Retirement
3 Steps to Stop Your Retirement Nest Egg from Breaking
A retired couple met me in my Jerusalem office and within minutes of sitting down, it was clear that they each had drastically different views about how to handle their retirement nest egg. The husband wanted to invest heavily in the stock market and the wife wanted more conservative investments to protect their nest egg from breaking…. Read more
How To Squeeze More Dollars Out Of Your Investments
A recent widow in her seventies came into my office in Jerusalem for an initial meeting on how to increase her investment income. She said that the $25,000 per year from her portfolio and pensions was simply not enough income to maintain her lifestyle.
The pension stopped – Oy!
Her husband’s pensions stopped when he died,… Read more
How to Make Money in an IRA
When you withdraw money from your IRA (or if you inherited an Individual Retirement Account from someone and take yearly distributions), don’t fool yourself.
Just because you withdraw money from a retirement account does not mean that you actually made that money. Rather, you might just be pulling out your principal. … Read more
What Happens to Your IRA Account When You Make Aliya?
What should you do with your American IRA account (Individual Retirement Account) when you live in Israel?
Your initial thought might be to cash out your IRA account and transfer the funds to Israel. But considering the tax-deferred nature of an IRA, that might not be the wisest move.
Moving your retirement account to Israel may be expensive
IRAs are good vehicles for retirement saving because they let you defer paying American taxes on capital gains,… Read more
Should Retirees Diversify Globally to Protect Their Savings?
Retirees who diversify globally protect themselves from investing with too much home bias.
If you are saving for a future retirement, your goal is probably to grow your capital. If you only focus on higher returns, though, you may take risks you cannot afford. Markets are volatile. Diversifying globally may be a good way to lower volatility and smooth out returns…. Read more
Israeli Pension Plans
Israeli law requires that full-time workers who have worked for longer than six months receive a pension plan through their employers. This is part of the government’s plan of making sure individuals have private pensions to supplement their governmental pensions. Pensions are a highly regulated field, and as such the details are in constant flux…. Read more
Which Is More Important: Steady Income or Potential Growth
Retirees often include bonds in their retirement portfolio because of their perceived safety and the consistent income they provide. However, while bonds play a valuable role in a retiree’s portfolio, it is important to fully understand how they work before buying them.
Holding bonds may reduce potential growth
If your goal is to leave an inheritance to your children when you pass away,… Read more
Do You Have to Stop Working When You Reach Retirement Age?
Does reaching retirement age mean you have to stop working?
In Israel, the official retirement age for a man is 67. For women, it fluctuates between 60 and 62, depending on date of birth. Retirees until the age of 70 (or 69 for a woman born before 1950), are eligible for a state pension,… Read more
3 Hidden Retirement Risks and How to Avoid Them
What are the retirement risks you should watch out for when planning your future?
The following risks, which often get forgotten, can torpedo even the best-laid retirement plans:
Underestimating the true cost of retirement
Many people plan for rising healthcare expenses as they get older, but they don’t factor in the increasing costs of living longer…. Read more