Retirement Plan

The International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (IITSSA) is one of the primary US federal statutes that governs the reporting of investments made in the United States by foreign investors. Under IITSSA, and its related regulations, a mandatory report is required of a US business enterprise when a foreign person acquires (directly or indirectly) through an existing US affiliate, a 10%+ voting interest in that enterprise, including an enterprise that results from the direct or indirect acquisition by a foreign person of a business segment or operating unit of an existing US business enterprise that is then organized as a separate legal entity, or the existing US affiliate of a foreign person when it acquires a US business enterprise or operating unit that the existing US affiliate merges into its own operations.
The mandatory report must be filed with the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (the "BEA") no later than 45 days after the completion of such a transaction. Failure to file the mandatory report exposes one to a civil penalty of not less than $2,500.00, and not more than $25,000.00. Whoever willfully fails to report will be fined no more than $10,000.00. may be imprisoned, or both. Any officer, director, employee, or agent of any corporation who knowingly participates in such a violation, upon conviction, may be punished by a similar fine, imprisonment, or both. The IITSSA provides that the reported information is confidential, and may be used only for analytical or statistical purposes.
There is, however, an exemption for which an exemption claim must be filed if an established or acquired US business enterprise, as consolidated, has total assets of $3 million or less and does not own 200 acres or more of U.S. land, or the total cost of an acquisition by an existing US affiliate of a US business enterprise or business segment or operating unit that it merges into its own operations is $3 million or less and does not involve purchase of 200 acres or more of U.S. land. Additionally, no report need be filed if the transaction involves residential real estate held exclusively for personal use and not for profit making purposes.
A report may also be required of a US person who assists or intervenes in the sale to, or purchase by, a foreign person, of a 10 percent or more voting interest in a US business enterprise, including real estate, or who enters into a joint venture with a foreign person to create a US business enterprise. A US person must so report only if the US person knows of or has reason to believe that there is such foreign involvement.
III. The Exon-Florio Provision
The Exon-Florio provision provides for the review, investigation and possible suspension or blocking of certain mergers, acquisitions and takeovers that could threaten to impair US national security. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") has been delegated the authority to review and conduct investigations of mergers, acquisitions and takeovers where the transaction could result in foreign control of persons engaged in interstate commerce in the United States. Control refers to the ability to determine, direct or decide matters for the purchased company.
CFIUS has 30 days from notification of the transaction to review it and decide whether to proceed with an investigation. If the Committee determines that it should undertake an investigation, it must be completed within 45 days of this determination. Within 15 days after completion, the President must announce whether there is: (a) credible evidence that the purchaser might take action to impair the national security of the United States, and (b) that other provisions of law will not afford the President with adequate and appropriate authority to protect national security. If both of these criteria are met, the President may take action as the President considers appropriate to suspend or prohibit the transaction.
IV. State Reporting Requirements
In additional to the Federal reporting requirements, many US states have reporting statutes affecting foreign investment. California, for example, has statutes on insurance and banking. New York has both reporting and taxation requirements specific to foreign fire insurance corporations. Illinois has reporting requirements for foreign persons owning agricultural land. However, Illinois recently eliminated many of the former special reporting requirements for foreign insurers. Arkansas likewise has a reporting requirement for foreign interests in agricultural land. These examples are not a comprehensive summary of all reporting statutes for the states listed. Instead, they should serve as indicators where statutes are known to exist. Areas covered in state reporting statutes are principally in agriculture and insurance, but the individual investor should investigate to determine what the local jurisdiction requires.
V. Conclusion
Many foreign investors and business persons establishing operations in the United States, erroneously believe that their dealings with the US Federal and state governments will be limited to the acquisition of an L1 or E2 visa, and the filing of an annual US Federal Income Tax return. There are, however, several other important legal and financial formalities to observe if one is remain in compliance with the law and avoid exposure to civil penalties and criminal charges. Thus, our best advice is that it is always in the best interest of individuals contemplating an investment in the United States to engage the services of a US business lawyer and Certified Public Accountant with significant experience dealing with transnational matters, as early in the planning stages as possible, to help ensure compliance.
Copyright 2006, Ortega-Medina & Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved. http://www.ortega-medina.com

