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5 Shrewd Ways to Adjust Your Portfolio As You Near Retirement

adjust portfolioLife was good at the end of 2007 for Bill and Mary. Bill, at age 60, had enjoyed a successful career with Walgreens, one of the largest retail companies in America. His career, begun 28 years previously, enabled Mary to be a stay-at-home mom, paid for their two kids’ college education, and enabled the couple to build a $1 million position in a Fidelity New Millenium Fund through constant investments over the years. During the last decade, Bill had been the beneficiary of annual stock options which he faithfully exercised, maintaining the common stock with the faith that the company would continue to grow in value. By 2007, the stock was worth more than $300,000. The couple was looking forward to Bill’s early retirement in 2010 and a year of traveling, making up all of the trips they had foregone during the early years of savings and paying for college. Then disaster struck.

With the Great Recession, the S&P 500 fell more than 800 points, a 55% decrease. While the New Millennium Fund did better than the general market average, losing only 48% of its value, the value of Bill and Mary’s portfolio dropped to slightly more than $500,000. The Walgreens stock also suffered, falling from $48 per share in September to $23 in 2009, and the options that Bill had yet to exercise were underwater. Their plans for an early retirement were no longer possible.

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this post first appeared on the FiveCentNickel website on December 27, 2013.

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Closing the Books – 4 Final Tasks Before Death

man at cemetaryLife’s race is almost over. It’s time to take your victory lap and start preparing for whatever comes next. Completing the following four tasks can help you meet any last obligations to your loved ones, ensure your final days are spent as you want, and reconcile your dreams with the realities of your life. Whatever you have done, or left undone, is past and now is the time to finally realize the wisdom of John Viscount Morley who said, “The great business of life is to be, to do, to do without, and to depart.”

1. Estate Planning
After a life accumulating assets, you want to make sure that they go to the people you love and trust when you pass. If your estate is valued at $5.25 million or less (indexed for inflation), your heirs are likely not subject to federal or state taxes. However, some states may impose a tax even if there is no federal liability (additional complications arise if the surviving spouse is a non-citizen). Executors of estates larger than that threshold must file Form 706 within nine months of the decedent’s death or receive an extension from the IRS.

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This article appeared on the Forbes website January 14, 2014.

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7 Tax Prep Tips to Ease the Stress of Filing

Filing Income TaxesDecember 25th and April 15th are two of the most memorable dates on the American calendar. The first is the culmination of a joyful season of celebration, gift-giving, and general goodwill, and is eagerly anticipated. The second date – the day income tax returns must be filed – is a day of dread, stress, anger, and fear for many people. Preparation for Christmas often begins in early autumn, while many people wait until the last minute to complete and file tax returns.

Despite the fact that three out of every four filers receive a refund, nobody likes income tax time. However, there are ways to make the experience less hectic and easier to endure.

How to More Easily File Your Income Tax Form

Whether you file your own taxes or use a professional preparer, the key to a satisfactory, tension-free result is organization. Trying to make sense of a rat’s nest of paper receipts, canceled checks, brokerage statements, and other miscellaneous bits of information is frustrating and time-consuming. The confusion adds time for you, and unnecessary expense if you are using a professional tax preparer. It also increases the probability of mistakes in determining the correct tax liability. If you pay too little, you may be subject to a tax audit and additional penalties; paying too much effectively gives a donation to the government that could have been returned to you in a refund. Avoid such troubles by following these tips.

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6 Best Investments for Retirement Planning

couple retirement planningBaby boomers are the first generation of a new retirement era with the burden of saving the bulk of their retirement income and making those savings last 20 to 30 years. This responsibility is due to the decline in company pensions which shifted saving and investment responsibilities to employees, as well as an increase in life expectancy after attaining adulthood (almost 20% since 1950). The challenge of investing has been particularly difficult in the last five years; a study by Thornburg Investment Management calculated the annual “real return” for many classes of investment during the period as being negative.

The possibility of a future investment environment where inflation remains low and interest rates rise (the opposite of the 1960s to 1980s) producing slower economic growth, projected healthcare expenses not covered by insurance, and the uncertainty of program changes in Social Security and Medicare will result in people continuing to work as long as possible, accelerating their savings in their later years, and seeking maximum returns in their portfolios.

According to Chris Brightman, head of investment management at Research Affiliates, “Baby Boomers are going to work longer than they originally expected. They’re going to have to save more than they planned. And they’re going to have to consume more modestly in retirement.”

Your Investment Options for Retirement

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of different investment vehicles available. The following list describes the most popular choices, while some investments (such as gold and collectibles) are not listed because, according to Warren Buffett, they are difficult to analyze, lack any productive use, and their future price depends solely on the hope that the next buyer will pay more for the item than the owner paid.

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