The fumigation of teacher’s rancid 403(b) plans has commenced. Fire at will. The SEC is investigating Valic, a unit of AIG, for improper sales and disclosure practices. According to the Wall Street Journal, The inquiry centers on whether incentives in Valic’s compensation structure rewarded representatives for selling higher-cost products to retirement plan participants and whether…
Ring! Ring! It’s 7 A.M.! …..When Is My Retirement?
The average American watches T.V. for 5 hours a day but doesn’t have time to plan or retirement. Take a break from binge-watching to read this week’s terrific links. Early retirement isn’t good for your brain. Science Daily How to figure out when to take Social Security. MarketWatch Do you spend enough time on…
Warning! Frequently Checking Kid’s Grades Or Your Portfolio Is Bad For Your Health And Wealth
There are no shortcuts regarding learning and investing. Good processes, not temporary outcomes are the keys to positive long term results. Focusing on short term noise is a proven wealth destroyer. Motivating children by short term grades instead of a love of learning is like throwing Napalm on their brains. Most schools provide on-line portals…
Ring! Ring! It’s 7 A.M.!…..When Is My Retirement?
If your retirement plan wasn’t built to be changed, you don’t have a plan. Read this week’s links and learn what’s really important for your retirement. Don’t let surrender fees stop you from getting out of expensive annuities. Dollars And Data What are experiences really worth? The Wall Street Journal Never take retirement advice from…
The Getting Out Of Investment Jail Almost Free Card
Only in 403badlands could wealth subtraction lead to wealth addition. The data proves this seemingly outrageous statement. Don’t believe me? There’s a reason, My colleague Nick Maggiulli is called Nicky Numbers. Using his skills, he crunched the numbers on the average surrender fees teacher’s pay to get out of costly variable annuities. The results were…
Financial Sales Incentives Are Motivational Junk Food
“What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee ” Marcus Aurelius Financial sales incentives are the twinkies of human motivation. Shelly The Machine Levine, notwithstanding, the financial sales incentive structure conflicts with the fundamental needs of human happiness, productivity, and creativity. Susan Fowler points out the three intangibles that motivate all of us…
Ring! Ring! It’s 7:00 A.M.! …..When Is My Retirement?
You can worry about saving money now or worry much more later. It’s your choice. Instead of worrying, check out this week’s terrific retirement links. Medicare isn’t free. CNBC Flextime would keep more older workers employed. Bloomberg Be very careful before you take a lump-sum pension payment. InvestmentNews You will meet these nine types of…
Investors Need To Ask What, Not Why
To paraphrase President Kennedy – Ask not questions about why the unknowable occurs – ask what you can do to focus on the controllable. Why questions invite belief systems to the curiosity party. Not a good thing. Depending on who you ask about the same topic, the answer is often completely different. Competing responses presented…
“Break Your Back To Earn Your Pay And Don’t Forget To Grovel”…..When Is My Retirement??
Eating well, staying engaged, and exercising are much more important to a successful retirement than the results of a trade war. What are you spending your time on? Here’s a way to fix social security. CNBC Eleven ways to increase your savings. Better Homes & Gardens Don’t let climate change wreck your retirement. InvestmentNews…
Martin Luther’s 95 Theses – 403(b) Edition
“Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned together with their teachers” – Martin Luther Where are all the 403bodies buried? The longer something rots, the more it stinks. Nothing in the vast retirement space smells worse than public school teacher’s Non-ERISA 403(b)…
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