In 1980, Congress enacted the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), 26 U.S.C.S. 1445. The law provides that if a seller of real property is a "foreign person," the buyer must withhold a tax equal to 10% of the gross purchase price, unless an exemption applies under the law.
A "foreign person" is a non-resident alien individual, a foreign corporation not treated as a domestic corporation, or a foreign partnership, trust or estate. A resident alien is not considered a foreign person under the law.
Exemptions to FIRPTA
There are a number of exemptions to FIRPTA. A transaction is exempt if:
the seller of real property furnishes a non-foreign affidavit stating under penalty of perjury that the seller is not a foreign person
the transaction involves the transfer of a property acquired for use as the buyer's residence and the amount realized is not greater than $300,000
the seller obtains a "qualifying statement" from the Internal Revenue Service stating that no withholding will be required Obtaining Legal Counsel
In connection with any real estate sale involving a foreign investor the buyer and the seller should consider making a specific agreement with regard to FIRPTA compliance. The expertise of a real estate attorney may be helpful to avoid complications that may otherwise arise at the last minute and delay the closing. As always, when dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, it is important to proceed with an abundance of caution, as "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Joseph J. Huggins is a well known trial lawyer in Las Vegas, Nevada. The lawyers of Huggins & Maxwell, Ltd. have tried and won many important cases. They have practiced in the areas of litigation, real estate, business, medical malpractice, personal injury and products liability, since 1982. Please see their website for more detailed information: http://www.HugginsLaw.com

During the go-go 1990s, mutual funds were the rage, and returns of 25% per year were not uncommon. Without any real knowledge of how mutual funds worked, employees plowed billions of dollars into their 401(k) plans and funded those plans with mutual funds. At the time, many funds were springing up and specialized in a variety of investing disciplines. It wasn't long before funds that specialized in narrowly focused industries were common and many fared very well. Of course, during a spectacular bull run investors became accustomed, if not spoiled, with the fantastic returns they received. Who can forget Peter Lynch and the fantastic returns on the Fidelity Magellan Fund?
Somewhere along the line people forgot that the market does not stay in a perpetual bullish state. In my opinion, most unsuspecting investors can be forgiven for this oversight. Our last bull market was one of the longest in recent history, though it was funded by deficit spending at a national and personal level. Like all good things, it came to an untimely end as in recent years stock prices have skidded and home values have plummeted precipitously.
But a lot of folks stuck with their funds and their 401(k) plans...
The problem with most open ended funds is that they can only buy stocks, and cannot sell short. The end result for the investor is that unless the market goes up he or she does not make money. As I mentioned earlier, many funds evolved with tightly focused investment objectives and if the particular sector in which a given mutual fund was forced to invest did not do well, there was nothing that the fund manager could do besides mitigate the level of overall loss. Investing in perpetually long positions definitely has its disadvantages. Of course, during a recession the market as a whole tends to decline, so it does not particularly matter what investment sector you invested in, the results will be disappointing. This makes investing over the long term, or using the "buy and hold" strategy difficult to implement.
So now the mutual fund industry finds itself in a bit of a quandary. During the rip roaring bull market of the last decade mutual funds were the investment of choice, especially for the uninitiated. Now that the market has cooled off some, which is an understatement, the allure of funds have waned. Worse yet, there are millions of investors with money in their 401(k) plans invested solely in mutual funds. Though we have had a nice run up in the last year, the long-term prospects, at the present, are not so encouraging. Worse yet, many employees jumped out of their funds, especially in 401(k) plans, at or near the bottom of the last market correction. They stand little chance of returning to the original high account balances they once enjoyed. The lesson is a simple one, during bull markets mutual funds are a wonderful investment and very profitable. When the market is correcting, however, funds can be a distinct liability because they are, by law, required to invest in only long positions. If you are holding funds during a market correction your options are very limited; you can stay in the fund or you can opt out. There are no provisions in fund investing that allow you to effectively take advantage of a correcting market.
In my opinion, the recent volatility in the markets negates the old adage, "buy and hold investments." I suppose over a 50 year time frame this investment strategy may pay dividends, but currently the average holding time in mutual funds is just under three years. Needless to say, a great many people have been burned of late in mutual funds. Absent a rip roaring bull market, the mutual fund industry must develop a mechanism to protect investors in down markets. If not, they risk losing a great number of investors. Already the number of mutual fund investors has declined nearly 40%. The industry needs to become more nimble to survive in volatile market conditions which punish investors severely. (expert==David_S._Adams )

Many want to invest in mutual funds. Most of them do not know the correct procedure to invest in funds. Moreover, selection of funds requires deep analysis and research. Funds yield high profits. If a person wants to start investing, he ought to do lot of work. First of all, he should decide his investment amount. Then according to the investment, he should select the schemes. Along with the investment amount, certain other factors are also important for selection.

