Saving – Page 2 – Investing Education

Never Too Young to Start an IRA

By Charlie Reinhardt on Monday, February 6, 2017

You are never too young for an IRA and the earlier you start preparing for retirement, the better it is for your financial freedom. Investing for retirement should never be put in the backburner till you turn 25 or 30 or settle down with a permanent job. IRAs are a great option to start investing your money as they are really easy to open and operate while requiring small investment only.

There’s no point fence-sitting till everything falls into perfect alignment because even a $400 dollar annual contribution towards your IRA account is enough to start with. Young investors focused on long term gains have numerous choices in front of them but the most preferred among them is Roth IRA.

Roth IRA – Perfect choice for young investors

Roth IRA makes perfect sense for young investors as it is one of the most straightforward investments that anyone can think of. You will be taxed on the money you contribute towards your Roth IRA and as long as you adhere to the guidelines, you will never be taxed on your withdrawals after you retire. Younger individuals can benefit for Roths by investing on the businesses that offer long term gains through capitalization on the market’s movement. Leveraging the market to make good gains while not having to pay any tax on withdrawals is simply awesome.

3 Stellar Advantages offered by Roth IRA

Simplicity

It is really simple to avail tax free withdrawals after retirement instead of just calculating what you will need after the taxes and sending off the estimated payments to IRS.

Easy Withdrawal

You will be able to withdraw your contributions at any time from your Roth without paying any penalty. Even the early-withdrawal penalty of 10% can be avoided if you are buying a home for the first time or you are disabled. This benefit is available in case of deaths as well.

Lower Tax Rates

The federal income tax rates are extremely low. Your present tax might be higher than what you will be paying at 59 ½, so that’s a much easier option.

The maximum permissible limit of investing in a Roth is $5500 every year and for people above the age of 60 can deposit $6000. You can walk into your nearest bank any day of the week and open your IRA certificate of deposit. The primary aim of IRA is to encourage investment, so invest whatever you can, even when you are in your early 20s.

Graphic: How Much Salary Do You Need to Save for Retirement By Year

By Charlie Reinhardt on Friday, January 20, 2017

The image is a line graph indicating that salary for retirement you will need to reach your ideal retirement savings plan. The image shows Yearly Salary Saved on the y axis, in percentages and years needed on the x axis, in increments of ten.

The years needed axis begins at zero and ends at sixty, therefore it is assumed that the age of retirement for this chart is sixty.

The number of years needed decrease in proportion to the amount of money saved. A person who saves twelve per cent of their annual salary, for example, must save for a total of forty per cent to reach their goal.

A person who saves less, will take fifty years or more to reach their retirement savings goal.

Retirement Saving

Work 401K Offers Tradition & Roth Options: How Does it Work and Where Should I Contribute?

By admin on Saturday, November 5, 2016

If you are not eligible for a Roth IRA but considered as high wage earner, there is an opportunity for you to create your own Roth IRA. You can invest in 401k taxable investment account that can offer you to build your own Roth contributions that will become beneficial for you upon your retirement.

Considering the 401k you should learn its two types so you can choose which option is the best for you. Here are the two plans you can choose from:

Roth contributions. In this kind of option, it is good combination of traditional contributions that offers maximum limit on your 401k. Choosing this kind of contribution will allow you to pay your tax but there is no longer a need for you to pay your tax once you have decided to withdraw your contributions.
After – tax contributions. This option will provide you higher limit that can reach $53k for your total contributions. If you decide to roll your contribution to your Roth IRA on your retirement, you will achieve similar Roth benefits.
Roth 401k. In this option, you will have the opportunity to achieve big amount of money from your Roth IRA as you expect. Thus, if you have employer that has good 401k options, you can roll in your own account of IRA into your 401k that makes it easier for you to roll them back and then out play the backdoor contributions of your Roth in the near future.

So if you are high wage earner, it is best for you to opt with the traditional contributions that only ask for $18k. But if you are expecting to pay higher rates upon your retirement then you can choose the after – tax contributions. However, your decision about which plan is best option for you will still depends to the current situation you have right now.

On the other hand, many people find the after – tax contributions attractive in some other ways. It is because it has IRS regulations that make it enjoyable and at the same time allow all the retiree to segregate effectively after your tax assets from pretax monies once you decide to rollover it into IRA. As you opt for pretax 401k assets, both of your investment earnings and pretax contributions will be rolled in a traditional IRA wherein you can convert it into your Roth IRA.

Meanwhile, for you to ensure that you will get the effective return from your pre-tax contributions on your current marginal rate and can lessen your average tax rate for your retirement, you should ensure that you are high wage earner. It is because the marginal rates are always higher than the average rates that create sense to build your Roth.

Overall speaking, having high income will allow you to choose traditional 401k that reduces the taxes you pay that seems higher during your retirement. Once you are done with this process you can now proceed with after-tax Roth then reach the 401k and IRA that makes it beneficial in your account.

Retirement Saving

Graphic: How Much Should You Have Saved Up for Retirement Today

By Richard Adams on Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Check out the handy table below from JP Morgan Asset Management’s 2014 “Guide to Retirement” that details how much should you have saved up for retirement today based on your current age.

How Much Should You Have Saved Up for Retirement Today

The chart details the amount of money a person must have in retirement funds saved to have sufficient funds to maintain their lifestyle after retirement. The chart clarifies that if people begin saving at a younger age for retirement the funds will grow greatly because of compounding interest. The chart is used with a intersection of both age, and yearly earnings.

Albert Einstein once called compounding interest the “8th wonder of the world”, and this chart demonstrates this maxim is true. The chart assumes a retirement age of 65, and allows for 7% growth in pre-retirement fund earnings, and 5% growth in earnings after the retirement age of 65. The chart assumes a annual contribution of 5% from the working person for their retirement. It also forecasts an average of thirty years retirement after the age of 65.

Charts Retirement Saving

Graphic: Growth of a Retirement Account From the Age of 25

By Richard Adams on Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Einstein described compound interest as a “miracle” and nowhere is it more evident than when workers invest their savings for retirement. The chart below shows the growth of a retirement account from the age of 25 till retirement.

Growth of a Retirement Account From the Age of 25

Let’s look at three employees; Susan, Bill and Chris. All want to save for retirement but approach it in different ways. Susan starts early and invests $5,000 annually between the ages of 25 and 35 for a total of $50,000 over that 10-year period. At age 65, she has more than $602,000 for retirement. Bill waits until he is 35 to start investing and then does so at the rate of $5,000 per year for 30 years. At age 65, he has $540,000 in savings after having invested $150,000, or three times the amount Susan invested. Chris starts early and sticks with it, investing $5,000 per year from 25 to 65 and amassing $1.14 million for retirement for his $200,000 investment.

The lesson is clear: when it comes to saving for long-term goals like retirement, the best approach is to start early and stick with it for the long haul.