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• Your Broker is a Hammer, Don't be a Nail

  By Scott Burns Q: I like my broker, but she and I differ on what type of fund to be in. I prefer a low-expense fund. She says: Forget expenses if the 10-year returns bear more fruit. I have $400,000 to invest. I want to do the following: 35 percent in... Posted Jul 09 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Financial Planning, Q&A (from print), Retirement

• Making Commodities Part of your Portfolio

  By Scott Burns OK, we get the idea. Having commodities as part of our portfolio can reduce risk by offsetting big swings in stocks and bonds. But how do we actually do it? That was the gist of reader response to a recent column about reducing investment... Posted Jan 11 2008, 03:00 PM by admin with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement

• For Retirees, Renting Can Be Better Than Owning

  Q. Our townhome will be paid for in 2 years. My husband and I will both be 61. If we sold at that time, we would probably walk away with $400,000 to $450,000. The townhome will be about 15 years old. I am sure there will need to be some repair--- new... Posted Jun 20 2007, 10:00 PM by scottb with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Financial Planning, Home Ownership & Mortgages, Retirement

• The Many Levels of Investment Expense

  Q. I am almost 70, and expect to retire the middle of this year with savings (IRA, 401k and company retirement lump-sum) that total about $1.5 million. I plan to roll everything to an IRA but will keep about $100,000 in liquid assets in the IRA for house... Posted Apr 18 2007, 06:00 PM by scottb with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Financial Planning, Q&A (from print), Retirement

• Portfolios Are About More than the Year You Retire

  Q. Vanguard recently started a new fund class, Target Retirement funds. Each fund is pegged at a person's expected year of retirement. The funds automatically balance their holdings among U.S. stocks, foreign stocks and bonds in a mix appropriate to the... Posted Feb 21 2007, 06:00 PM by scottb with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Financial Planning, Q&A (from print), Retirement

• How should you use a life annuity?

  Q. How should single payment, immediate annuities be considered in a retiree's portfolio? Due to their cash-like risk, should they replace a large share of cash and short term bonds in the design of the investment portfolio? ---D.K., by e-mail A. Lifetime... Posted Mar 02 2006, 01:28 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Q&A (from print), Retirement

• How to Turn Lead into Gold

  A recent column (Going for the Gold with 401(k) Plans, Tuesday, October 18) categorized 401(k) and other qualified plans by their expenses. It ranked them from Platinum to Gold, Silver, Bronze, and lead. As you might expect, it brought a lot of mail.... Posted Nov 08 2005, 10:54 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement

• When to invest, when to pay down debt

  Few questions are more vexing. No question, if you are in the position to ask it, is a better sign of good financial health. T.P., a reader in Georgia, asks this question for his son. "He and his wife, both 31, have no debts other than a 30-year mortgage... Posted Oct 25 2005, 11:35 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement

• When to Consider a Roth IRA

  Everyone worries about the taxes we will face in the future. Reader T.W. asks a fundamental question: "I plan to retire--- at least semi-retire--- in about 7 years. I'm 59. My company offers a 401(k) plan but does not contribute to it. I have saved a... Posted Aug 30 2005, 11:49 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement

• In the Future, You‘ll Need Less Money, the Sequel

  Has your financial planner told you to save more? He may be dead wrong. He isn't alone. Most of the models used for retirement planning may also be wrong for the same reason. The models and their supporting software are based on an assumption that isn... Posted Jul 17 2005, 11:33 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement

• Pensions and Inflation (part 1): The High Cost of Modest Inflation

  Imagine this. You're in your late 50s. You've been working for the same company for a long time. You're in pretty good financial shape. You've paid off the mortgage. You have a nice balance in your 401(k) plan. You have some modest savings outside the... Posted Jul 03 2005, 12:30 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Income Investing, Retirement

• Fiduciary Scoring Your 401(k) Funds

  Do the mutual funds in your 401(k) plan pass the close examination of a fiduciary--- the person or group charged with making fund choices that may affect the quality of your diet in retirement? We'll learn the good news--- and a surprise--- about some... Posted Jun 14 2005, 10:54 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement

• The Test of Security: Real Wealth, Easily Accessible

  Q. After reading about the future economic possibilities for the boomers--- the big deficits for Social Security, Medicare, etc. and the probability that future taxes will be higher--- I'm wondering if it makes sense for me, age 50, to look at buying... Posted Nov 11 2004, 11:25 AM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Q&A (from print), Retirement

• Good Health Insurance Requires Research

  Q. My husband will have his 65th birthday this June and he would like to retire within the next year, which means we will no longer have company health care insurance. Although he will be eligible for Medicare, I am only 58. So we will have to find another... Posted Apr 22 2004, 12:04 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Q&A (from print), Retirement

• H.R. 975: Another Reason To Avoid Credit Cards

  Talk to lenders about excessive credit card debt and our somber friends in the wing tip shoes will paint a picture of irresponsible young nitwits. Young people want everything. And they want it now. Unlike mature hard working Americans, the lenders will... Posted Mar 02 2004, 01:57 PM by scottb with | with no comments Filed under: Financial Planning, Retirement