You can contact a broker and get details from him. The broker gives information about the various plans and schemes. The broker may be money minded. He may praise a particular plan alone. So, cross checking is crucial. After cross checking is done, start the applying process. Selection of the plan and number of units are very important. After the selection process, get an application form from the broker and fill it. Enter the details properly. Address and bank account details are very vital.
Since it is a money business, you need to be extra careful. Since, all the cheques and money transactions are done on the basis of the given information. For purchasing units, give a cheque or transfer the money. After the units are allotted, you will receive a statement. This statement contains details about the plan and number of units. You can confirm it from the statement. Next way is online application form. After the selection of the fund, you can fill the online application form. Transfer of money can also be done in online.

US bonds is the term used around here to describe a Savings Bond that is no longer earning interest. As of this morning, this includes all Series US Savings Bonds. The last Series US Savings Bond was issued in June 1980 and paid interest for 30 years. The last interest payment occurred last night.
It's time to cash all Series US bonds and reinvest in something that pays interest. No, there are no rollover options. Yes, you will have to pay income tax on the interest your bonds have earned. No, you can't change the name on the bond. No, you can't give the bond to a charity, although you can cash the bond, give the money to a charity, and take a charitable deduction on your tax return
To find out the interest rate that any Savings Bond is paying this month, use our Savings Bond Calculator.
It will give you both the current rate and redemption value of your Savings Bonds. If the calculator shows your bond paying a different rate than you think it should, make sure you understand how Savings Bond rate periods work.

For generations, our wealth management professionals have helped successful individuals and families grow, preserve, and transfer their wealth, and we can do the same for you. Whatever your objectives, we listen to you to gain a clear understanding of your needs and then offer a range of investment solutions to meet those needs. Our financial professionals help you develop sophisticated strategies to manage your financial affairs today and transfer wealth to the next generation or your favorite charity, in a ta-efficient manner.


Our investment experts take a disciplined approach with you to create a customized investment strategy aimed at growing and preserving your wealth. We provide access to a wide array of investment choices across all asset classes in constructing your diversified portfolio. Our investment management process is designed to meet your tolerance for risk and investment objectives ranging from capital appreciation to minimizing taxes.

If you have significant invest able assets, The Private Client Reserve offers you sophisticated managed accounts tailored to your specific goals and alternative investments/specialty assets to further broaden your portfolio. Depending on your situation, your adviser may recommend a separately managed a unified managed account or an adviser-directed option.

A mutual fund guide could basically be called a guide to investing in stocks, bonds, and money market securities. This is because about 99% of the time, if you own mutual funds your money will be invested in one or more of the above investments types. Funds are not just another investment option; they represent the best way for most people to invest in investment securities.

When I was a financial planner a prospective client once asked me, "should I invest in stocks, bonds, IRAs, or mutual funds?" That question told me a lot about the lawyer asking it. He needed a financial planner, and also needed access to a good basic guide to investing as well. I explained that mutual funds were the easiest way for the average investor to invest in stocks and bonds, and that this could be done in either an IRA and/or in various other types of accounts, like in a joint account with his spouse.

In this simple guide to investing we cover the four basic types of mutual funds, their financial objectives, and the cost of investing. All of these funds are simply professionally managed pools of investors' money. You invest a dollar amount, and in return own shares in a large portfolio of securities like stocks and bonds. The financial objectives range from safety and stability of principle, to high income, to high growth or profit potential.

Money market funds invest in safe short-term debt like U.S. Treasury bills, with safety and liquidity as the primary objectives. They pay competitive interest rates in the form of dividends, and the value of their shares is pegged at $1 and rarely fluctuates in value. Bond funds invest in bonds, longer-term debt, to produce higher interest income for the investors. The value of investor shares will fluctuate with changes in prevailing interest rates, so risk is moderate in bond funds.

Equity funds invest your money in common stocks with the objective of earning higher returns or profits for investors. Risk is higher here, as the price or value of shares can fluctuate significantly. The fourth category is balanced funds, which invest in a combination of money market securities, bonds, and stocks. The objective is to provide both moderate growth and dividend income at a moderate level of risk.

