Archive for July, 2009

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Secure an Early Retirement Pension with Benefits

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Most people dream of being able to retire early and still experience all the benefits such as health insurance and life insurance without having to give up an annual paycheck?  However, what most people do not realize is that there are some jobs that exist where you can take an early retirement pension that does come with full early retirement health insurance benefits as well as a reduced paycheck each month.  Of course, you will have to deal with the reduced paycheck, but if you save a little along the way you can cover the dividend and have more time to enjoy your life work free later.

Plus, you do not have to worry about unexpected occurrences such as medical bills as some people do when they take an early retirement pension if you make sure that you on track to receive early retirement health insurance as well.  Many government jobs offer you these early retirement pension incentives along with secular companies in hopes that you will take advantage of their offer and they can save in paying you long term higher payments. 

Your company also benefits because generally speaking, if you take advantage of the early retirement pension they will be able to hire in younger members to their workforce that they can pay less and offer less benefits to since they do not have long term commitments to the company like you.  This is why many companies will work with you to create an early retirement pension if you want to retire early.  Of course, you need to plan ahead for this type of circumstance because you will have to be able to supplement the reduced rate of your paychecks.  The worst thing you can do is leave on an early retirement pension and then run out of money down the road due to poor planning.

This may lead you into wondering just how much you have to save in order to take advantage of an early retirement pension.  The numbers fluctuate by company, but generally speaking you will receive somewhere between 60-85% of your normal paycheck depending on how long you have worked for the company and what type of early retirement pension they have to offer.  You also need to qualify for your company’s early retirement pension which is why if you are considering the idea of retiring early you will benefit most from planning way ahead of time so you can make sure everything is lined up properly when the time comes.

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Self Employed and Small Business Retirement Plan Options

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Many people who own a small business or work for themselves often forget about planning for their retirement since they do not have a business retirement plan that they can simply buy into.  However, if you are self-employed you should know that there are several self employed retirement plan options as well as several small business retirement plan options to make sure that you are taken care of once you reach retirement age.  After all, just because you have the power now to dictate your working hours, does not mean that after fifty years you have not also earned the right to take it easy in your golden years.

Of course, it may be harder to maintain a self employed or small business retirement plan because a larger majority of savings is up to you to control as a company cannot withdraw funds from you each month for retirement.  This is one area you will have to pay attention to and make special note to withhold some of your profits on a regular basis if you want your small business retirement plan to work in your favor later.  That means that on tight months, you cannot ignore the savings plans that you have set up, just like you could not if you were employed by another person.

If you are particularly looking for a self employed retirement plan, you may want to check out the Kroegh program that if you qualify for, you can save money that is tax deductible.  Depending on how much you qualify, you also have the option of withholding paying any taxes on your self retirement plan savings until you withdraw them at which point the taxes will not be as obvious as the amount that you take away is very large.  Of course, you also have complete control over how much you invest, so you need to be careful to continue to contribute on a regular basis if you want it to be enough for you in your later years.

If you are looking into planning a small business retirement plan, you may want to look into an elective deferral from an employee for a 401k retirement plan.  This is just the basic facts of what you need to know to get started, but you should speak with a financial advisor about any questions you have about either a small business retirement plan or a self employed retirement plan as this is one area you want to get going correctly as soon as possible.

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The Perfect Retirement gift for a colleague

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

While a farewell party for a beloved colleague at the office can sometimes be an emotional affair, remember that it should also be a fun affair as your friend is starting a new course in his or her life.  This is one reason why you may consider getting a retirement gag gift instead of dwelling on the fact that your friend will soon be leaving your office doors.  Although you may be wondering how to come up with a good retirement gag gift, here are a few ideas that will leave your retiree and your other colleagues rolling on the floor in laughter.

Chances are that the retiree is not yet going to be in need of a cane, but if you purchase them one as a retirement gag gift you will garnish a few laughs.  You might consider getting an elaborate pink cane if you have a woman retiring, (or male if he has a good sense of humour!) For the male retirement gag gift, you may go with a typical older cane, but add on a few Viagra stickers to really up the ante on the present.  Of course, keep in mind that if your colleague is a bit on the serious side, they may not take so easy to a retirement gag gift so make sure you stay inside the appropriate limits depending on the character of the officemate retiring!

If you need a military retirement gift, a wonderful idea is a pill bottle of retirement pills.  You can purchase these at most gag shops and they make a wonderful military retirement gift as they come with labels like “weathered wit” and “pain the butt.”  Most of the pill bottles will also come with hilarious prescriptions that you can read out loud making the military retirement gift even funnier for everyone in your office.

For a traditional old school retirement gag gift, you might choose to get a few sticker tattoos, as this is one retirement gag gift that even your grandparents probably received.  These can also make a wonderful military retirement gift as well, since you can choose whatever tattoo you want depending on the personality of the person you are giving them to.  Once again, with this retirement gag gift you want to be careful in how funny/offensive you are as you want the retiree to laugh instead of feeling uncomfortable so just use common sense.

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