Clients in their 20s will be better off contributing to a Roth IRA than a traditional IRA, according to this article from CNNMoney. Although they get upfront tax deductions for contributions to a traditional IRA, they are expected to pay taxes when they start withdrawing the money in retirement. And at that point in their lives, they likely will be in a higher tax bracket. Contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible, but the tax bill will be lower since they are in a lower tax bracket earlier in their lives.
Aside from setting goals and maintaining a well-diversified portfolio, clients should also own reserve assets to round out their retirement plans, according to this article from Forbes by Wade Pfau, professor at The American College. "The primary purpose of reserves is to maintain liquidity to meet contingencies in retirement," he writes. As a simple example, he cites a long-term care insurance policy that can offset a portion of the spending associated with a long-term care need, reducing the size of this contingency.
Clients would be better off saving all their free money in a retirement plan than stashing away a portion of the money in a 529 plan, writes an expert for The Wall Street Journal. This will enable them to make the most of compounded growth on investments in retirement accounts, which is faster than growth in 529 plans, explains the expert. Clients may then use the entire cash flow to cover the tuition and other costs when their child goes to college, and "even during those years of college when the client isn’t contributing to retirement, the interest earned on the fuller savings is still working."
Clients may not need to give up their daily cup of coffee to save more and make the most of the power of compounding for a sizeable nest egg in retirement, according to this article from Money. To do this, they are advised to automate contributions to their retirement plans and start saving as early as possible. Another strategy is to bump up their savings rate every year to shore up their balance in case their investments don't yield the expected returns.
One of the rules that retirement savers should know is that their eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA depends on their income level, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. They also will owe no taxes and penalty when they withdraw their principal contributions even before they reach the age of 59 1/2. Unlike a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA is not subject to required minimum distribution rules, so clients are not forced to start withdrawing the funds when they reach the age of 70 1/2.
