Merriman

For individuals nearing retirement, one of the first things to consider is: How much money will I be able to withdraw from my portfolio on an annual basis? This is a very important issue and ideally should be determined before entering into retirement.

Whether you use spreadsheets, receipts in shoe boxes or a computer program to track your expenses, it is important to know how much you spend to support your lifestyle. Before considering how much equity you will need in your portfolio during retirement, you should track your expenses for a few years to give you a firm idea of your outflows.

There are a number of software solutions available to help, including Quicken, Microsoft Money and Mint.com. While I don’t recommend any particular software, I do think you should find and use one that suits your needs. Here’s why:

1. You can easily view expenses broken down by category. Until you actually measure the monthly expenses in an accurate and systematic way, you may only have a vague idea of how much is being spent in each category.
2. With financial software, it is much easier to prepare your tax return. This is especially true if you itemize. All of the good personal finance software options have preloaded categories that are set up to capture deductible items. Once entered, you can produce individual category reports.
3. With the aid of software, you always have access to a current balance on your credit card and personal checking accounts. This data can also be downloaded into the software, making catching errors or fraud very easy.
4. The personal financial software can make it easier to pay bills on time and keep track of your automatic payments. Since it is possible to automate some of your monthly bills to be charged to a credit card or auto-debit from your checking account, the software helps you track all the different payment transactions in one central location.
5. It allows for a smoother transition in the event you become incapacitated. Your spouse, partner or other family member will have a much easier time assuming bill paying responsibilities if you are using expense software.

Personal expense tracking software will help give you accurate, reliable information about how much money you are likely to need in retirement. This will help you determine if your monthly expenses can be supported by your current portfolio and if any changes need to be made – either to your expenses or your portfolio. Remember, if you can track it, you can manage it.

The best way to begin retirement planning is to start early. The sooner you know if your annual requirements are out of sync with what a balanced portfolio can produce, the more options you will have to correct the situation.

Editor’s Note: Below is an article published first on MarketWatch.com that was written by Larry Katz, CFA – Director of Research at Merriman.

A major concern of many people is whether their savings will last for their entire retirement. If the savings do last, it’s a success, but if the savings don’t last it could be considered a failure.

Key factors which influence whether savings will last for your entire retirement include the size of your portfolio at retirement (bigger is better), the amount of periodic withdrawals (the lower the withdrawals the greater the chance of not running out of money) and longevity (the longer you live, the more you need at the start of retirement).

Another consideration is the diversification among various asset classes within the portfolio. The greater the diversification and exposure to beneficial asset classes, the lower the portfolio risk, and the greater the chance of financial success in retirement. (more…)

To make the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) process easier, we recommend having the distribution set up to go out automatically each year so you don’t have to think about it. It’s easy to do, and most custodians provide a number of options. You can specify the day of the year it should be withdrawn and have it sent to you by check, direct deposit, or have it transferred to another taxable account at your custodian.

If you’re a Merriman client and you want to set up automatic distributions to take care of your RMD, please give us a call and we’ll help you set it up.  To learn more about RMDs click here.

I have liquid assets that I want to invest in Vanguard Funds using your diversification strategy. Many of the funds pay out dividends at the end of December. My money is sitting in the bank right now. Is it better to wait until January to invest after the dividends are paid, or is now far enough ahead that the dividends won’t create a penalty?

If your time frame is from now to the end of the year, there is no way to know now whether you should invest at all. If markets go down between now and December 31, you are better off with money in the bank. If markets go up, you are better off investing.

(more…)

I am approaching the age of retirement after a career in teaching, and I have a couple of options for taking my pension. One option is to take a single life annuity benefit of $1,040 per month. The other option would give me a lump sum of $35,320 plus a reduced monthly benefit of $793. Which one would be better for me?

The best answer will depend on your unique set of circumstances. A general rule of thumb is to base this choice on your life expectancy. If you live for many years, you’ll collect more by taking the larger annuity. If you live for relatively few years, you’ll collect more with the lump sum.

There are two main risks involved in this choice. One is that you might live a very long time. The other is inflation. Unless your annuity payment is protected by a cost-of-living adjustment, inflation will erode your monthly income over time. (more…)