U.S. savings bonds are certainly a safe place to save money, but you want to make sure that you’re putting money into bonds for the right reasons. Remember, the interest rates can be higher than a typical savings account, but there may be some liquidity concerns to contend with first. If there is a chance you may need access to the money inside of one year, keep in mind that you cannot redeem a savings bond until one year has elapsed. In addition, you will forfeit three months’ interest if you redeem a bond prior to five years.
Even with interest rates generally higher than your bank account, savings bonds should not make up a significant portion of your long-term savings. Compared to other long-term investments like stocks in your retirement account, the interest earned is quite low. Stocks historically return between 10-11% on average per year, so investing for your future solely in savings bonds will probably not yield the best results.
Savings bonds should be considered for financial goals somewhere between five and ten years away. After five years you may redeem the bonds without penalty, but hanging onto bonds for much longer than ten years and you could probably see better returns with other investments.

Individual saving means spending less on consumption than available from one's disposable income. What an individual saves can be held in many ways. It can be deposited in a bank, put into a pension fund, used to buy a business, pay down debt, or kept under the mattress, for example. The common element is the claim on assets that can be used to pay for future consumption. If there is a return on the saving in the form of interest, dividend, rent, or capital gain, there can be a net gain in individual saving, and thus in individual wealth. Suppose an individual decides to increase saving by consuming less. His cutback in spending necessarily means a reduction in income to others. They in turn might cut their consumption to match the loss of income, but then others would lose income. Most people do not reduce consumption equal to the loss of income, so there will usually be a net reduction in saving. Thus the net saving of everybody else may decrease more than the original increase, which would result in a decrease in aggregate saving

When you retire, usually you’ll end up by having less money than your working day. It’s because you have no anymore, and you’re forced to use your retirement investment for your daily expenses. The investment, at some point might be the best choice for you. However, when the products price rise up, you won’t be able to handle your expenses because it will increase too, while your retirement’s fund stay in the same spot. In no time, you will not only withdraw the interest of your retirements funds, but also the initial investment that you put in there too. How long do you think you could pay for your daily expenses then?There’s no arguing with the fact that everything can be done online these days. From grocery shopping to banking, the online world has opened up a world of opportunity for those eager to indulge –and if you’ve got your retirement plans on the brain, it can seem tempting to build your own portfolio through online investments. And You can earn money with your funds.

However, there’s one question that many baby boomers struggle with: are online investments safe investments? Many baby boomers are already a little concerned with the overall safety of the online experience. Getting many boomers to feel comfortable online can be tricky and when it comes to dealing with their hard earned money it can be difficult.

Depending on who you are, the answer may vary significantly. Online investments are a great option for those who might want to invest a little money or who just want to see how it all works. Yet only your investment adviser or investment firms should be trusted to make the big bucks that can have you enjoying that Florida retirement as opposed to watching your retirement dreams go down the drain!

The fact that these investment strategies are done online shouldn’t lull you into a sense of complacency – these are still real stocks, and you’ll be competing with Wall Street stockbrokers. Unless you’re a stockbroker yourself or an experienced investment adviser, it’s best to leave your retirement to the pros. After all, they’ve made careers out of creating healthy and diversified investments for various retirement plans and they can do the same for you as well in Future.

When you invest in a mutual fund and Savings and other funds , there is a good chance that you will be able to receive some dividends as a shareholder. Mutual funds invest in stocks and bonds in most cases. Stocks regularly pay dividends to their shareholders. Bonds pay interest on a monthly basis. Both of these sources of income combine to provide dividends for the mutual fund to divide up between the investors. Many mutual funds will give you the option of immediately reinvesting your dividends into the fund. This will get you more shares in the mutual fund quickly. Once you purchase more shares, the next dividend payment that is issued will be larger. You can then use that money to buy even more shares. This compounding makes it possible to grow your account substantially in a short period of time

Investing in mutual funds can be a quick and relatively inexpensive way to build a diverse portfolio of stocks and bonds, with the benefits of professional management included.
What the role play mutual fund as investment after retirments you can make more money by using your funds as mutual funds after retirment and led a simple and successfull life.
In a mutual fund, individuals pool their money to buy investments, which usually consist of stocks, bonds and cash. Professional managers handle the actual stock and bond picking. At the end of each market day, the value of the fund's investment pool is totaled and divided by the number of fund shares outstanding to determine each share's daily value.National policies that have created or enhanced tax-advantaged savings accounts have proved integral to helping british prepare for retirement and other long-term savings goals. Because many Americans use mutual funds in tax-advantaged accounts to reach these goals, many companies 'studies funds’ and investments funds role in the retirement and education savings markets and the investors who use many companies plans, and other tax-advantaged savings vehicles. etc and

