Turn your intent into a commitment.

Goals give you focus. To find and establish your investing and saving goals, first ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Do you want to build an emergency fund? Build college savings for your child? Have a large retirement fund by age 60? Once you have a defined motivation, a monetary goal can arise.

It can be easier to dedicate yourself to a goal rather than a hope or a wish. That level of dedication is important, as saving and investing usually comes with a degree of personal sacrifice. When you dedicate yourself to a saving/investing goal, some positive financial “side effects” may occur.

A goal encourages you to save consistently. If you are saving and investing to reach a specific dollar figure, you likely also have a date for reaching it in mind. Pair a date with a saving or investing goal, and you have a time horizon, a self-imposed deadline, and you can start to see how you need to save or invest to try and achieve your goal, and what kind of savings or investments to put to work on your behalf.

You see the goal within a larger financial context. This big-picture perspective may help you from making frivolous purchases you might later regret or taking on a big debt that might impede your progress toward reaching your target.

You see clear steps toward your goal. Saving $1 million over a lifetime might seem daunting to the average person who has never looked at how it might be done incrementally. Once the math is in place, it might not seem so inconceivable. The intimidation of trying to reach that large number gives way to confidence – the feeling that you could realize that objective by contributing a set amount per month over a period of years.

Those discrete steps can make the goal seem less abstract. As you save and invest, you may make good progress toward the goal and attain milestones along the way. These milestones are affirmations, reinforcing that you are on a positive path and that you are paying yourself first.

Additionally, the earlier you define a goal, the more time you have to try and attain it. Time is certainly your friend here. Say you want to invest and build up a retirement fund of $500,000 in 30 years. If you save $500 a month for three decades through a retirement account returning 7% annually, you will have $591,839 when that 30-year period ends. If you give yourself just 20 years to try and save $500,000 with the same time frame and rate of return, you may need to make monthly contributions of about $975. (To be precise, the math says that over two decades, monthly contributions of about $975 will leave you with $501,419.)1

When you save and invest with goals in mind, you make a commitment. From that commitment, a plan or strategy emerges. In contrast, others will save a little here, invest a little there, and hope for the best – but as the saying goes, hope is not a strategy.

A primer for parents and grandparents.

A university education can often require financing and assuming debt. If your student fills out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and does not qualify for a Pell Grant or other kinds of help, and has no scholarship offers, what do you do? You probably search for a student loan.

A federal loan may make much more sense than a private loan. Federal student loans tend to offer kinder repayment terms and lower interest rates than private loans, so for many students, they are a clear first choice. The interest rate on a standard federal direct loan is 4.45%. Subsidized direct loans, which undergraduates who demonstrate financial need can arrange, have no interest so long as the student maintains at least half-time college enrollment.1,2

Still, federal loans have borrowing limits, and those limits may seem too low. A freshman receiving financial support from parents may only borrow up to $5,500 via a federal student loan, and an undergrad getting no financial assistance may be lent a maximum of $57,500 before receiving a bachelor’s degree. (That ceiling falls to $23,000 for subsidized direct loans.) So, some families take out private loans as supplements to federal loans, even though it is hard to alter payment terms of private loans in a financial pinch.1,2

You can use a student loan calculator to gauge what the monthly payments may be. There are dozens of them available online. A standard college loan has a 10-year repayment period, meaning 120 monthly payments. A 10-year, $30,000 federal direct loan with a 4% interest rate presents your student with a monthly payment of $304 and eventual total payments of $36,448 given interest. The same loan, at a 6% interest rate, leaves your student with a $333 monthly payment and total payments of $39,967. (The minimum monthly payment on a standard student loan, if you are wondering, is typically $50.)3

When must your student start repaying the loan? Good question. Both federal and private student loans offer borrowers a 6-month grace period before the repayment phase begins. The grace period, however, does not necessarily start at graduation. If a student with a federal loan does not maintain at least half-time enrollment, the grace period for the loan will begin. (Perkins loans have a 9-month grace period; the grace period for Stafford loans resets once the student resumes half-time enrollment.) Grace periods on private loans begin once a student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment, with no reset permitted.4

What if your student cannot pay the money back once the grace period ends? If you have a private student loan, you have a problem – and a very tough, and perhaps fruitless, negotiation ahead of you. If you have a federal student loan, you may have a chance to delay or lower those loan repayments.3

Shop wisely when you look for coverage.

Are you about to buy life insurance? Shop carefully. Make your choice with insight from an insurance professional, as it may help you avoid some of these all-too-common missteps.

Buying the first policy you see. Anyone interested in life insurance should take the time to compare a few plans – not only their rates, but also their coverage terms. Supply each insurer you are considering with a quote containing the exact same information about yourself.1

Buying only on price. Inexpensive life insurance is not necessarily great life insurance. If your household budget prompts you to shop for a bargain, be careful – you could end up buying less coverage than your household really needs.1

Buying a term policy when a permanent one might be better (and vice versa). A term policy (which essentially offers life insurance coverage for 5-30 years) may make sense if you just want to address some basic insurance needs. If you see life insurance as a potential estate planning tool or a vehicle for building wealth over time, a permanent life policy might suit those ambitions.1

Failing to inform heirs that you have a policy. Believe it or not, some people buy life insurance policies and never manage to tell their beneficiaries about them. If a policy is small and was sold many years ago to an association or credit union member (i.e., burial insurance), it may be forgotten with time.2

Did you know that more than $7 billion in life insurance death benefits have yet to be claimed? That figure may not shrink much in the future, because insurers have many things to do other than search for “lost” policies on behalf of beneficiaries. To avoid such a predicament, be sure to give your beneficiaries a copy of your policy.2

Failing to name a beneficiary at all. Designating a beneficiary upon buying a life insurance policy accomplishes two things: it tells the insurer where you want the death benefit to go, and it directs that death benefit away from your taxable estate after your passing.3

Waiting too long to buy coverage. Later in life, you may learn you have a serious medical condition or illness. You can certainly buy life insurance with a pre-existing health condition, but the policy premiums may be much larger than you would prefer. The insurer might also cap the policy amount at a level you find unsatisfactory. If you purchase a guaranteed acceptance policy, keep in mind that it will probably take 2-3 years before that policy is in full force. Should you pass away in the interim, your beneficiaries will probably not collect the policy’s death benefit; instead, they may receive the equivalent of the premiums you have paid plus interest.

A to-do list for the twentysomething.

Did you recently graduate from college? The years after graduation are crucial not only for getting a career underway, but also for planning financial progress. Consider making these money moves before you reach thirty.

Direct a bit of your pay into an emergency fund. Just a little cash per paycheck. Gradually build a cash savings account that can come in handy in a pinch.

Speaking of emergencies, remember health insurance. Without health coverage, an accident, injury, or illness represents a financial problem as well as a physical one. Insurance is your way of managing that financial risk. A grace period does come into play here. If your employer does not sponsor a health plan, remember that you can stay on the health insurance policy of your parents until age 26. (In some states, insurers will let you do that until age 29 or 31.) If you are in good health, a bronze or silver plan may be a good option.1,2

Set a schedule for paying off your college debt. Work toward a deadline: tell yourself you want to be rid of that debt in ten years, seven years, or whatever seems reasonable. Devote some money to paying down that debt every month, and when you get a raise or promotion, devote a bit more. Alternately, if you have a federal college loan balance that seems too much to handle, see if you qualify for an income-driven or graduated repayment plan. Either option may make your monthly payment more manageable.3

Watch credit card balances. Use credit when you must, not on impulse. A credit card purchase can make you feel as if you are buying something for free, but you are actually paying through the teeth for the convenience of buying what you want with plastic. As Bankrate.com notes, the average credit card now carries a 16.8% interest rate.4

