Planning Your Retirement (Cliffs Notes)

Table of Contents......Page 5
Why Do You Need This Book?......Page 9
How to Use This Book......Page 10
Don't Miss Our Web Site......Page 11
What Is a Retirement Plan?......Page 13
Why Saving Earlier Is Better......Page 15
For you, the employee......Page 18
For you, the independent planner......Page 19
Looking at qualified retirement plans......Page 20
Looking at other types of retirement plans......Page 22
Defined contribution plans......Page 23
Other types of qualified retirement plans......Page 24
Other Retirement Investments and Savings Programs......Page 25
CHAPTER 2: ASSESSING YOUR GOALS......Page 26
Your assets and liabilities......Page 27
Your current income......Page 31
Your retirement estimates......Page 33
Your benefit plans......Page 34
Setting Goals......Page 35
CHAPTER 3: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN......Page 37
Determining Contributions and Benefits......Page 38
Planning for Changes and Inflation......Page 39
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC)......Page 40
Choosing the joint and survivor option......Page 41
Deciding when to take retirement benefits......Page 42
Leaving before you're fully vested......Page 44
Characteristics of Defined Contribution Plans......Page 46
Determining contributions and benefits......Page 47
Types of defined contribution plans......Page 50
Managing individual contributions......Page 52
Planning for Changes and Inflation......Page 53
Vesting and leaving the company......Page 54
Summary plan descriptions (SPD)......Page 55
CHAPTER 5: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR 401(k) PLAN......Page 57
Employer matching......Page 58
Vesting and communication......Page 59
Evaluating investment risk......Page 60
Compounding......Page 61
Getting the Most Out of Your 401(k)......Page 63
Taking out a loan......Page 64
Getting more information......Page 65
Characteristics of Tax-Sheltered Annuities......Page 66
Fixed annuities......Page 67
Variable annuities......Page 68
Index annuities......Page 71
403(b) funds in tax sheltered annuities......Page 72
Contributions to 403(b) programs......Page 73
Financial hardship withdrawals......Page 74
Payout methods......Page 75
Retirement Equity Act......Page 76
Types of IRAs......Page 78
Tax-deductible IRAs......Page 79
Non-deductible IRAs......Page 80
Roth IRAs......Page 82
IRAs for the self-employed......Page 83
Avoiding penalties before 59 1/2......Page 84
Rollovers from Qualified Retirement Plans......Page 86
Direct rollover option......Page 87
CHAPTER 8: SOCIAL SECURITY......Page 89
Limitations of Social Security as Retirement Income......Page 90
Paying for Your Social Security Pension......Page 92
Calculating Your Pension Benefit: The Shortcut......Page 94
Calculating Your Pension Benefit: Getting into Fine Details......Page 95
Coverage or full insurance......Page 96
Primary Insurance Amount (PIA)......Page 97
Adjustments for early and delayed retirement......Page 98
Working after retirement......Page 99
Beginning your benefits......Page 100
CHAPTER 9: RETIREMENT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES......Page 101
Setting your savings goals......Page 102
How investments grow......Page 103
Learning the investment lingo......Page 104
Considering Your Risk Tolerance......Page 105
Distributing your risk......Page 106
Stock market movement......Page 107
Reducing brokerage commissions......Page 108
Using qualified financial planners......Page 109
The benefits of mutual funds......Page 110
Retirement investment tips......Page 111
Exploring the Basics of Estate Planning......Page 113
Estate and Inheritance Taxes......Page 114
Drawing Up a Will......Page 115
Making an Inventory of Your Assets......Page 116
Q&A......Page 120
Consider This......Page 121
Books......Page 123
The Internet......Page 125
E......Page 127
R......Page 128
W......Page 129