Employers who sponsor defined contribution plans have the right to automatically enroll you in their plan. With automatic enrollment, your employer decides the percentage of your salary that you contribute—often 3% with a built-in annual increase—as well as the type of investment you initially make: a target date fund, a balanced fund, or a managed account. If you don’t want to participate in the plan, you can refuse in writing. If you do participate, you have the right to change the default investment and the percentage you contribute. 401(k) Plan – at public and private companies and nonprofit organizations Annual contribution limits and vesting rules Balances portable when leaving job Transfers into plan may be possible Tax-free Roth option may be available in addition to tax-deductible plan 403(b) Plan – at nonprofit organizations Annual contribution limits and vesting rules Balances portable when leaving job Transfers into plan may be possible 
 Expanded opportunities to make catch-up contributions 
 Tax-free Roth option may be available in addition to tax-deductible plan 457 Plan – for state and municipal workers Annual contribution limits and vesting rules Balances portable when leaving job Transfers into plan may be possible 
 Expanded opportunities to make catch-up   Read more…

In 1900, retirement wasn’t a hot topic. Employers didn’t offer pensions, there was no Social Security, and the average life expectancy was 50. More than a century later, everything’s changed. More than 44 million people collect retirement benefits, and that number is expected to reach 72 million by 2030. And people are living much longer: Current estimates suggest that a million or more people now in their 40s can expect to live to be 100 or more. If you’d like more direction than “save as much as you can,” you might use the rule of thumb that says you’ll ideally have savings equal to 25 times the amount you’ll need to withdraw from your accounts the first year you’re retired to supplement the Social Security and pension income you expect to receive. You can start investing for retirement when you earn income for the first time. That’s when you can begin contributing to an individual retirement account (IRA). You can participate in retirement plans that your employers offer. If you work for yourself or own a small business, you can establish your own retirement plan. In fact, ideally, you’ll take advantage of several of these ways to accumulate retirement savings   Read more…

INSURABLE INTEREST – To buy an insurance policy on some- one’s life, you must have an insurable interest in that person, which means that you would suffer a financial loss if he or she died. The law assumes you have an insurable interest in your own life and the lives of your spouse and dependents. Others must prove they have an insurable interest if they want to buy a policy on your life. The buyer only needs to prove
an insurable interest at purchase. If circumstances change—such as through divorce or the dissolution of a business partnership—the person named as beneficiary, even if he or she is also the policyholder, can usually still collect a claim at the death of the insured. When you buy life insurance, you must make two important decisions—who will own the policy and who the beneficiary or beneficiaries will be. The customary approach is for
the owner and the insured to be the same person, but it’s not the only alternative. It’s a good idea to check with your tax or legal adviser to see if it makes more financial sense for someone else to be the owner.
You can choose any beneficiary you wish—and if you
own the   Read more…