Currently three different pension plans exist for US military people and they are available to them based on the date they started military service. Military retirement calculator helps to calculate the details of the retirement for each pension plan. Usually you have to input certain variables (current savings, interest rate. etc.) and you are given the amount that you will receive after retiring.
The three retirement plans are:

- Final Pay Plan: is applicable only to those military personnel that joined US army prior to September 8, 1980. Military retirement calculator multiplies years of service by 2.5% (however this cannot exceed 75%) and then multiplies the obtained result by final base pay. Any allowances for subsistence, housing or for any other issues are not regarded in the calculations.

So to rephrase what we just said a person, who served at the military service for 20 years, receives half of his/her final base pay. This share increases with the years of service at the military, but eventually cannot exceed 75 percent of the base pay. So in other words, people that served for more than 30 years do not get higher pension than those who served exactly 30 years;

- High-3 Retirement Plan: is for those military personnel that joined army during the period September 8, 1980 – August 1, 1986. This plan is quite similar to Final Pay Plan: the military retirement calculator first multiplies years of service by 2.5% that equals to 50% for 20 years and 75% for 30 years (the maximum is 75% as in Final Pay Plan). Afterwards finds the average base pay for those 36 months in your career that paid the highest base pay (usually last three years) and multiplies these two numbers. This will be your retirement pay.

- Redux Plan: this plan involves giving $30,000 “career status bonus” after 15 years of active duty at the military service.

This plan is applicable to those individuals that joined military service after August 1, 1986. After 15 years of service military personnel have two options: either take old High-3 Retirement Plan or take $30,000 at once and calculate retirement pay under Redux Plan.

The Redux Plan is similar to High-3 Retirement Plan, but the percentages and shares differ. In case of High-3 Retirement the military retirement calculator multiplies the years of service by 2.5%, while in case of Redux Plan first 20 years of service is multiplied by 2% and number of years at the service between 20 and 30 years by 3.5%.

There is easy method to calculate the Miltry pension. But now currently three different pension plans exist for US military people and they are available to them based on the date they started military service. Military retirement calculator helps to calculate the details of the retirement for each pension plan. Usually you have to input certain variables (current savings, interest rate. etc.) and you are given the amount that you will receive after retiring.
The three retirement plans are:

Final Pay Plan: is applicable only to those military personnel that joined US army prior to September 8, 1980. Military retirement calculator multiplies years of service by 2.5% (however this cannot exceed 75%) and then multiplies the obtained result by final base pay. Any allowances for subsistence, housing or for any other issues are not regarded in the calculations.

So to rephrase what we just said a person, who served at the military service for 20 years, receives half of his/her final base pay. This share increases with the years of service at the military, but eventually cannot exceed 75 percent of the base pay. So in other words, people that served for more than 30 years do not get higher pension than those who served exactly 30 years;

High-3 Retirement Plan: is for those military personnel that joined army during the period September 8, 1980 – August 1, 1986. This plan is quite similar to Final Pay Plan: the military retirement calculator first multiplies years of service by 2.5% that equals to 50% for 20 years and 75% for 30 years (the maximum is 75% as in Final Pay Plan). Afterwards finds the average base pay for those 36 months in your career that paid the highest base pay (usually last three years) and multiplies these two numbers. This will be your retirement pay.

- Redux Plan: this plan involves giving $30,000 “career status bonus” after 15 years of active duty at the military service.

This plan is applicable to those individuals that joined military service after August 1, 1986. After 15 years of service military personnel have two options: either take old High-3 Retirement Plan or take $30,000 at once and calculate retirement pay under Redux Plan.

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that EarlyRetirement is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE! of any cost
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more! You can investment in any finanacial Institution.

