If you are planning for your future then, hopefully, you have put some thought into saving for retirement. When planning for retirement, there are many important factors to consider, such as how much investment risk is appropriate for your financial goals – and your comfort level. If what I have mentioned so far resonates with you, then the next question is, should you invest in stocks or bonds for your retirement savings?

There is a lot to unpack here because every investment has risks. When the stock market goes up, the usual pattern is that the bond market goes down (usually due to the Federal Reserve Bank increasing interest rates), but market cycles can be very strange indeed. In 2018, both the stock and bond markets lost money. In 2019, both the stock and bond markets had great returns. In 2020, the stock market had a sharp decline in the Spring and recovered, while the bond market had a steady, positive return as we dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. This is precisely why everyone needs a solid education in investment planning, whether working alone or with an advisor, to determine risk tolerance and, on that basis, the right asset allocation to maximize after-tax risk-adjusted returns.

Have you begun to save for retirement? It is never too early to start planning for your retirement, and in a perfect world, we would all start saving for retirement at age 25 and life would never throw any curveballs to send us off track. Of course, this is far from a perfect world, and that's why so many Americans find themselves playing catch-up and carrying anxiety about never achieving their retirement savings goals.

Today, I want to offer you some powerful techniques you can use to accelerate your savings right now - even if you've waited longer than you would hope to begin saving. Below, we’ll look at seven tactics to help you get serious - and successful - about your retirement nest egg.

Financial professionals will tell you that every retirement plan is different when it comes to retirement planning because every retiree is unique. However, that isn’t exactly true since many married couples create and depend on just one retirement plan for both of them. Though this might seem like common sense at first glance, couples should be sure that their shared retirement plan represents their very different retirement needs and realities.

Unfortunately, even in these modern times, women are still more likely to take a backseat when it comes to planning for their financial futures. This is true even though women are more likely to live longer than their male spouses, meaning that they have more riding on the retirement plan’s longevity. Of course, this isn’t the only challenge that makes a woman’s participation in financial planning a must.

Read on for five reasons retirement planning is different for women and, therefore, why they should be active participants in planning their retirement finances.

In a perfect world, we would all start saving for retirement at age 25 and life would never throw any curveballs to send us off track. Of course, this is far from a perfect world, and that’s why so many Americans find themselves playing catch-up and carrying anxiety about never achieving their retirement savings goals.

If you find yourself in this boat, you’re certainly not alone. Luckily, there are many powerful techniques you can use to accelerate your savings right now – even if you’ve waited longer than you had hoped to begin saving. Below, we’ll look at seven strategies to help you get serious – and successful – about your retirement nest egg.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019, and it took effect on January 1, 2020. Overall, the legislation is intended to strengthen retirement security nationwide, but it also contains multiple changes that impact retirement and estate planning. Let’s dig into a few of the most significant provisions.

No Age Cut-Off for IRA Contributions

In the past, you were prohibited from contributing to a traditional IRA in the year you reached age 70 ½, even if you were still employed. The SECURE Act eliminates this rule so that anyone, regardless of age, can make IRA contributions as long as they have earned income to contribute. With this change, traditional IRA rules now mirror the contribution rules for Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans.

This longer contribution period takes effect for the 2020 tax year. Although 2019 contributions can be made up until April 15, 2020, these contributions must still follow the past rules, meaning only individuals under the age of 70 ½ can contribute for tax year 2019.