Blogs

Dealing with inflation’s negative effect on employee retirement planning An August 2022 survey from Nationwide Retirement Institute found that 40% of workers age 45 and older plan to delay their retirement due to inflation and rising living costs. That figure is double the percentage of workers who said they delayed retirement last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the current inflationary environment presents a host of retirement plan challenges for both employers and employees, tackling the trend with prudent and sensible solutions remains the best course of action. Inherent Costs to...

Tips and resources that everyone can use Knowledge is Retirement Power Although everyone has experienced a few tough years of higher inflation, it’s important to keep things in perspective. According to the Bureau of Labor, inflation has averaged just 2.41% from 2000 to 2023. Conventional wisdom says you should consider keeping an appropriate amount of your retirement savings allocated to stock and bond mutual funds to help offset inflation risk. Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, historical average stock and bond returns have stayed ahead of inflation over the long...

Keep your money safe with these online shopping security tips The 2022 holiday gift season is now in the rear-view mirror. If you’re like many other people, chances are you did a good amount of shopping online. After all, online shopping can be easy and fun. But unfortunately, there are many scammers who want to steal your identity and money. According to a January 2022 Federal Trade Commission report, more than 95,000 people reported about $770 million in losses to fraud initiated on social media platforms in 2021 (the most recent data available). Reports were up for every age group, but...

Looking To Teach a Child Some Important Money Lessons? Consider a Roth custodial IRA. You started early and have saved hard in your 401(k). You’ve also paid close attention to your investing strategy over the years. And you definitely understand the benefits of tax-deferred compounding over the long term and the potential for growth. Heck, you’ve even remembered to change your account password every 90 days. Maybe now it’s time to pay it forward and pass along some of your retirement savings wisdom! How a Roth Custodial IRA Works A Roth individual retirement account (IRA) may be a great way to...

Practicing Mindfulness With Money Can Help Boost Your Financial Wellness Many people practice mindfulness through yoga, tai chi or other forms of movement, often incorporating breathing exercises. Others rely on their smart watch or phone to ping them at the same time each day, urging them to practice it for a few minutes. While there are many definitions of mindfulness, this one from mindful.org seems to capture it well: Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us...