Many people have their retirement mapped out down to a date. However, depite the best planning, things don't always go as expected. Local financial professional Barry Bigelow from Great Waters Financial explains a few things workers can do to make themselves feel more secure in situations where they are retiring early due to the pandemic. One is to assess savings. COVID-19 has more Americans saving than ever before and while [...]

If you're nearing retirement or are already retired and you've found your Social Security benefit is insufficient to provide the income you need, you aren't alone. The average benefit in 2021 will provide just $18,516 in annual income, which is not enough to make ends meet for most people. The best way to cope with a small Social Security benefit is to make sure you have plenty of supplementary savings. After [...]

In the coming months, you might receive a statement from your 401(k) plan that estimates the amount of retirement income your account might generate. While the information provided in these statements can help you decide how much you still need to save for retirement, they can be dangerously misleading for people who are approaching retirement. Let’s see why. Why will 401(k) plans be issuing retirement income statements?

Investing is key to building wealth, but you could undermine your efforts if you make some common errors. Recent research from the Natixis Global Survey of Financial Professionals identified the eight biggest investment mistakes financial professionals believe are the costliest errors you can make. Here's what they are. 1. Panic selling A whopping 93% of financial professionals identified panic selling as a top investing mistake, and with good reason. When you [...]

According to a recent study from insurance company Allianz Life, nearly half of retirees aren't tracking what they spend on healthcare. Given that healthcare stands to be a retiree's largest expense, flying blind in this area of one's budget could be a disastrous move. Head off a financial crash-and-burn with a reality check on how much you could end up spending on healthcare, why you should be monitoring that spending, [...]

When you retire, you’ll want to stay active in a variety of ways rather than falling into the habit of relaxing every day. It’s important for your physical and mental well-being to keep your mind, body and social life active, but it often takes a deliberate plan and intention to do so. The following seven tips will help you stay active during retirement: