Retirement Planning Services

The shaky economy and plunging stock market are leading many Americans to cut back on their spending. If you're retired, you might also be inclined to pull less money out of your retirement account. But efforts to preserve as much of your depleted...

With the economy in trouble, many people's personal finances aren't far behind. Personal Finance Writer Harriet Johnson Brackey is answering readers' questions, trying to help identify strategies for making it through this crisis. She'll focus on...

Today Acrylic painting classes, for beginners, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Professional Artists' League, 19119 Winslow Terrace, west of Boca Raton. $25. Call 561-883-5033. American Contract Bridge League-sanctioned duplicate bridge, 6:45 p.m., Temple Beth El, 333...

It's one of the biggest if not the biggest asset for millions of Americans in or near retirement. Despite a global financial crisis, it has kept all its value. But we have little practical knowledge of this asset — assuming we even think about...

Financial experts like Jennifer Coyne at BayPort Credit Union say it's important to stash several months of living expenses in a cash fund you can quickly access. You also need to know where your day-to-day money is going and should seek help if you...

With retirement near, it's no laughing matter that many a baby boomer's 401(k) has turned into a 201(k). The stock market has dropped sharply this year, taking retirement dreams along with it. And because of the credit crisis and Wall Street's...

Gila Goodman is semi-retired and has been using chocolates to get herself through her panic over the stock market. "My money has to last my lifetime," she said. "That's why I've been freaking out." During the harrowing week that ended in the federal...

Newly-installed Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison, Jr. was national finance chair of John McCain's Republican presidential bid in 2000 and as recently as 2006 he wrote a $5,000 check to McCain's Straight Talk America PAC. But a year later Allison switched his...

With home equity tapped out amid the housing slowdown, cash-strapped Americans may turn next to their retirement plans. Such a strategy is almost always one of the biggest taboos in retirement planning, but if you must do it, there are right and wrong...

Dear Liz: I'm self-employed and have a Simplified Employee Pension account. Every year I borrow from an equity line to contribute the maximum to this account. My wife questions whether we are ahead by doing this. I say yes because we obviously save on the...

Don't panic. The dramatic decline of the stock market Tuesday -- at one point, the Dow Jones industrial average was down nearly 550 points -- may bring back bad memories of the bear market. But don't bail now, experts said. If you do, you'll just lock...

Q: Friends who are 701/2 are receiving their minimum distribution and investing each year in a Roth IRA even though they don't have any earned income. Can I do this? -- Patricia Kunkel, Cleveland A: You need earned income to contribute to a Roth...