Invest. Even a small retirement plan or IRA contribution has the potential to snowball into something larger thanks to compound interest. At an 8% annual return, even a one-time, $200 investment will grow to $2,013 in 30 years. Direct $250 per month into an account yielding 8% annually for 30 years, and you have $342,365 three decades from now. That alone will not be enough to retire on, but the point is that you must start early and seek to build wealth through one or more tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts.5

Ask for what you are worth. Negotiation may not feel like a smart move when you have just started your first job, but two years in or so, the time may be right. It can literally pay off. Jobvite, a maker of recruiting software, commissioned a survey on this topic last year and learned that only 29% of employees had engaged in salary negotiations at their current or most recent job. Of those who did, 84% were successful and walked away with greater pay.6

It addresses a significant financial risk.

If you buy a home and you have no life insurance, there is a financial risk. It may not be immediately evident, but it must be acknowledged – and it should be addressed.

What if you die, and your spouse or partner is left to pay off the mortgage alone? This possibility may seem remote, and it may be hard for you to contemplate. It deserves consideration regardless.

Imagine your loved one having to handle that 15-year or 30-year debt by themselves. (Or the debt on an adjustable-rate loan or jumbo mortgage.) Additionally, how would that heavy financial burden come to impact your children’s lives? These tragedies do occur and do bring these kinds of emotional and financial challenges. A life insurance payout may provide some help for a homeowner in the event of such a crisis.

When you buy life insurance, the coverage amount should reflect your mortgage debt. You will need enough coverage to help your spouse, partner, or heirs deal with the outstanding home loan balance, should you pass away prematurely.1,2

Term life insurance may meet the need. If you are the typical homeowner, you will stay in your current home for about ten years. (Back in 2006, the average homeowner tenure was just six years.) As you may move up, move to another region with different home values, or even rent in the future, a term policy that lets you renew or modify coverage could suffice.1

On the other hand, permanent life insurance may be more suitable. The reality is that inflation decreases the value of term life coverage over time. Suppose you buy a 20-year term policy offering $250,000 of coverage today. At just 4% annual inflation, that coverage will be worth 56% less in 2038 – and your home may be worth much more in 2038 than it is now.2

Moreover, the cost of term life insurance rises as you age. A term life policy is cheap when you are young, but if you want a new one after your initial term policy sunsets, you may find the premiums dramatically more expensive. In contrast, premiums on a permanent (whole) life policy are locked in, effectively becoming more manageable as time goes by. You may want permanent life for other financial reasons as well, reasons that have nothing to do with your home. A permanent life policy has the potential to accumulate cash value in the future; a term life policy does not.2

A homeowner should carefully consider life insurance coverage options. If you lack coverage today, talk to a qualified insurance professional about your options, so that you can insure yourself for tomorrow.  

What is the retirement outlook for the average fifty-something working woman? As a generalization, less sunny than that of a man in her age group.

Most middle-class retirees get their income from three sources. An influential 2016 National Institute on Retirement Security study called them the “three-legged stool” of retirement. Social Security provides some of that income, retirement account distributions some more, and pensions complement those two sources for a fortunate few.1

For many retirees today, that “three-legged stool” may appear broken or wobbly. Pension income may be non-existent, and retirement accounts too small to provide sufficient financial support. The problem is even more pronounced for women because of a few factors.1

When it comes to median earnings per gender, women earn 80% of what men make. The gender pay gap actually varies depending on career choice, educational level, work experience, and job tenure, but it tends to be greater among older workers.2

At the median salary level, this gap costs women about $419,000 over a 40-year career. Earnings aside, there is also the reality that women often spend fewer years in the workplace than men. They may leave work to raise children or care for spouses or relatives. This means fewer years of contributions to tax-favored retirement accounts and fewer years of employment by which to determine Social Security income. In fact, the most recent snapshot (2015) shows an average yearly Social Security benefit of $18,000 for men and $14,184 for women. An average female Social Security recipient receives 79% of what the average male Social Security recipient gets.2,3

How may you plan to overcome this retirement gender gap? The clear answers are to invest and save more, earlier in life, to make the catch-up contributions to retirement accounts starting at age 50, to negotiate the pay you truly deserve at work all your career, and even to work longer.

