Archive for the ‘Safe Withdrawal Rate’ Category

New Website Feature

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Six months into our new radio show, The Lange Money Hour: Where Smart Money Talks, we’re happy to report that we have loyal listeners from all over the country. Calls, emails and questions have been coming in on a regular basis from California, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Florida and New Jersey (as well as across Pennsylvania).

We’ve also discovered that many listeners enjoy listening to the shows again once they’ve been posted here at www.retiresecure.com.  Thanks to the listeners who made the suggestion that we offer shorter audio clips in addition to our full-length shows.

Since we also thought that was a great idea, we’ve created a new page featuring clips from every show.  The link is posted on the left-hand side of the homepage — click on Audio: Key Advice From The Lange Money Hour.

To make this feature even more user friendly, we provide a description of the topic and the date of the show.  Now you can get quick advice from Ed Slott, Bob Keebler, Natalie Choate and all of our other guests, just by clicking on the appropriate link.

All of our favorite topics are covered including Roth IRAs and Roth IRA conversions, safe withdrawal rates, the use of insurance in estate planning, tax-loss harvesting and the best estate plan for most traditional families — Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan.

Please use and enjoy these clips at your leisure and keep the ideas coming!

The Importance of a Safe Withdrawal Rate

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Now that tax season is behind us (thanks to the whole Lange staff for another great year), we are working on a newsletter that will direct you to some outstanding resources designed to help you with your financial planning. If you are not currently receiving our newsletter, sign up for the e-newsletter on retiresecure.com.

One area that we think deserves special attention, especially since most portfolios have dropped in value, is a review of the sustainable withdrawal rate during retirement.  A good plan is critical to ensure that you don’t outlive your money.

With that in mind, Jim invited Paul Merriman to be his guest on his radio show, The Lange Money Hour, on April 22nd.  Paul is the author of “Live It Up Without Outliving Your Money” and founder of Merriman, an investment advisory firm based in Seattle that manages over $1 billion in assets.

Both Jim and Paul agree that many variables come into play when trying to determine a safe withdrawal rate.  You have to consider the client’s portfolio, age, risk-tolerance, other sources of income and current market conditions.  An excellent article on the subject can be found on Paul’s website www.FundAdvice.com. On the right hand side of the home page – under articles – click on ‘Retirement: When Your Portfolio Starts Paying You.’

Jim and Paul also discussed what they consider to be the number one mistake that most investors make.  Jim believes the number one investment mistake is letting your emotions guide you (instead of logic.)  Paul believes the biggest investment mistake is trusting in the wrong people.  For instance, many investors act on financial advice solely from their co-workers or relatives.  Paul says that you can’t even trust Wall Street – believe the academics instead – they have the research to back up their claims.

It was another show filled with great advice — thanks to Paul for taking the time to join us.  If you missed the show, look for the complete audio on retiresecure.com the week of April 27th.