Boomer Retirement Planning Resources: It's Not Our Parent's Retirement!
Boomer retirement planning looms in:
~the very near future (less than 1 year to 5 years away)
~the near future (6 to 10 years away)
~the distant future (11 to 20 years away).
We want to be savvy about how and where we obtain our information!
Wherever we are in the planning stage,
targeted,reliable information is crucial to all
aspects of our lives both now and in the future.
Let's get busy!
Boomer retirement planning concerns have been shaped by the unpresidented, rapid change to our society over the past several decades.
Baby Boomers are defined as Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964.
The oldest Boomers reached age 60 in 2006,and may be thinking about retirement, or have made that step, and want to ensure that they get the best out of retirement life!
We're also the first generation to have access to an unprecedented amount of information and technology. In light of this:
*How well are we (or have we) actually researched and planned for life after our "9-to-5"?
*Do we want a "phased" retirement?
*Do we want to stretch our entrepreneurial muscles and start a business
that we love?
Boomer retirement planning entails a lot more than the issue of having enough money.
Here are just a few things to consider for having a successful retirement:
* Having a healthy attitude
* Having a strong social-support system
* Having a good sense of humor
* Having a commitment to physical and mental activeness
* Having a sense of obligation to reach out and help others
* Having a strong spiritual life
* Having a good working knowledge of health care
Let this be your one-stop resource for information that's vital to retirement success!
Boomer Retirement Planning Resources: General
Below, you will find various resources related to Boomer retirement planning:
~FirstGov for Seniors: Retirement
This segment of the FirstGov.gov website is devoted to retirement, with special focus on Boomer retirement planning issues. It contains annotated online resources for a variety of topics.
This is gateway to U.S. government information and services for Baby Boomers, seniors, and those who work on their behalf is the product of a government-wide initiative. The agencies affiliated with this site add
more services and information on a continuing basis.
~American Association of Retired Persons
Considered THE top site for Boomer retirement planning, and senior topics in general, The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has been advocating on behalf of adults 50+ for many years. The website provides a host of important information about AARP's efforts and public outreach programs. From the homepage, you can access sections that include: Retirement, Issues and Elections, Health, and Learning and Technology.
Scroll down the homepage to the policy and research area. Here you can read and download reports on the future of Social Security and Medicaid. Check out the publications area for important content, including advice on financial planning and access to their in-house magazine. The AARP website also has an issues blog that helps keep concerned visitors up to date with issues of interest to older persons.
~Can You Afford to Retire?
This is an online companion to a 2006 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Frontline program that examines prospects of Boomer retirement planning issues, the Baby Boomer Generation, and current issues with pension and 401(k) savings plans.
It provides a FAQ about senior's and Boomer retirement planning, articles, analysis, interviews, retirement stories, a teacher's guide, and readings and links.
Includes video of the full program.
~The Economist: Pensions and Ageing
When near to – or in the throes of – retirement, we Boomers are notorious for wanting facts – and wanting them straight!
As one of the world's most authoritative and influential publications, The Economist is a weekly international news and business publication which offers clear reporting, commentary and analysis on world politics, business, finance, science and technology, books and culture. This section of Economist.com offers its’ readers a section called, “Pensions and Ageing” that covers up-to-the-minute, international news (yes; it covers the U.S.) on all issues pertaining to retirement and you.
Worth book marking!
~Financial Planning Association
The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) is a leadership and advocacy organization connecting those who provide, support and benefit from professional financial planning. There are wonderful resources and financial tools for Boomer retirement planning, and other consumer financial needs.
Click on "General Public" at the top of their home page, and then click on "Find a Planner".
FPA is the Heart of Financial Planning™ and "represents a promise of financial well-being, hoping to create a world where everyone thrives and prospers".
~FINRA: Broker Check Tool
This is a GREAT free tool for Boomer retirement planning that's provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
FINRA's BrokerCheck is a free online tool to help investors check the professional background of current and former FINRA-registered securities firms and brokers. It should be the first resource investors turn to when choosing whether to do business with a particular broker or brokerage firm.
At the home page for FINRA, under thw "Top Links" on the left,
click on "BrokerCheck".
Features of FINRA BrokerCheck include:
- Search capabilities for both a broker and brokerage
firm
- Online delivery of a report on a broker or brokerage firm
- Explanatory information to help investors better understand
the content,
context and source of the information provided
- Links to additional resources and tools
~ImmediateAnnuities.com
For the past decade, ImmediateAnnuities.com has been rated the #1 consumer resource for immediate annuities by the editors of BusinessWeek, Smart Money, WSJ, and Kiplingers.
ImmediateAnnuities.com is the website of Hersh Stern,
one of the nation's leading online immediate annuity brokers.
From his headquarters near Princeton, New Jersey, Hersh has
been publishing the Annuity Shopper magazine since 1986 and
offering leading edge annuity services to consumers, other agents,
and businesses. Hersh has also provided annuity consulting services
to hundreds of corporate pension clients. Good site!
~Kiplinger.com: Annuity Video
To help guide you through the complexities of annuities, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, with underwriting by MetLife, created the video, "Your Do-It-Yourself Pension" video.
~Kiplinger.com: Which Retirement Savings to Tap First?
When we're just about to get to that "great jumping off point" of Boomer retirement planning, one of the most important - and daunting - questions we ask is, "which retirement savings funds do I tap first for income?"
The editors of Kiplinger.com have provided a section on their online magazine just for us! *On it, I found a great calculator to help you to figure out which resource(s) to financially tap first, second, and so on. It would be well worth your time to test out this calculator just to give you a good, general idea of where you stand.
*(Note: As with any financial tool, always consult with a reputable financial planner and/or your tax advisor for another opinion).
