Recent posts in the ‘retirement’ Category

Retirement: What's your number?

By on April 15, 2011 1:24 am

I’m at the stage in my career where I’m willing to contemplate the fact that retirement is on the horizon—probably in the next 10 years or so.

Increasingly, I find myself talking about “retirement readiness” with friends and colleagues who are in the same situation. Recently, I had a chance to discuss retirement with a group of Vanguard clients. I found their comments to be quite telling, and pretty much in line with what I’ve already heard from others. Read more »



In passing: “Busting retirement myths”

By on March 17, 2011 8:52 am

Just saw this—Linda Stern punches holes in some of the more common misconceptions about retirement:

Stern Advice: Busting retirement myths

What she has to say lines up well with my own observations and thoughts. What about you?

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Retirement blues

By on March 10, 2011 9:52 am

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal tells a sad tale of retirement preparedness: The typical pre-retiree baby boomer has less than one-quarter of what he or she needs in a 401(k) plan to retire.

In my view, this assessment is entirely too bleak. As I’ve noted previously, estimating retirement readiness for an entire generation is a difficult task, and the result is sensitive to the assumptions used. Moreover, the issue isn’t a black-and-white question—who’s ready, who isn’t?—but one of degree.

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More target date “bubbles”

By on March 2, 2011 4:01 pm

In my February 4 post, I complained about what I perceived as mischaracterization of the performance of target date funds because of reporting that focused on the spectacularly poor results of a few small, unusual outlying target date funds (TDFs).

Well, last week a Government Accountability Office report on TDFs was released, and I’m starting to get a whiff of similarly slanted reporting on a different subject: accusations that these funds are charging “outrageous fees.”

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Roth IRAs and tax deferral

By on February 16, 2011 3:05 pm

With a new year well underway, at Vanguard our attention is turning to IRAs, 401(k)s, and tax planning. This year, I, like a lot of others, seem to have Roth IRAs on the brain.

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