For Mark Roberts' Use: What would you do if you encountered high medical bills due to an accident or serious illness? If you're like almost 90 percent of middle-income Americans, you may be forced to dip into your retirement savings. Since it's generally a bad idea to take early withdrawals from a retirement savings account, [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: The recent housing crisis has had a detrimental effect on the plans of many retirees. Whether you were counting on a big profit from the sale of your home, or really need to unload it before you can move to the retirement location of your dreams, low values and sluggish sales [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: You've spent years dreaming and planning for retirement, so it wouldn't be surprising if you also wish you could retire early. Many Americans are so antsy to retire earlier than planned, that they would actually be willing to make some major changes in order to make it happen. A recent poll [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: In your younger days, you understood that life insurance was a vital component of protecting your young family in the event of your death. Now, however, your children are grown and self-supporting, and you may be wondering whether life insurance is still necessary. Before you drop your policy, there are a [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Most workers expect to retire at age 65 or later, but in reality things do not always work out this way. In fact, 7 out of 10 current retirees stopped working before reaching age 65. Sometimes this is due to personal preference, but often an unexpected illness or disability forces an [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: If you're saving for retirement, chances good that you're focusing on meeting a particular savings goal before you can quit working. This dollar amount is probably based upon your expected living expenses, and the income you expect to receive by taking regular withdrawals from your retirement fund. But there's another important factor [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: Becoming a millionaire has long been part of the American dream, but many Americans feel that such a goal is out of their reach. Others simply assume it is inevitable, because they earn high incomes, but fail to plan appropriately and therefore never reach the goal. Either way, accumulating a million [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: If you've been contributing to your employer-sponsored retirement plan, then congratulations! You're making smart decisions about your future, and you're well on your way to a more comfortable retirement. At some point, though, you may change jobs. Whether you're forced to do so due to company downsizing, or choose to go [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: With average annual costs for a private, four-year college reaching over $39,500 in 2012 – and increasing every year – it's no wonder parents are reaching desperate conclusions regarding their children's tuition. Unfortunately, many are making a common mistake that drastically affects their retirement plans: they're raiding their 401(k) funds to [...]
For Mark Roberts' Use: The federal estate tax, also known as the “death tax”, was first enacted with the Stamp Tax of 1797 in order to pay for naval rearmament. The estate tax has a long and colorful past, having been revoked and reinstated at various times throughout American history. The current system was put [...]