these in general is they are negative, and many times, as misleading as they are disheartening. Proactive retirement planning on the other hand, is a different workhorse (pardon the pun) altogether. It should be ongoing and positive, […]
Pension Plans: Who’s Funding Who?
Posted by jjrusch1 in Investment, Pensions, Planning, Retirement on September 7, 2011
According to studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a growing number of DFP’s (Defined Benefit Plans, better known as pension plans) are funding their obligations by purchasing Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds. While the prevalence of this usage funding is constituted in larger pension funds, their usage is not forbidden in smaller […]
The Top 2 Things You Can Do To Battle Market Fatigue
Posted by jjrusch1 in Income, Investment, Pensions, Planning, Protection, Retirement on August 22, 2011
You need only turn on the TV, radio, or skim a newspaper to realize we are right in the middle of some challenging economic times. The BIG question is what can we do when our individual abilities to change the quagmire we’re stuck in is minimal? Here is the shortlist. #1 Look at […]
Segregated Planning for Life and Death
Posted by jjrusch1 in Income, Investment, Planning, Protection, Retirement, Welcome! on June 9, 2011
Death and dying is definitely one of those subjects none of us likes to talk about; equally so with funeral planning. I will admit, it hadn’t been on my radar until my wife and I recently went through the process of shopping for and pre-paying my in-laws’ funerals. It was an eye-opening experience both […]