Rebuild Your Nest Egg
Strategies to save your retirement savings.
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, May 2009
- Comments
- Email This Article
- Print This Article
- Order a Reprint
Advertisement
Always contribute as much as you can to your 401(k). In 2009, if you're 50 or older, you can put in $22,000. At that age you can also contribute $14,000 to a SIMPLE IRA. Particularly if you're 55 or older, don't stop funding your retirement, says Debra Neiman, a financial planner in Arlington, Mass.
If you've lost a big part of your savings, consider an annuity that guarantees minimum payouts regardless of the market's performance. You could get a 6% payout per year for the rest of your life no matter how the investment performs. If it does well, you could cash out after the surrender periodÑtypically three to seven years -- and invest it in whatever you want. But the fees for these guarantees can be steep. You can compare annuities at www.annuitygrader.com.
Finally, monitor your savings. Frank Armstrong, author of The Retirement Challenge: Will You Sink or Swim? has developed a tool to help you determine whether you'll have enough.
Permission to post your comment is assumed when you submit it. The name you provide will be used to identify your post, and NOT your e-mail address. We reserve the right to excerpt or edit any posted comments for clarity, appropriateness, civility, and relevance to the topic.
View our full privacy policy