There are no easy answers here. They all require initiative and dedication. Combine some or all of them with insight from a financial professional, and you may find yourself closing the retirement gender gap.

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

Even with less itemizing, there are still tax documents you want to retain for years to come.

Fewer taxpayers are itemizing in the wake of federal tax reforms. You may be one of them, and you may be wondering how many receipts, forms, and records you need to hold onto for the future. Is it okay to shred more of them? Maybe not.

The Internal Revenue Service has not changed its viewpoint. It still wants you to keep a copy of this year’s 1040 form (and the supporting documents) for at least three years. If you somehow fail to report some income, or file a claim for a loss related to worthless securities or bad debt deduction, make that six years or longer. (It also wants you to keep employment tax records for at least four years.)1

Insurers or creditors may want you to keep records around longer than the I.R.S. recommends – especially if they concern property transactions. For the record, the I.R.S. advises you to keep documents linked to a property acquisition until the year when you sell the property, so you can do the math necessary to figure capital gains or losses and depreciation, amortization, and depletion deductions.1

Can you scan documents for future reference and cut down the clutter? Yes. The I.R.S. says that legibly scanned documents are acceptable to its auditors. It wants to you keep digitized versions of paper records for as long as you would keep the hard-copy equivalents. Assuming you back them up, digital records may be more durable than hard copies; after all, ink on receipts frequently fades with time.2

While many itemized deductions are gone, many records are worth keeping. Take the records related to investment transactions. It is true that since 2011, U.S. brokerage firms have routinely tracked the cost basis of equity investments purchased by their clients, to help their clients figure capital gains. Some of the biggest investment providers, like Fidelity and Vanguard, have records for brokerage transactions going back to the 1990s. Even so, errors are occasionally made. Why not save your year-end account statement (or digital trading notifications) to be safe? In addition, you will certainly want to keep any records related to Roth IRA conversions (which as of the 2018 tax year can no longer be recharacterized).3,4,5

The paper trail pertaining to health care should also be retained. In 2018, you can deduct qualified medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (the threshold is scheduled to rise to 10% in 2019).4,5

Some records really should be kept for decades. Documentation for mortgages, education loans, loans from a retirement plan at work, and loans from an insurance policy should be retained even after the loan is paid back. Documentation pertaining to a divorce should probably be kept for the rest of your life, along with paperwork related to life insurance. You should also keep copies of property and casualty insurance policies, receipts of expenses for home repair or upgrades, and inventories of valuable and moderately valuable items at your home or business.3

Have you considered the factors that may promote inequality in wealth transfer?

Suzanne is widowed and has four adult children. Her investment portfolio is worth $1 million, and she owns a bed-and-breakfast inn worth $1 million as well. Can she conveniently and equally bequeath these assets to her kids to give each child a $500,000 share of her wealth?

On average, women outlive their husbands. According to the Social Security Administration’s estimate, the average 65-year-old woman will outlive the average 65-year-old man by more than two years, dying at age 86½. Averages aside, it also estimates that about a quarter of today’s 65-year-olds will live into their nineties. Around 10% will live to age 95 or beyond.1

Eyeing these figures, it is easy to deduce that some women may outlive their spouses by five years or longer and contend with complex financial issues after age 85. There is one detail, however, that all these facts and figures leave out.