Once you have some idea of what your retirement needs might be, and the retirement savings options available to you, you can start outlining your investment plan using mutual funds. The strategy you choose for developing a retirement portfolio should be based on a variety of factors. You need to carefully consider: All those headings

• The amount of time you have to achieve your goal.
• The level of risk you are comfortable with your investment
  
• The amount of money available to invest for retirement.
• The amount of money available for other basic goal
  
• How much time and effort do you want to manage Your investment
  

You need to develop a retirement strategy that fits your personal investment philosophy and stage of life. While no two portfolios are exactly alike, the model retirement portfolios provided in the Model Portfolio section should help you assess how to allocate your investments among various types of Mutual funds within general investment categories.

For many people who are drawing on their savings to fund current retirement, the safest route often makes the most sense. This means being invested in T-bills and bonds which are certain not to lose value. However, like all issues in investing, there are some drawbacks to the safest approach.

Bond interest is taxed fully as income. For investments outside of tax-sheltered retirement plans, investors can often achieve greater after-tax income, with a minor amount of extra risk, by owning preferred shares of large established companies. The dividend interest is taxed at an approximate 35% rate for top income earners, compared to around 50% for interest income. This can mean a considerable tax saving at all income levels. People owning bonds are often at a disadvantage due to inflation. The amount of interest from bonds may be sufficient for current expenses, but will it be enough in 10 or 15 years when expenses are higher? A sound strategy, then, for people who are just retired and are facing another 20 or more years of life expectancy, would be to have at least some portion of their investments in assets that keep up to inflation. For some, the ownership of their home or other real estate may be enough. For others, it may be wise to have some ownership of stocks, in order to achieve the higher returns over time.

For retired people invested in stocks via mutual funds, a systematic withdrawal plan could work well as an alternative to owning bonds. Such a plan would allow the withdrawal of funds on a monthly or annual basis, much like receiving interest from a bond. However, there are two important benefits: (1) the amount withdrawn in the early years would be treated for the most part as return of capital, and therefore not taxed; and (2) if the rate of withdrawal is less than the rate of return achieved by the mutual fund, then the amount invested would continue to grow over time. Instead of, or in addition to, investing in bonds, using a systematic withdrawal plan connected to an equity mutual fund could well allow a retired person a higher after-tax income as well as inflation protection. (Direct ownership of a properly diversified stock portfolio could achieve the same advantages)

The next most important rule in achieving high retirement savings is to use a sound strategy. A sound strategy does not necessarily mean the safest strategy. Rather, a sound strategy is one which goes further, taking on a moderate amount of risk, in order to boost the average annual return over time. Consider someone starting with $100,000. After 30 years, the value of the portfolio, compounded at 5%, would be $444,671. If, instead, the portfolio compounded at 8%, the value would be $1,052,470. This is an enormous difference and would probably mean a lot to a retired person's comfort level and enjoyment of life. This illustrates why it is important to work hard to produce the extra 2 or 3 percentage points of average annual return.

The safest route in investing is to hold government treasury bills and short-term government bonds. Currently, this would give a return of no more than 5% per year. This provides for the almost certain return of money invested, plus interest. However, there is an important shortcoming to this approach for those seeking to maximize return over time. Historically, stock markets have produced a higher average rate of return than treasury bill or bond investments when measured over periods of several decades. For the period 1954 to 1995 in Canada (prior to the recent run-up in the stock market) average returns were as follows: T-bills 6.6%; Long bonds 6.6%; stocks 10.5%. (U.S. historical figures are similar).

Certainly, there is a higher risk associated with owning stocks, and the returns cited are for the broad stock market as a whole (not individual company stocks which may have done better or worse). In addition, there is greater volatility of returns year by year for stocks compared to the others, although over 10 year periods since the 1950s, stocks have shown positive returns. Will history repeat itself? That is, will a properly diversified stock portfolio continue to outperform T-bills and bonds? There are no guarantees. However, with history on their side, investors with at least 5 to 10 years until retirement, should consider some stock ownership in their portfolios. Perhaps, with a portfolio half in stocks and half in bonds, they would be able to achieve something closer to 8% on average than 5% over a period of a decade or more.

Various studies of historical data have concluded that portfolios that are diversified into different types of assets, such as bonds, T-bills, and domestic and foreign stocks, provide the best return and lowest risk over time. Indeed, in recent years, foreign stock markets have far outperformed the Canadian stock market (mainly due to the greater weighting of resource stocks in the Canadian market). Given that this may not change in the future, it makes sense for Canadian investors seeking highest returns and lowest risk to maximize the amount of foreign investments in their portfolio.

The investment choices available: Large corporations typically limit investment choices to Mutual funds bond securities share and . Smaller companies may do the same, but are more likely to allow self-direction of investments, allowing the participant to choose among stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other available investments, similar to the investment options available in a self-directed IRA. If investments in the 401(k) are limited, Casey will need to decide whether he prefers to contribute to an IRA, which would provide a broader range of investments from which to choose. ccessibility: While retirement savings are intended to accumulate until retirement, situations sometime arise that leave the participant no choice but to make withdrawals or loans from their retirement accounts. Generally, assets in a 401(k) plan cannot be withdrawn unless the participant experiences a . However, if the plan has a loan feature, Casey could take a loan from his account and repay it within five years (or longer if the loan is to be used for the purchase of a principal residence). IRA assets can be withdrawn at any time. However, except for approval contribution, the amount cannot be repaid to the IRA. (For information about taking loans from a qualified plan account,

t's not just investments that are the problem: Social Security needs financial resuscitation, and the bursting of the housing bubble that helped spark the financial crisis vaporized the home equity many people were counting on to fund their golden years. Corporations are curtailing traditional pensions and older Americans are being forced to work longer to make up the difference. Where does this leave our retirement plans? Ask a middle-class American when he plans to retire, and more often than not you'll get a wry chuckle and "I'll be working until I die." The attempt at humor masks what may be close to reality for some people.

The retirement-savings system in the U.S. is "a failed experiment," said Teresa Ghilarducci, the Bernard Schwartz professor of economics at The New School for Social Research in New York.

The U.S. system is "headed for a serious train wreck," said John Bogle, founder and former chief executive of the Vanguard Group, in testimony to a House committee hearing on retirement security in February.

Banking is just a part of life. Unless you keep all your cash locked up in a safe at home, you probably use a bank to hold on to most of your money. But not only do banks hold our money, but they provide a lot of useful services such as writing checks, offering ATM and debit cards, savings accounts, and even online bill payments. But these services aren't always free.

Even when a bank does offer free services, there are still many little events that can trigger small bank fees. Using an out of network ATM can cost you a few dollars. Having your balance in your account drop below a certain limit may trigger a monthly service fee. And obviously, overdrawing your account or writing a bad check can be costly.

While the fees may not always be large, if they happen frequently it can really start to add up. A few dollars here and there could end up costing you $20 each month or more.

The most important component of any New Years resolution is the part where you actually do it. Resolving to do something and then not carrying through only leads to frustration and failure. Why not increase your chances of achieving your long-term retirement planning goals by designing your resolutions better from the start?

Here are three achievable New Years resolutions that can help you meet your retirement planning goals. you’re saving less than $100 a month for retirement or not saving at all, it’s really hard to carry through on a resolution to save $500 a month for retirement this year. Your likely best case is to try it for a few weeks, realize your goal is not attainable, and – like nearly everyone else – give up on your one-month old resolution.

Instead, make your resolution realistic. Commit to raising your savings rate by a meaningful but reasonable level. If the goal is too easy, then it isn’t much of a resolution. But again, if your target is out of reach, you’re likely to throw the baby out with the bathwater, leaving you with less for your retirement.

NEW YORK - When it comes to retirement planning, one size does not fit all.

Consider the basics when drafting a retirement plan--housing, transportation, routine living expenses and health care--but there are so many variables that putting together a plan cookbook-style is almost certain to create future financial problems.

"Retirement planning is highly personal, an actuarial adviser for in Hartford, Conn. "There aren't many rules of thumb." That means reading widely and working closely with a financial adviser to develop a detailed plan that fits your needs.

It's also possible to make unplanned trade-offs during retirement to hold on to what's important. For example, if you planned to live on caviar and champagne in retirement, you can easily cut back to hamburgers and beer, if that means holding on to the vacation home.

Remember that you can't plan precisely for a potentially catastrophic medical problem, which may change everything. Health care is the wild card, and planning based on current expenses may not cover future costs.

"If you don't understand the risks, you can't mitigate them and that means you won't have a comprehensive retirement plan," Weiss says.

For many, failure to plan for retirement stems from inertia. If you've come down with a chronic case of the do-nothings, time will soon kick you in the butt. However, following the pack can be worse than doing nothing. Don't buy mutual funds, insurance or annuities simply because a friend or acquaintance bought the product or recommended it.