Social Security. To know how Social Security benefits will figure into your new meager retirement plan, check this retirement planner page at the Social Security Administration Web site. It has links to tell you how benefits differ, depending on your retirement age, income, years spent working, and other factors.
Consumer information. Another government page, this one provides additional links about retirement, including information about laws that govern pensions, how to safeguard your retirement from errors in calculations, and tips on working after retirement.
New rules. This article - from USNews.com and posted on Yahoo's finance site - suggests that "many of the old rules for retirement investing no longer apply" and that financial planners are rethinking conventional wisdom. Much of the advice sounds familiar, anyway: Go for good stocks that pay dividends; don't reach for the highest bond yields (they're on the riskier debt); and diversify.
Recession saving. A link at the same site took us to this article on "7 ways to save for retirement during a recession." These include realizing you might not be able to "hang up your hat" at age 65, but not letting market swings upset your investing strategy. And: "Scale back on Gucci" sales.
Contact staff writer Reid Kanaley at 215-854-5114 or rkanaley@phillynews.com.
