It’s Not Too Late to Plan for the Future

Diversification: The One Word No Investor Should Ignore

Financing Health Care in Retirement: What’s the Prognosis?

What Happens to Plan Assets During a Divorce?

If you’re approaching retirement with a nest egg that’s too small, you’re not alone. According to Hewitt Associates, the average account balance of a worker in his or her 50s is $115,260 - although sizeable, probably not enough for someone only a decade or so away from retirement.

The old cliché "Don’t put all your eggs in one basket" has been around for a lot longer than modern-day employer-sponsored retirement plans. But it still carries a powerful message - it gets to the heart of diversification, a strategy that may help you preserve your hard-earned investment dollars.

In light of rising medical costs and the uncertain long-term outlook for Medicare, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to pay a larger percentage of health care bills during retirement than your parents or grandparents did.

If you are in the process of getting a divorce, it may be easy to overlook other priorities in your life such as laying the groundwork for a financially secure retirement. But that could be a mistake, since a former spouse is legally entitled to claim some of the money that has accumulated in your employer-sponsored retirement plan. You may want to consult with an attorney to obtain legal advice. This article provides general information, but it is not legal advice.

Copyright © 2005, Standard & Poor’s
A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.