Planning for Retirement

Retirement: With many employers having to contribute recently, smaller plans are at risk.

A hefty retirement account allows you to stop working sooner, and gives you greater leeway in career decisions.

You can find them in almost any neighborhood, senior center, retirement village and nursing home; other retirees talk about them in hushed and pitying tones.

Interviews with hundreds of retirees led Nolo Press Publisher Ralph Warner to conclude that people need more than money to retire well.

A calculation that estimates not just how much you need to save, but also the probability that you will meet your retirement goal.

Financial planners often say that the most important 10 years in an investor’s life are the five years before retirement and the five years immediately after.

Don’t count on rising home equity to take the place of a retirement plan. Future retirees are unlikely to see the kind of price appreciation their elders did.

A look at options for small-business owners. Among things to consider: Will the program be just for the owner or for everyone?

Like many people in their 30s, Compton resident Vincent Shepherd is trying to juggle his financial goals, including paying off debt, buying a home and investing for retirement.

Q: I am changing jobs to a company with no 401(k) plan and a $1,500 yearly contribution to a SEP-IRA.

If your 401(k) plan has failed to keep up with other plans in terms of investment choices, or if you are otherwise unhappy with it, you can press for change.

Until recently, it wasn’t easy for workers to get specific advice about managing their 401(k) investments.