The average age of widowhood in the U.S. is 59. A widow might spend 30 or more years managing her finances. Is she prepared for this possibility?2

Too often, conversations about money are male driven.  A recent Key Private Bank survey confirms this. The wealth management firm polled financial professionals, and the advisors responding said that women took the lead in just 3% of their talks with married couples. More than 80% of these advisors said that most of their female clients had no contingency plan to respond to the risk of being widowed.2

Women need to plan for the probability of someday managing their finances. Given the above statistics, “probability” is not too strong a word. What steps should be taken?

Both spouses should be financially literate. Some women are extremely well versed in investing, retirement planning, and personal finance matters.

A successive investment policy can be determined. A widow may want (or need) to take a different investment approach than the one stated in a couple’s investment policy statement (IPS). This approach needs to be one she is comfortable with, but it must not be so risk averse that it jeopardizes her potential to sustain her standard of living in the face of inflation.

Sufficient insurance and a thoughtful estate plan need to be in place. If a spouse dies, the death benefit from a permanent life insurance policy may ease some of the financial pressures that follow. Up-to-date beneficiary designations, trusts, and other estate planning mechanisms may help assets transfer from spouse to spouse and within the family without contention or undue delay. A good estate plan clearly defines the steps of the asset transfer process for a surviving spouse and other heirs.

An asset map should be prepared for a surviving spouse. Some widows must search for vital financial documents because a deceased spouse left them in an obscure location. Other times, a widow is left with only a hazy understanding of how many accounts there are, how they are titled, and how to address the requirements of asset distribution or transfer. Each spouse should have a copy of a document (or access to an online or brick-and-mortar vault) where this information is kept. This is the information from which much of a widow’s financial future may be planned.

Whether you want to leave work at 62, 67, or 70, claiming the retirement benefits you are entitled to by federal law is no casual decision. You will want to consider a few key factors first.

How long do you think you will live? If you have a feeling you will live into your nineties, for example, it may be better to claim later. If you start receiving Social Security benefits at or after Full Retirement Age (which varies from age 66-67 for those born in 1943 or later), your monthly benefit will be larger than if you had claimed at 62. If you file for benefits at FRA or later, chances are you probably a) worked into your mid-sixties, b) are in fairly good health, c) have sizable retirement savings.1

If you sense you might not live into your eighties or you really, really need retirement income, then claiming at or close to 62 might make more sense. If you have an average lifespan, you will, theoretically, receive the average amount of lifetime benefits regardless of when you claim them; the choice comes down to more lifetime payments that are smaller or fewer lifetime payments that are larger. For the record, Social Security’s actuaries project the average 65-year-old man living 84.3 years and the average 65-year-old woman living 86.6 years.2

Will you keep working? You might not want to work too much, for earning too much income can result in your Social Security being withheld or taxed.

Prior to Full Retirement Age, your benefits may be lessened if your income tops certain limits. In 2017, if you are 62-65 and receive Social Security, $1 of your benefits will be withheld for every $2 that you earn above $16,920. If you receive Social Security and turn 66 this year, then $1 of your benefits will be withheld for every $3 that you earn above $44,880.3

Social Security income may also be taxed above the program’s “combined income” threshold. (“Combined income” = adjusted gross income + non-taxable interest + 50% of Social Security benefits.) Single filers who have combined incomes from $25,000-34,000 may have to pay federal income tax on up to 50% of their Social Security benefits, and that also applies to joint filers with combined incomes of $32,000-44,000. Single filers with combined incomes above $34,000 and joint filers whose combined incomes surpass $44,000 may have to pay federal income tax on up to 85% of their Social Security benefits.3

When does your spouse want to file? Timing does matter. For some couples, having the lower-earning spouse collect first may result in greater lifetime benefits for the household.4

Finally, how much in benefits might be coming your way? Visit ssa.gov to find out, and keep in mind that Social Security calculates your monthly benefit using a formula based on your 35 highest-earning years. If you have worked for less than 35 years, Social Security fills in the “blank years” with zeros. If you have, say, just 33 years of work experience, working another couple of years might translate to slightly higher Social Security income.4