Do you crave sun and beaches in retirement?

So, where are the best areas to retire? Or if you are retiring this year, what are the best places to retire in 2012? Moving to another area in retirement has become quite fashionable however, the “brakes have been put on” a little due to the real estate crisis.

It’s a “catch 22″ situation right now; home values are down a lot in most areas which means people are hanging onto them until the real estate situation improves but on the flip side, buying real estate is cheap so for many, selling their homes cheap could be offset by buying just as cheap elsewhere.

Hope that made some sense?

But back to the question of where are the best places to retire and an article which surfaced recently at money.usnews.com which we wanted to bring to you earlier could very well have the answer you’ve been looking for. Each of the ten places listed are in the US. There are many reasons people will move to a new location to retire with weather being one and affordability another. But it’s a major decision especially when you leave kids and grand kids behind.

The report list areas such as Flagstaff, Arizona, Boone, North Carolina, Traverse City, Michigan and Port Charlotte, Florida. Do any of these areas “ring a bell” with you?

Better weather, affordable housing, and plenty of interesting things to do are just a few reasons people move to a new place when they retire. Whether you want to spend your golden years watching the sun set over the water or taking on a second career, we’ve identified an ideal place. Using data from Onboard Informatics, U.S. News selected 10 key attributes that many people look for in a retirement spot, along with a city that excels in meeting each need. Here are 10 excellent places to retire in 2012.

Pleasant year-round weather: Flagstaff, Ariz.

Flagstaff’s high altitude and low humidity generally lead to a pleasant four-season climate throughout most of the year. To select a place with great year-round weather, we used National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data to find places with the most sunny days. Among the sunniest cities, we looked for places where the temperature seldom rises above 90 degrees. The sun shines in Flagstaff an average of 78 percent of the year, according to NOAA data, but unlike most other sunny climates, the temperature only rises above 90 degrees an average of three days per year…..

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What’s our favorite on the list? Well, we don’t want to show any bias towards any one area but just quietly, Port Charlotte in Florida sounds appealing. It’s an area we are pretty familiar with and if you tried to buy property there just five short years ago you would have been shelling out a small fortune, especially on a waterway.

We would like to add one more area to that least. It’s Panama City Beach in the Florida Pan Handle and we have mentioned this area before. It’s still very much what old Florida used to be like and while there has been development going on here, for the perfect retirement lifestyle, it’s hard to beat.

Panama City Beach is a popular destination for the northern snowbirds who flock to it in droves during the fall and winter months with many staying for almost half a year. We don’t blame them. It’s one of our favorite places on the planet and if it’s long, wide, white sandy beaches you’re after, this is the place to come.

How about you? What are the best areas to retire in your opinion? We’d love to know and invite you to leave a comment and add to our list.

Do you need to save more monet towards your retirement?

So, how to save more money for retirement? Today, A set of tips on how to increase your retirement savings. The article is based on a set of new year resolutions but these are such important tips that they will apply to you at anytime of the year.

The general theme revolves around one important aspect when saving for retirement; reassess and readjust. This is a theme that seems to be on the urgency list for many retirement planning advisers today and it’s no wonder. With the stock market volatile, real estate struggling and the economy in general “in a hole”, simply creating a nest egg and then rechecking it just before retirement day doesn’t really make sense.

The report at money.msn.com lists twelve crucial ways on how to keep your retirement savings growing. They include:

- simply saving more this year…up to $500 more
- getting a 401(k) match
- getting every advantage you can with tax breaks for your retirement savings
- check the fees you’re paying and minimize them
- check in with a retirement planning expert to give your plan a check up
- talk to people already retired and find out what’s working and what’s not working

Some new developments could help you save more for retirement in 2012, including a higher 401k contribution limit and better access to 401k fee information. Of course, your ability to save and invest will largely determine your retirement success.

If you’re aiming to improve your finances in the new year, try to incorporate a few of these tips into your retirement plan. Here are 12 ways to get better prepared for retirement in 2012.

Save $500 more next year. Consider resetting the automatic contribution to your 401k to include an extra $42 per month. The contribution limit for 401k’s, 403b’s and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan will increase by $500 in 2012, to $17,000. And workers 50 and older will be able to contribute an extra $5,500 next year.

“Always allocate a percentage to your retirement account from your paycheck before you spend, even if it is a tiny amount,” says Elaine King, a certified financial planner and the managing director of wealth planning at Lubitz Financial Group in Miami. “It is the discipline that counts.”…..

