The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions

The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions

The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions

The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions

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Overview

Here at last are the hard-to-find answers to the dizzying array of financial questions plaguing those who are age fifty and older.

The financial world is more complex than ever, and people are struggling to make sense of it all. If you’re like most people moving into the phase of life where protecting—as well as growing— assets is paramount, you’re faced with a number of financial puzzles.  Maybe you’re struggling to get your kids through college without drawing down your life’s savings. Perhaps you sense your nest egg is at risk and want to move into safer investments. Maybe you’re contemplating downsizing to a smaller home, but aren’t sure of the financial implications. Possibly, medical expenses have become a bigger drain than you expected and you need help assessing options.  Perhaps you’ll shortly be eligible for social security but want to optimize when and how to take it.

Whatever your specific financial issue, one thing is certain—your range of choices is vast. As the financial world becomes increasingly complex, what you need is deeply researched advice from professionals whose credentials are impeccable and who prize clarity and straightforwardness over financial mumbo-jumbo.

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz and the Schwab team have been helping clients tackle their toughest money issues for decades.  Through Carrie’s popular “Ask Carrie” columns, her leadership of the Charles Schwab Foundation, and her work across party lines through two White House administrations and with the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, she has become one of America’s most trusted sources for financial advice.
 
Here, Carrie will not only answer all the questions that keep you up at night, she’ll provide answers to many questions you haven’t considered but should.
 


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780804137362
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publication date: 04/01/2014
Pages: 432
Sales rank: 515,657
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

CARRIE SCHWAB-POMERANTZ is president of the Charles Schwab Foundation and senior vice president at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., where she has spent the past thirty years serving clients and advocating for investors. Under her leadership the Foundation has established several notable financial education programs, including a curriculum for teens developed in collaboration with Boys & Girls Clubs of America that has been cited by the U.S. Treasury’s National Strategy on Financial Literacy as a best public-private sector initiative. She also spearheaded a program with AARP Foundation to provide financial education and coaching to people age fifty and older. Her popular personal finance column “Ask Carrie” is syndicated weekly through Creators News Service.  She’s a Certified Financial PlannerTM certificant and the coauthor of the popular book about family finances It Pays to Talk.
JOANNE CUTHBERTSON is also a Certified Financial Planner(TM) certificant and publishing director at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. She has worked in financial and technology publishing for three decades.

Read an Excerpt

My Top Ten Recommendations for Every Age
(Continues…)



Excerpted from "The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz.
Excerpted by permission of The Crown Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Foreword Charles R. Schwab xiii

Introduction xv

My Top Ten Recommendations for Every Age 1

Part I When Retirement Is at Least Ten Years Out 9

Q1 I'm saving for retirement-but how much is enough? 11

Q2 I'm 50 and haven't started to save for retirement. What can I do? 17

Q3 How can I save for my kids' college without derailing my retirement? 24

Q4 There are so many different types of retirement accounts. What do I really need? 32

Q5 The stock market has me spooked. How should I invest as I get closer to retirement? 45

Q6 I'm too busy to manage my money carefully. Are there any simple strategies for someone like me? 74

Q7 Is long-term care insurance worth the cost? 83

Q8 Does it make sense to borrow from my 401(k) if I need cash? 88

Q9 My partner and I aren't married. What do we need to know about managing our finances as a team, especially when it comes to planning for retirement? 95

Q10 I want to contribute to a few charities. How can I make the most of what I have to give? 104

Q11 I'm drowning in financial paperwork. How can I get organized? 114

Part II Getting Closer: Transitioning into Retirement 121

Q12 Can I keep contributing to my retirement accounts indefinitely? 123

Q13 Should I be debt-free before I retire? 127

Q14 What should I do with my 401 (k) when I leave my job? 133

Q15 I'm thinking of leaving my nine-to-five job to become a consultant, working from home. What's the cost of being my own boss? 141

Q16 My kids are grown. Do I still need life insurance? 148

Q17 I'm fit as a fiddle. Do I really need disability insurance? 154

Q18 I'm thinking of downsizing once I retire. Will I get hit with a tax bill when I sell my house? 160

Q19 Should I take my pension as a lump sum or monthly payments? 167

Q20 Should I buy an annuity? 175

Q21 I'm 60 and way behind in my savings. Will I ever be able to retire? 183

Part III Life in Retirement 189

Q22 Now that I'm retired, how should I manage my money to make it last? 191

Q23 I just retired. What's the smartest way to draw income from my portfolio? 198

Q24 I was forced to retire early for health reasons. How can I make up for the unexpected shortfall in savings? 208

Q25 Can I lower my income tax bill now that I'm retired? 215

Q26 Does a reverse mortgage make sense? 223

Q27 What insurance do I need at this point in my life? 228

Q28 If I go back to work (even part-time), what do I need to know? Can I still collect Social Security? Contribute to my 401(k)? 236

Q29 I handle all of the family finances. How can I create a turnkey system for my spouse in case something happens to me? 242

Part IV Maximizing Social Security and Medicare 247

Q30 When should I file for Social Security benefits? 249

Q31 How much will I collect from Social Security? 258

Q32 I'm divorced. Am I entitled to a Social Security benefit from my ex? 265

Q33 What Social Security benefit can I expect if I become disabled? 269

Q34 How much will my spouse receive from Social Security if I die? 274

Q35 When and how do I apply for Medicare? 279

Q36 I've heard about insurance to supplement Medicare. What will I need, and how much will it cost? 285

Q37 Once I'm on Medicare, will I have other out-of-pocket health-care costs? What can I do now to lower my health-care expenses later? 291

Part V Estate Planning 297

Q38 I want to create an estate plan. What do I need? 299

Q39 When I take into account the value of my home and all my investments, my estate is sizable. What do I need to know about estate taxes? 305

Q40 I'm confused about how to divide my estate between my children, who have different needs and financial resources. Is it best to divide it into equal parts? 315

Q41 I'm thinking about giving my kids part of their inheritance now, as opposed to holding on to everything until I die. What does this mean for estate and gift taxes? 320

Q42 My spouse and I have three children together, and I also have two children from a previous marriage. How can we make sure that our estate plans treat everyone fairly? 326

Q43 I want to leave the bulk of my estate to my children, but also want to make meaningful contributions to a few charities. How can I incorporate this into my estate plan? 332

Part VI The People in My Life 337

Q44 My twenty-something child has decided that she wants to move back home. I like my new empty-nest lifestyle, but I want to help her out. How can I balance these? 339

Q45 As a retiree, I don't have a lot of extra money. I've always helped my children and other extended family members-but now it's tough. How do I sort this out? 344

Q46 My husband has no interest in our finances. How can I get him involved? 349

Q47 My husband of fifty years has just died. He always handled our finances, and I'm feeling at sea. How can I manage? 354

Q48 I'm 50 and contemplating a divorce after 25 years of marriage. My husband has always been the chief breadwinner and has been in control of our money. How can I cope? 363

Q49 I'm a widow and about to remarry. What should I be thinking about from a financial perspective? 369

Q50 I have a child with special needs. What can I do to make sure that she will always be taken care of? 374

Glossary of Financial Terms 379

Source Notes 397

Acknowledgments 403

Index 405

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