Get Ready To Test Your Retirement Planning Smarts
Retirement planning starts with your first contribution to a retirement account and continues throughout your working years. But how much do you really know about it? Find out by taking this quiz...

Example 1:
Shana and Doug both began working at Super Duper Company at age 25. As soon as she was eligible, Shana started contributing $200 a month ($2,400 a year) to the company's 401(k) plan. She continued contributing until her retirement at age 65. Doug waited until he was 40 to begin making contributions. Then he contributed $400 a month ($4,800 a year) -- twice as much as Shana -- until he reached age 65. Their investments earned a hypothetical average annual return of 7%, compounded monthly...

Who Had More Money at Retirement, Shana or Doug?
If you chose Doug, you're off the mark by approximately $202,000! Shana's much earlier start gave her two huge advantages: time and the power of compounding (earning income on your original investment and on the earnings it generates)...


Investing in Retirement: What’s Age Got To Do With It? Moving most of your retirement savings into conservative investments as you near retirement may not always be the best approach.

Dilemma:
You want to earn returns that will outpace inflation and provide you with enough income to live comfortably for as long as you're retired, but you don't want to risk losing your gains to a market slump. Does this sound familiar?

Risk Tolerance Doesn't Retire When You Do
The amount of risk you feel comfortable taking won't necessarily change just because you stop working. Unless you're concerned that your portfolio is exposed to too much risk, you may not want to make any major changes to your investment mix.

When Your Nest Empties
Having a child leave home permanently is a significant event. After you've packed away the memorabilia, sit down and revisit your finances. It may be a good time to make some other changes...

From Their Diapers ...
Raising a child is expensive. For a child born in 2015 (the latest figures available), a middleincome family can expect to spend about $233,610 for food, shelter, and other necessities associated with raising a child over the next 17 years...

... to Your Dreams
If you think it's a big change when the kids leave home, the next one -- retirement -- may be even bigger. Once you no longer have the expenses of raising a family, use the financial "windfall" to beef up your retirement savings. If you haven't been saving as much as you should, this is the time to catch up...


Steps to a Better Portfolio
Create a Strategy
Defining your goals and assessing your risk tolerance are the first steps in creating a workable investment strategy. Your plan should be one you can stick with, even during long periods of market turmoil...

Temper Your Portfolio's Volatility
Including some investments in your portfolio that aren't likely to have wild price swings can help keep its value on a more even keel during periods of higher market volatility. Curbing volatility can eliminate the tendency to make sell decisions based on emotion rather than reason during market downswings...

Be Realistic About Risk
All investments have risk -- from the risk that stocks will lose money to the risk that so-called "safe" investments won't keep pace with inflation. Maintaining a welldiversified portfolio can temper your risk exposure and help protect you from major losses.