Best Graduation gift? Help them start investing early!
Parking lot attendant Earl Crawley started early with $100 and now has $500,000:
Starting early is the easiest way to assure your grad of living well.
All it takes is $9 a day and 1 hour to set up a tax-FREE account.
Accumulate $1,000,000 with NO taxes EVER.
Compounding stock dividends is how millionaires double their money. http://www.amazon.com/Wealth-every-school-graduate-century/dp/1466427906
Tax deadline advice
The IRS has some advice for taxpayers who missed the tax filing deadline. File as soon as possible. If you owe federal income tax, you should file and pay as soon as you can to minimize any penalty and interest charges. There is no penalty for filing a late return if you are due a refund. Free File is still working.http://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free
Will Obama’s budget change your retirement plan?
There are good, bad and ugly here: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/planning-to-retire/2013/04/10/how-obamas-budget-impacts-retirement-savers
You have to make up for cuts in Social Security benefits. We need to grow our tax-FREE income NOW while we can: http://www.amazon.com/Tax-FREE-Income-Replaces-Social-Security/dp/1484129539/
What will the “CPI in chains” do to your SS benefits?
Over time, the new increases will NOT keep up with inflation since most older folks need to buy medication and health care. These items have been increasing at twice the rate of inflation NOT less. The loss of benefits is estimated to grow quickly: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1334361-the-chained-cpi-how-big-of-a-difference-does-it-make?source=yahoo
401k fee disclosure just as undisclosed as before—fees can cost 40% of nest egg?
Most employees were supposed to learn in clear English, how much they were paying for administration, record-keeping and accounting as well as investment and operating expenses. The disclosures have been problematic for investors while creating more paperwork for employers and plan-management companies. Regulators are tracking claims to see if we are still intentionally misled. However, the point is that we still don’t know how much in total is taken from our money. We can learn a lot from Brightscope’s ratings of plans: EG Google: http://www.brightscope.com/401k-rating/367778/Google-Inc/372789/Google-Inc-401K-Savings-Plan/
Buy only tax-FREE low-cost retirement funds: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Retirement-Mutual-Funds-retirement/dp/1481114026
Long-term care costs rise: is insurance right for you?
Study shows a continued upward trajectory when it comes to the cost of obtaining long term care services. The cost of receiving care in a setting such as an assisted living facility or nursing home is dramatically increasing, while the cost to receive care at home through homemaker services or a home health aide is rising at a much more gradual pace. The median annual costs have gone up from $65,200 to $83,950, increasing at more than four percent a year. The better news is that costs for homemaker services and home health aides have remained relatively flat. Since 70% of Genworth's first time long term care claimants choose in-home care, these costs have remained more manageable. Learn what the alternatives to insurance are:http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-better-alternatives/dp/147006877X
GAO says some pension plans in trouble: Can you prepare?
Government Accountability Office acknowledged that the most severely distressed multiemployer plans have taken significant steps to address their funding problems. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's financial assistance to multiemployer plans continues to increase, and plan insolvencies threaten PBGC's insurance fund's ability to pay pension guarantees for retirees, the GAO noted. Since 2009, the PBGC's financial assistance to plans has increased significantly, primarily due to a growing number of plan insolvencies. The PBGC estimated that the insurance fund would be exhausted in about two to three years if the projected insolvencies of either of two large plans occur in the next 10 to 20 years. By 2017, the PBGC anticipates the number of insolvencies to more than double, further stressing the insurance fund. Build your own guarantee fund: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-American-Retirement-System/dp/1461030072
Are you prepared for medical costs in retirement?
While a man retiring in 2020 will have a 50-50 chance of having all his future out-of-pocket medical expenses exceed $109,000, a new study found that men's median estimate of those costs is just $60,000. For women, the median estimate of out-of-pocket costs is just $30,000. But partly because they tend to live longer, they have a 50 percent chance of having their future expenses exceed $156,000.
"Medicare only covers 60 percent of health care in retirement," study director Hoffman said. "Even with a Medigap policy or an employer sponsored retiree plan, people are still going to have out of pocket expenses. The hardest thing for people to plan for is to find the balance between the right level of coverage and the right level of what they might spend out of pocket." Retirees do have the option of a high-end Medigap policy that covers more, but that can be expensive protection. Premiums aren’t refundable.
Learn about options: http://www.amazon.com/Long-term-Care-Insurance-better-alternatives/dp/147006877X
Why are employers picking high-deductible plans?
Mercer report says the number of employers switching to high-deductible health plans increased from 12% in 2010 to 26% last year. Moving even a small number of employees out of a more expensive plan into a CDHP can result in significant savings for an employer. The cost of coverage in a CDHP with a health savings account is about 20% lower, on average, than the cost of PPO coverage – $7,833 per employee compared to $10,007. Employers are also looking at “self-insuring” their plans to control costs and benefit from cost reductions directly. Large employers have been self-insured for years, saving the capital insurers take from premiums. Use our Guide to buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083
Congress hides its stock trades AGAIN—only bill GOP and DEMS agree on!
Congress rushed through a bill to exempt federal government employees from having to disclose their financial dealings online. Critics said this law eviscerates part of last year's Stock Act, designed to stop insider trading by federal officials. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced the bill on Thursday and had the chamber vote on it late that evening. The House took the bill up on Friday afternoon and passed it by unanimous consent, with no members objecting.
Most Congress people get richer by investing in firms they know will benefit from laws they pass. It is illegal for Americans to use insider information but Congress was exempt until last year. Now, no one will know if they do illegal trading. The median net worth of a U.S. senator was $2.63 million in 2010, the most recent year for which financial data are available. That was up 11% from the year before. Studies by Alan Ziobrowski at Georgia State University conclude that our ‘reps’ regularly outperform the markets by large amounts due to the “significant information advantage” they derive from their jobs.
You need an Investment Edge too: http://www.amazon.com/Your-Investment-Edge-Tax-FREE-Account/dp/1482695677
SCAMS “Deficits don’t matter” GOP grandfather, Dick Cheney, 2002
Gas prices remain high despite US producing more oil/gas here--No energy independence pay off!
American refiners export more than 3 million barrels per day to other countries, which are willing to pay more than we are. Also, U.S. shipping interests have made it more costly to move fuel between U.S. ports. This in particular hurts the Northeast, which is struggling to meet its fuel needs after several refineries closed in the last two years. As a result, it’s often cheaper for a Gulf Coast Brazil than to New York . Despite the hype, Venezuela doubled its imports in 2012.
Bank America sued for taking kickbacks from insurers
Bank of America must face claims by homeowners that it took kickbacks from private insurers. Three Pennsylvania homeowners sued the bank last year claiming its pay-to-play reinsurance scheme cost borrowers $284.7 million between 2004 and the end of 2011. That’s the amount Bank of America allegedly collected from private mortgage insurers as its share of insurance premiums for referring borrowers, according to the complaint. Home buyers who take out mortgages with less than 20 percent down payments are typicallyrequired to purchase private mortgage insurance at closing. The premium paid by the borrower protects the lender in the event of a default. Bank collects twice with no risk.
IAN
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