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Do these tips on how to save more money for retirement make sense to you? They should. We have spoken a lot about the danger of just letting your retirement plan just sit there without checking in on it on a regular basis.

No, we are not talking about moving your investments around. We are simply saying that by watching your nest egg during these volatile times means you can re-adjust when you need to. And using extra money when you have it to invest in your plan will benefit you much more in the long run.

Are you making the same retirement planning mistakes mentioned in this article?

A huge retirement planning mistake caught our attention and we figured that this is one that most of us would have made without realizing it at the time. Here are the main retirement planning mistakes people make and while some of these look familiar, they are worth repeating because people keep making them over and over again.

The top three are:

- people start saving too late
- people count on 100% of their Social Security to get them through retirement
- people don’t factor in inflation when calculating their retirement planning savings

Okay, these are the top three and while they are common, it’s never too late to alter course. In other words, if you have left it late for retirement then the answer many folks get is that it’s never too late to start to save for retirement.

But how about the biggest mistake in planning for retirement people make? An article at seekingalpha.com got it right in our opinion when the author talked about the most overlooked factor that can lead to lack of finances in retirement. It’s when people are young and they are expected to think forty years into the future. It’s unnatural and most won’. They think they are indestructible and couldn’t imagine themselves being 40, 50 let alone, 65.

In talking about starting early, he starts out with something like, let’s say a 25 year old wants to retire at 65, and then he crunches some numbers showing the importance of starting early. He is right but there is a problem here that I have thought of often but could never figure out how to articulate (and maybe I still can’t).

Think back to when you were 25. Could you have possibly had any understanding or what it meant to be 65? When I was 25, even 40 seemed to be so far into the future that it would never come (not that I wouldn’t make it to 40, but more like it would never come for being so far off in the future). As I got close to 40 I realized that when I was in my 20s I had no concept of what 40 would feel like. At 45 now, from a self-awareness point of view I am quite certain that I don’t really know what it will feel like to be 65, it is possible I don’t understand 50.

Think back to when you were 25. Could you have possibly had any understanding or what it meant to be 65? When I was 25, even 40 seemed to be so far into the future that it would never come (not that I wouldn’t make it to 40, but more like it would never come for being so far off in the future). As I got close to 40 I realized that when I was in my 20s I had no concept of what 40 would feel like. At 45 now, from a self-awareness point of view I am quite certain that I don’t really know what it will feel like to be 65, it is possible I don’t understand 50…..

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Wish I had of read this article when it really counted for me. The main retirement planning mistakes people make have to do with not taking it seriously enough. I remember a dream I had when I was in my twenties about when I reached fifty and remember clearly waking up and thinking “what a nightmare”. Well, it’s fast approaching.

Life happens fast and time passes quickly. If you are still “sitting on the fence” about retirement planning then make moves today to get into the game. It’s unlikely you will regret it.

Prepare for financial security in retirement With "Ron's Road to Wealth" as your guide.

I saw a headline recently which said…“what you need to know about Social Security”? We thought we’d take it one step further and look at what you need to know about Social Security in retirement? Because right now, there is a strong feeling among financial experts that Social Security on it’s current path, won’t be available by mid 2030.

Does that concern you? If you are retiring in the next couple of years there’s a strong chance you won’t be affected. But then again, people are living a lot longer today than when Social Security was first introduced and you could well live to close to 100 years.

Again, does that concern you knowing that the experts are extremely worried Social Security funds will dry up?

The truth is, many retirement plans are “upside down” right now; many people don’t even have one and many are simply on relying on Social Security to get them through their golden years. What happens if it dries up sooner? Where does that leave you if you are one of those folks banking on Social Security in retirement?

We always like to study facts because knowing the facts about anything will give you a true indication of where things are at. That’s why the following post at financialedge.investopedia.com caught our attention. It simply looks at how to make Social Security work? It lists life expectancy issues, the costs of funding Social Security and the solutions to preventing a Social Security shortfall.

This is important stuff and will only take you a couple of minutes to read. When we come back we’ll give you the reason why this article is so important.

In his book “Ron’s Road To Wealth,” well-known investment manager Ron Muhlenkamp detailed that the average life expectancy for Americans was 63 years of age back when the Social Security Act was passed. The act set the retirement age at 65, which meant that, on average, individuals could expect to collect retirement benefits for a couple of years. He also pointed out that there were 40 workers for each retired individual back around when the act was passed.

The original motivation of the Social Security Act was to provide a safety net for retirees, as many did not have enough capital saved to live modestly when they stopped working. As such, it was more of an insurance policy to help individuals fund retirement, and given the lower life expectancy, the vast majority of people didn’t have the opportunity to collect on Social Security benefits…..

