Retirement Watch Lighthouse Logo

Retirement Planning

Bob Carlson shares miscellaneous advice on retirement and related topics

Found 107 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.

Another View of the Savings Rate

December 27, 2013

The U.S. savings rate is too low. That’s been a consensus view for some time. But is it inaccurate? This post argues that it is. It argues that the personal savings rate is only part of the U.S. savings. Businesses also save, and they’ve been saving quite a bit for some time. In fact, business […]

Saving Too Much For Retirement

December 23, 2013

More of the retirement planning industry is catching on. For decades, retirement plans revolved around simple rules of thumb such as that you’ll spend about 80% of your pre-retirement income during retirement. At Retirement Watch we’ve warned for decades about these simple rules of thumb. They likely cause you to save too much or too […]

Are Retirees Financially Prepared For Retirement

September 23, 2013

Almost all media discussions about retirement conclude that most Americans are financially unprepared. Some paint very dire pictures of the fate of current and upcoming retirees. Yet, surveys of retirees aren’t that pessimistic. Indeed, most retirees and pre-retirees say they’ll be just fine financially, perhaps after making a few adjustments. Consider this discussion of the […]

The Millionaire Secrets to Getting Wealthy

August 15, 2013

You already know this stuff if you’re a long time reader of Retirement Watch. But millionaires have a number of practices that other people don’t have and don’t realize are key to accumulating wealth. Most of the points in this post seem to be from The Millionaire Next Door, a best-seller of a few years […]

The Soft Side of Retirement Planning

July 22, 2013

It seems that recently many people are becoming aware of something I’ve made clear in Retirement Watch over the years. Retirement isn’t all about the money, and as hard as it is to arrange your finances for a secure retirement, that isn’t the hard part. The hard part is what I call the soft side […]

$1 Million For Retirement Is Not Enough?

June 11, 2013

This article shouldn’t be news to anyone who reads Retirement Watch or my books, but it is news to The New York Times that a $1 million retirement nest egg might not be enough for most people. It lists all the mistakes people are likely to make: Investing only in bonds; underestimating life expectancy; forgetting […]

Retired at 30

May 1, 2013

Apparently there’s a guy in Colorado who, along with his wife, retired by the time he was 30. He also has a blog that attracted a fair amount of attention. You can read his story in this article. His story supports a conversation I’ve had many times. Someone will ask me, “When can I retire.” […]

Myths of Retirement Planning

March 25, 2013

The annual Retirement Confidence Survey generated more news and commentary this year than usual. One reason is that it reveals Americans are less confident about having a financially comfortable retirement than ever. Another reason is that it indicates many people simply have given up saving and planning for retirement. A good commentary is here. It […]

pixel

Log In

Forgot Password

Search