Question: What role, if any, do you see for Real Estate Investment Trusts in a retirement portfolio? Why? Are there any REIT funds you prefer? Answer: As anyone who has been reading me for a while knows, I believe that ownership of businesses providing useful goods and services is the foundation of wealth creation. Equity Read more »
How Much Can You Safely Withdraw from Your Portfolio Each Year in Retirement?
For around 20 years, financial advisers and academics have been actively wrestling with the question of the safe withdrawal rate from a portfolio. The seminal article in the field is by William Bengen, entitled “Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data.” It was published by the Journal of Financial Planning in October 1994 and later chosen Read more »
When Should I Consider an Annuity and What is the Best Type?
To follow up on last week’s question, let me now say that annuities DO in fact, have their place. To cut through all the complexity, the most important single reason to invest in an annuity is to protect you from outliving your assets. “Outliving your assets” is not a meaningful concern for those who have Read more »
When Is it Definitely NOT Appropriate to Purchase an Annuity?
Dear Less: My wife and I are 55 and 53 respectively, and we have $160K and $220K (also respectively) in 401K plans currently sitting in accounts at [firm name removed] (a lady my Mother-In-Law recommended). We consolidated 3 plans into 2, and I am trying to determine if annuities are a good way to go Read more »