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Recent Articles on Retirement
How do I plan for retirement? ANSWER: Watch film and hit the weights (?!)
College football season is here, and I LOVE IT. There's nothing like eating some great food, drinking a tasty beverage and watching your team battle it out on the field. Much like a football team preps for an upcoming season, you must do your homework and do a little prepping for your retirement. You won't necessarily need to hit the gym and power clean a truck, but you'll need to make sure you have your financial picture in shape well before you decide to make the transition from accumulation to spending. Study your opponent: Expenses One of the most important [...]
Common questions about the Retirement Plan Change
Common questions about the Lockheed Martin Retirement Plan Change In 2014, Lockheed Martin announced they will make changes to the company's retirement benefits package. If you were affected, you probably know it by now, as the changes started taking affect in 2016 and will be complete in 2020. Below I thought I'd run down some of the biggest questions clients have about the Lockheed Martin retirement plan changes. Am I affected by the pension plan change? If you are a salaried, U.S.-based employee in the Lockheed Martin Salaried Employees Retirement Program (Pension Plan) as well as the Capital Accumulation Program [...]
What is a target date fund? Pros and Cons for Lockheed Martin 401k Participants
When you log into your Empower Lockheed Martin 401k account you might have seen investment options named target date fund 20xx. These are funds you can invest in other than the traditional investment options (S&P 500, common stock fund, broad market bond index, etc.) that have a mix of the other choices. The investment mix of these target date funds are based on what the last two digits are in the year. Generally, a 401k participant would pick the target date fund with the year closest to their estimated retirement date. For example, if you were planning on retiring in 2027, [...]
Do I have enough to retire?
When a new Lockheed client meets with me, one of the first questions on their mind is “Do I have enough to retire?” That’s usually the reason that brings them to set up a time to meet. Basically, what you are trying to determine is whether or not the 401k and other assets will be able to provide enough income to cover expenses when you stop working. So to figure it out, we need to examine both sides of the question, expenses and income. Retirement Expenses First, let’s discuss the expense side. In other words how much do we need [...]
Should I use my Lockheed Martin 401k to pay off my mortgage?
At retirement, a very common question we are asked is, “Should I use my 401k from work to pay off my mortgage when I retire?” Getting rid of that monthly payment can seem like a great idea to lower your expenses during retirement. A lot of factors can determine if it’s a good idea or not, but let’s examine the benefits and drawbacks a little further. Note: When I use “401k” I also want to include IRA/SEP/SIMPLE IRA etc., but I’ll just use 401k going forward to simplify things. When you retire, you have a few options for your old [...]
Robo-Advisor: Should I use one for my Lockheed Martin retirement?
"Should I use a robo-advisor for my Lockheed Martin retirement?" The term "robo-advisor" has become an investing buzz-word over the last several years. I thought I'd try to take a big picture look at what the term means and look at the positives and negatives of using a robo-platform for your investment needs. Then you can decide if it might be a good option for your retirement planning needs. What does robo-advisor mean? The term robo-advisor basically means you are using a computer program to solve your investment or overall financial planning needs. The computer program may use a combination of [...]