~Kiplinger's Retirement Report
This is, undoubtably, one of the BEST newsletters for issues relating to all aspects of Boomer retirement planning!
One of the most trusted names in business and personal finance, Kiplinger has devoted and online and print newsletter that will compliment any baby boomer's information resources! It provides authoritative help to plan and enjoy a worry-free retirement.
~MarketWatch: Retirement Living
MarketWatch has an excellent page focusing on topics related to Boomer retirement planning at all stages!
Topics range from the best cities for retirement jobs, keeping your retirement on track during economic hard times, estate planning, retirement calculators, and more.
~NAPFA.org
For Boomer retirement planning, the National Association of Personal
Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a great resource tool!
NAPFA is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to the advancement
of Fee-Only comprehensive financial planning.
Consumers and the media look to NAPFA for access to financial
advisors who meet the highest standards for professional competency, comprehensive financial planning and Fee-Only compensation.
~PreRetirementLife.com
Boomer retirement planning encompasses not only life AFTER retirement, but also PRE-retirement. This important stage of retirement is filled with life-changing decisions.,/p>
PreRetirementLife.com provides hundreds of sites that can educate, inform, entertain, and most important, help you get things done. They've provided descriptions explaining why they think a site is among the most useful. Also, they invite you to rate our choices and suggest your own favorites.
~Retire Early.com
Boomer retirement planning wouldn't be complete without us at least considering the wonderful idea of retiring early (e.g., not being carried off the job feet first!).
Since 1996, the Retire Early website is one of the Web's first totally spam and scam free sites devoted to saving and investing for retirement.
What's great is that it has a chronological index to the many years-worth of priceless information. It gives you the date of an entry's first posting, and more important, the last time the entry was updated. Because a portion of this site's data is very time-sensitive, it allows its visitors to discern that data. Otherwise, the majority of the postings are timely.
As this venerable website states, "Retire Early shows you how to look out for your interests and make sure nobody yanks the yolk right out of your retirement nest egg."
 
~Retirement Red Zone
It seems that the "Retirement Red Zone" is a VERY critical time for Boomer retirement!
Prudential has set up a website that has various retirement-related calculators for people in the 5 years before, and 5 years after ("The Red Zone") retirement. That's when critical financial decisions are made that can last the rest of your life. Worth checking out.
~RetirementThink
What a great site for Boomer retirement planning!
Designed "for all people of all ages who need to map
out a retirement plan and expand their knowledge", RetirementThink" has weekly, up-to-the-minute coverage of relevant retirement planning subjects. Its parent site,
Financial Web
,is also a rich site for additional information.
With an emphasis on the financial aspects of retirement
planning and investing, their "Weekly Retirement" articles/blog and
archives is a wealth of information.
~ Senior Journal: Baby Boomers
A web site for senior's and Boomer retirement planning that's easily searchable, covering breaking news daily and featuring articles on entertainment,finances, grandparenting, healthcare, hobbies, nutrition, retirement, and travel, among other subjects. Links-Senior provides an annotated list of Web sites for Boomers and senior citizens on aging, investing, government programs, politics, and other issues.
~SiteSell.com
As a person in the throes of boomer retirement planning, I've dreamed about having a business not only from the comfort of my home, but also establishing a business that won't have me "chained" to my home office. One of my passions is information research, and another passion is enriching lives with credible information resources.
Mind you; I had started an online business before. While my intentions were good, out of ignorance, my approach was all wrong (and not lucrative at all).
I started to research online business programs, and kept running across references to a company called,
SiteSell.com.
I was SO GLAD that I did!. Sitesell.com provided the kind of resource I needed to build my own online business geared towards my PASSION!
I had seen plenty of so-called "get-rich-quick" schemes landing unannounced in my e-mails geared towards baby boomers retirement! Since I'm nearing retirement, I had been looking for a business model that I could not only enjoy doing, but something I could do from home or from any PC. I was looking for a business model that would allow me the freedom to pursue other passions in retirement, without having to constantly "mind the store". There are some out there, but,
SiteSell
provides incredible tools and support that allows the "greenest" of Internet novices to start and thrive in an online business.
If you're in the midst of retirement planning, and are thinking of being your own boss after retirement, or, you're already retired and want the excitement of starting a business from the comfort of your home, preview
SiteSell's powerful tool, "SiteBuildIt!" for current and future retirees.
You'll be glad you did!
~Social Security Online
Boomer retirement planning just wouldn't be complete without thinking about...Social Security benefits!!!
Grant it; none of us is going to live the "high life" on a tropical island with the proceeds we'll get. But, none the less...
We Boomers are starting to hit that magical Social Security age of 62, and therefore, eligable to draw Social Security benefits. You can apply online (link provided above),call toll-free (1-800-772-1213), or visit your local SSA office. Be sure to ask about reduced benefits, if you opt for your benefits before your "prime" Social Security age. For example, folks born between 1943 and 1954 should wait to take funds(if they financially can) until age 66. Otherwise, benefits are permanently reduced by about 25% if taken at age 62.
This site will answer many of your questions!
~WISER: Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement
WISER (The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement) was created to provide low and moderate income women (aged 18 to 65) with basic financial information aimed at helping them take financial control over their lives and to increase awareness of the structural barriers that prevent women’s adequate participation in the nation’s retirement systems. Low and moderate income boomer-aged women specifically seeking Boomer retirement planning information certainly will benefit from this site.
As of June 2008, the only project with a specific focus on the specific inequities that disadvantaged women face, WISER seeks to improve the opportunities for women to secure retirement income.
~For additional Boomer Retirement Planning Financial Resources, check out our Personal Finance page!
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