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Facts about Social Security in retirement are being posted more frequently today and for good reason. People need to be informed instead of taking things for granted. We like to post stuff like this because it can create a little urgency in some people.

Instead of hoping that Social Security will still be around by the time they retire, starting or bolstering a retirement plan makes better sense instead. Social Security will then just be “icing on the cake”.

Does that make sense?

What's your biggest concern with planning for retirement?

So, is it hard planning for retirement? What concerns should you have about retirement? Is planning for retirement different to the way my parents did it? Lots of questions are being asked today from concerned folks about their retirement planning and for good reason.

Retirement has become a hot topic, not because it promises to provide people with everything they have been planning for during the course of their working lives but more so because it won’t. Unless you have been “burying your head in the sand” then you know that things economically are not good.

Real estate especially is one of the biggest drawbacks for baby boomers as they head into retirement. Many would have been planning to move to another location but despite their homes being paid for, they can’t or won’t sell them to finance their retirement plans because they are not going to get anywhere near the price they were hoping for.

One of the biggest changes to planning for retirement is that there may not be a retirement after all. If that doesn’t make sense then consider that many people now are being forced into working in retirement. Why? Because they are falling short of their financial goals.

Planning for retirement and the changes attached to it are looked at in a short but revealing interview on the Forbes.com You Tube channel. It’s an interview that spells out the importance of starting a retirement plan as soon as possible and if you are years away from hanging up the work clothes then this might be the most important three minutes you spend online today.

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Did that interview make you sit up and take notice? In other words, are you going to check the status of your retirement plan or if you haven’t got one, get something going today?

Urgency in planning for retirement is vital right now. When we get asked is it hard planning for retirement then the answer is yes and the toughest part is getting across the starting line and getting into the retirement planning stakes. But it doesn’t have to be. Only you can make it happen.

What do we suggest? See a retirement planning expert as soon as you can. At least get the options available to you.

How is your retirement plan coming along?

How important is retirement planning anyway? Well, how important is a comfortable retirement? It’s amazing to see so many people still ask this question and it seems that many of the people asking are from a generation known for every major trend of the last 60 years.

Yes, the Baby Boomers have been making headlines for several decades now but according to a report at accountingtoday.com, they haven’t really done as good a job as they could have at planning for retirement. Many are now starting to “hang up their work clothes but have been met with issues such as a bad economy, volatile investments and a “near dead” real estate market.

So can you really blame them if they fall short at retirement. With real estate for example, many would have been banking on their homes as providing a large chunk of that retirement income.

The report says the following two generations, Generations X and Y, are doing a much better job at planning for retirement than the Baby Boomers. In fact, the news for Baby Boomers gets worse as a survey shows that 3 out of every 4 are not confident of reaching their saving goals by the time they reach retirement day.

The survey, by TD Ameritrade, found that members of both Generations X and Y are doing more to save for retirement than their parents and grandparents. The survey found, though, that across the generations, more people are putting away money for retirement: 85 percent of the respondents have an Individual Retirement Account and/or a 401(k)/403(b) plan, while 36 percent have both.

But the younger generation of workers are apparently more diligent at saving for retirement: 25 percent of Gen Y and 23 percent of Gen X are funding both their 401(k)/403(b) plans and their IRAs, compared to 16 percent of Boomers and 9 percent of Matures. The survey defines Mature as those born between 1930 and 1945, Boomer as those born between 1946 and 1964, Gen X as those born between 1965 and 1976, and Gen Y as born between 1977 and 1989.

However, the survey found that 74 percent of Boomers are not completely confident that they will reach their savings goals by the time they are ready to retire.

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“The good news is that many working Americans, especially those who are young, are taking advantage of saving for retirement in a tax-free environment through options like an IRA, despite a tough economy,” said TD Ameritrade managing director of investor services Carrie Braxdale in a statement…..

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So, how important is planning for retirement? Well, once again, it’s extremely important but if you are one of the Baby Boomers referred to in the article then don’t despair. It’s not too late to do something about it.

These figures have been reported now for sometime and it’s easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom and just accept it as your lot. Well, don’t. We suggest talking to a retirement planning expert as soon as you can voicing your concern but also wanting a solution. Time may be short but their are options.

Are you a Baby Boomer scared about retirement? Is it because of finances or a lack of them? What plan have you got as a back up? Do you have a plan? The reason we post articles like this is not to scare but to get some urgency going. We hope it’s getting through.

One of the best books ever written on general financial planning information.

The best steps to retirement planning start with making a plan. Not earth shattering advice but this is the step most people get wrong. It’s like a ship sailing around a harbor without a destination; that’s how many plan for retirement. So male a plan so you have an end goal to reach.

The next step is to become a little savvy and understand what a retirement plan involves. No, we are not talking about becomes a world renowned expert on the subject; just understand what it is you are about to do. Going in to talk to a retirement planning expert is a great move but we recommend you don’t do this until; you have researched what is available and know how retirement planning works.

This is crucial in understanding your adviser. Picking the right one comes down to figuring out who has your best interests at heart. Retirement planners are a dime a dozen; finding one who actually puts your retirement first and is working for you without thinking of their fee can be another matter.

A short PDF treport at analyzenow.com we came across caught our attention because of the fact it outlines retirement planning strategies at three different stages leading up to the big day; 15, 10 and 5 years before retirement. Take notice of the point about not broadcasting your retirement day date to anyone in the last section.

Ensure that you are saving enough of your income. At the least, use a good retirement planning program such as one from www.analyzenow.com. (Consumer Reports, Feb, 2011, rated the Free Retirement Planner on that site as the best free program, better than Vanguard and Fidelity which were also in the top three.) See a competent Certified Financial Planner (CFP) as well.

If you are not already financially savvy, start reading some financial material, but keep in mind that much of it likely has a financial bias to sell financial products that benefit the source. If you’ve been dabbling in individual stock purchases, stop. Get into broad, low-cost index funds. I like the writing of Larry Swedrow and John Bogle. An excellent book for a beginner is Getting Started in a Financially Secure Retirement, Wiley, 2007.

10 years before retiring:

Same as above, but add the following:

Make definitive plans when you should downsize your home if your retirement plan requires that you get equity from your house. The earlier you downsize, the better off you are likely to be in retirement. If you are going to move to a new location in retirement, you need to make plans for lots of first-hand, up-close research…..

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The best steps to retirement planning starts with making a plan and having an end target to reach. It is also about making adjustments along the way when needed and that’s what we liked about this report. It is not extensive, yet straight to the point and this is the type of stuff you can make a list from and talk to your retirement expert about.

Another great point in the report was to try living at least 12 months on the retirement budget you have planned and see how that works out. This could be at anytime and will give you a great insight as to what you can and cannot afford to do. Make sense?

Learn how to maximize your retirement income and enjoy your retirement years in comfort.

One of the keys in knowing how to prepare a retirement budget is putting down on paper exactly what it is you want from retirement. Too many people listen to what others want and assume that’s exactly what they need in retirement. In most cases, it isn’t.

Some want to travel; others want to increase the time spent on their favorite hobby; some simply just want to relax and enjoy their time by catching up on their favorite TV shows. The fact is, if you have a preference of what it is you want in retirement then you need to declare it. Once you do, you can begin working towards making it happen.

The first thing people think of in retirement planning is finances; how much will you need to retire? That’s understandable. The best way to alleviate this concern is to prepare a retirement budget before you actually retire.

Make sense?

Don’t get a retirement budget confused with a day to day budget. We are talking about a savings plan for retirement. Something that will sustain you through possibly 30 years or more of life after you “hang up the work clothes”. So how do you create a retirement budget? The following set of tips on retirement planning at ehow.com are simple but effective. They can give you a starting point to get that budget up and running.

Planning for your retirement can make all the difference in how relaxed those years are. If you make sure you are covered and safe by the time you retire, you will be able to enjoy your free time rather than having to worry about meeting your expenses and debts. Having a retirement budget in place years before you actually retire is the first step to a successful retirement plan.

# 1 Think about changes that will impact your budget, both positively and negatively. For example, you may lose your health insurance once you retire or you may want to sell your home and move to a smaller place, thus saving in taxes and utilities.

# 2 Decide how much money you need to live comfortably. Don’t use your present salary as a guideline. Instead, think about the type of lifestyle you would like to have after you retire. Your salary may be enough now, but it will be different if you plan on traveling or pursuing a hobby once you are into retirement.

# 3 Think about payments or debts you will no longer have after retirement and plan your budget accordingly. Mortgage is the most obvious one, but car payments, college loans and even credit card debt may well change by the time you reach 60 years old.

# 4 Plan for a long retirement. Most people live in retirement at least 20 years. If you retire at 55, expect that number to be even larger. You need enough savings to last you for that period even before tapping into your retirement fund and your IRAs…..

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Do you know how to prepare a retirement budget? Does the information in this article “ring a bell” with you? Are there any tips on retirement budgets you want to share with us? We’d certainly appreciate it.

The last point is extremely important. It mentions stepping up your plan at least five years before you retire. We suggest if you are close to retirement step it up as soon as possible. Five years is just a guide and we feel it doesn’t really matter when you decode to step it up but at some point you will want to.

The truth is, a retirement calculator is only as good as the information you put in it but we believe strongly in them for one very good reason; they seem to get some urgency going within people who can suddenly see where they are retirement-wise and how much work they need to do to get their retirement planning nest egg up to the level that will support them comfortably in retirement.

What they cannot do is predict life and show you if there are unexpected surprises in your future. A good retirement calculator will allow for inflation but we never recommend using them as you one and only tool to get a handle on what you need to do to reach your retirement goals.

Click here for our list of favorite retirement calculators.

Meanwhile, retirement calculators would fall under the financial calculator banner and it’s amazing how many peoiple are now using these tools. No longer do you need to use your own manual calculation or a physical calculator. Now, the proliferation of financial calculators, retirement calculators included, online is staggering.

A report at sfgate.com highlighted this in no uncertain manner. The days of manual calculations are gone and as far as physical calculators are concerned, now a smart phone takes care of that. Most have calculators but if you need one of the financial or retirement calculators mentioned in this report you simply find one online.

The math teachers of the world may not want to hear it, but having to manually compute anything is a thing of the past, especially when it involves money and finance. Thanks to the internet, there is a financial calculator for nearly every financial decision you have to make. Here are a few that fall outside of the normal loan calculators.

Should My Spouse Work?

If both you and your spouse are working, more money is coming in. That’s the wisdom behind the decision to join the workforce, but once you factor in expenses like child care, transportation and work clothing, how much net income is really finding its way to your bank account? Bankrate has a calculator that helps you decide if having a working spouse is substantially increasing your income.

Pay Your Debt or Invest?
Never live in debt! That’s what the financial experts believe to be the best advice for consumers, but do the numbers add up? It may not always be in your best interest to pay down debt especially if you can make more money by investing the funds. Yahoo! Finance wants to help you figure that out with its calculator…..

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How often do you use financial calculators? Are you A fan of retirement calculators? What is your favorite? Just remember, retirement calculators are not meant to be the be all and end all for your retirement planning calculations; they are meant to get some urgency going in your planning and when you know what you need to do then see a retirement planning expert and simply get it done.

Can you really rely on Social Security in retirement?

Can you rely on Social Security in retirement? Will Social Security be enough income in retirement? Good questions and ones being asked frequently these days as many baby boomers approach retirement without much in the way of retirement savings. And many who were relying on the home to provide a large chunk of their income in retirement are in trouble because of the huge downswing in real estate values.

It’s a similar story around the world. We are well aware of the situation in the United States and given the presence of the US, it’s no surprise to see it dominate discussions.

In Australia for example, pensions will be the main source of income for many retirees. Almost half of those who have retired say that a government allowance or pension is there main source of income according to a report we saw recently at smh.com.au.

ALMOST half of the 2.6 million full-time workers over the age of 45 say they intend to cut back to part-time hours before retirement. But 13 per cent of this age group say they do not plan to retire ever, Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday show.

For those over the age of 45, the average age of retirement now stands at 58 years for men and 50 for women, with one in four men and one in five women retiring due to sickness, an injury or disability.

The figures highlight the continuing disparity between the amount of money people think they will need in retirement and the reality of their situation.
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In an earlier survey, 45 per cent of those aged 45 years and over who had retired reported that a government pension or allowance was their main source of personal income at retirement. But in the newest figures, almost 2.1 million – about two-thirds of all those who were retired – indicated that the pension was their main source of current income.

The figures also highlight the continuing disparity between men’s and women’s financial security in their later years…..

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The question of can you rely on Social Security in retirement could be answered two ways. Firstly from the point of view of whether it will last. A lot of discussion has taken place in the past twelve months about the longevity of Social Security and whether it has a due date.

The other issue is whether you could comfortably get through retirement just on Social Security or a pension. Yes you could but it would be tough.

What do we suggest? Well, if you are closing in on retirement then speak to a retirement planning expert and look at your options. There are always options and choices and you should make sure you are are of what they are. Don’t just accept the inevitable. There will be lots of people in your situation and those who improve their lot are the ones who take action and get retirement advice. Will that be you?