How to Deal With Debt When Retired

Retirement (Photo credit: 401(K) 2012)

It is ideal to pay off all debts before retiring. But at times, it is inevitable. You may have entered your retirement age but you still keep several outstanding debts that you have to deal with after you retired from employment. Getting retired does not mean you are spared from debt problems. You still have to deal with those.

Some experts advise individuals nearing retirements to postpone their retirements until they pay off all their debts. This is to make sure they will still have regular income and a source for paying dues. If postponing retirement is not an option, a retiree can still earn income by taking a part-time job, which may not be directly related to his former job.

Plan your retirement well. Aside from bolstering your retirement savings, try to eliminate all your debts. If you can’t help it, here are some logical strategies to deal with debts after retirement.

Use debt consolidation.

Debts should be paid even after you get into your retirement years. You may have stopped working and generating regular income but you are expected to continue paying your financial obligations. Retirement will not be a passport to neglect and not seriously take your debt problems.

If you still have debts to pay during or after getting retired, try debt consolidation. There are debt consolidation loans with better terms and lower interest rates. Secured loans will give you better rates and terms. As an alternative, you may use low-interest or 0% interest incentives of your credit cards’ balance transfer features. Again, after using the service, try to repay the amount as quickly as you can. Some balance transfer offers only apply lower rates or 0% rates within a limited or specified period so be aware.

Pay debts with higher interest rates first.

You may opt to pay off balances or pay slightly above minimum required payments on some of your debts for the meantime. Try to pay off debts with higher interest rates first. That is because you can save more money by doing so. The high interest rate payment can be added to the payment you make to get rid of other debts.

Keep on paying diligently. Make it a goal to lower your total debt as quickly as you can. Paying little interest will help you save on costs. As you go on to repay your obligations, you may also try to tighten your financial belt by living practically and frugally. You may expect to emerge out from the debt problem in a few years.

Once you get rid of all those debts, take a breather. Try to resist the urge to obtain loans and other forms of debts again. Live within your means so as not to make your coffers run empty. Your retirement years can be enjoyed more if you will not think more about those financial obligations you owe to anyone. During retirement, it is better not to live a stressful life anymore. Enjoy your years and get past debt problems.

Andrew enjoys blogging about personal finance and especially topics such as debt consolidation and management. Over the last 4 years, Andrew has written numerous articles and has been an active contributor in personal finance forums.

The Best Accounting Firms to Work For in 2012

Accounting firms play a vital role in providing the services which businesses require. There are many accounting firms spread all over the world. Besides putting a systematic record of financial transactions, these accounting firms take care of all the risks involved in setting up and running a limited company. As staff of an accounting firms are trained for all types of financial situations they can easily bring success to your business. It is always a better idea to hire an accounting firm to deal with your business requirements. You can get your limited company set up help with ClearSky which is an IFA accredited accounting firm. Below are some of the best accountancy firms to work for in 2012.

Ernst & Young

Ernst and Young accounting firm offer a wide range of services regarding business intelligence. They have been offering their services for about a century. The services offered by this firm include advisory business services, tax, transaction advisory services, law and assurance. This firm has offices in various cities all over the world.

Deloitte

Deloitte has dozens of member firms which have been offering their services to about 150 countries. These member firms provide services like audit, tax, financial advisory, consulting and risk management services. Each member firm operates based on the rules and regulations of the country in which it operates.

Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton is a leading business consultancy firm which stimulates potential growth of the organisations. It has set up its branches in more than 100 countries. The member firm of Grant Thornton helps you to compete with your business competitors and grow. These firms take care of the whole process involved in setting up and running a business.

Moss Adams

Moss Adams is the 11th largest accounting firm in the country. The services provided by this firm include tax, accounting and consulting services to all the businesses and industries. Along with business intelligence, this firm also offers services like investment banking and asset management. This firm is also a founding member of Praxity, a global alliance of accounting firms.

KPMG

KPMG is a New York based accounting firm which offers tax, auditing and financial advisory services to the businesses. KMPG has branches all over the world which has over 140,000 employees. The firm focuses on what the private company owners and entrepreneurs face every day and provides responsive and effective advice which stimulates the business potential growth.

Simon is a Tech writer from London with an interest in topics relating to Insurance, Finance, and green living. You can follow him @financeport on Twitter

Top 10 Cases of Corporate Identity Theft

(Photo credit: thewamphyri)Corporate identity theft cases have been in the news for quite some time now. Ever since the high pace advancement of technology has taken its toll, identity thefts have started to become more of a norm with every passing year. People looking for debt relief advice have moved on to stealing identities to get over with their credit card debt relief as soon as they can without the guilt of taking someone’s hard earnings that they’ve probably wasted years in gathering.

There are many cases available in recent history that depicts corporate identity thefts. Some of which are given below:

Identical Names

Executive Outcome Inc. and Executive Outcomes Inc. both possessed the same names. Although countries apart, the identical names led to a loss of twenty three million dollars to the South African Executive Outcomes Inc. which was collected by Executive Outcome Inc. situated in Michigan. The South African company was supposed to collect the mount from the government of Sierra Leone for military equipment and training etc.

The Michigan-based company took its chance and hired a debt collection agency with fabricating documents and registered a new business in England in the name of the same South African company that was originally designated to collect the debt. When a British debt collector came into the scene and submitted paperwork to the Sierra Leone government, he was amazed to find out that the payments had already been issued with present paperwork, leaving the company and collector distressed.

Experienced Hackers

There was a corporate identity theft case reported in 2009 that grabbed much of the media attention over the U.S. Department of Justice’s moves. The case involved a man from Miami named Albert Gonzalez along with his two conspirators were charged with stealing over one hundred and thirty numerous debit and credit card numbers due to corporate info breach from five companies i.e.

• Heartland Payment Systems
• Hannaford Brothers computer systems
• JC Penny
• Target
• Seven Citibank ATMs

Lifelock

Todd Davis, a confident CEO of his company called Lifelock was so confident about the identity theft protection provided by his company that he openly shared his real social security number with the world via advertising. This included billboards, Internet marketing and even side paintings on buses and trucks.

Leaving aside identity protection, his own personal account was scraped up of five hundred dollars for a cash advance loan with eighty seven following the lead using pseudonyms like Joe Blow and J.T Hutt etc.

Stealing from the Stars

A busboy named Abraham Abdallah was quite in the social scene for a while when he got hold of financial statements belonging to Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg’s credit card. He was caught on the scene with making a ten million dollar transfer hiding behind a software giant.

Frank Abagnale

Posing as a doctor, an airline pilot and history professor etc., Abagnale fooled the authorities for many years racking up to four million dollars of wrong checks. After being caught and convicted, he now owns a business that helps fight against mischief like his.

ID Fraud from China

In the mid 2004s, A Japanese electronics giant, the NEC, received reports of its pirated products being sold in major parts of China. The piracy started from keyboards and CD/DVDs and elevated up to home entertainment centers and MP3 players with over fifty factories operating within the whole country dedicated to producing NEC logoed goods on their own.

At Employee’s Hands

A company selling one of its departments handed over the list of its employees and their personal information to the purchaser. After a few months, about sixty of those employees were overcharged with one thing or another. It turned out that the purchasing company’s employees had conducted id thefts on the new ones.

Out of the Country

A person was out of the country for almost four years and upon his return to the U.S., he found out that a business has been created with his savings and he’s also been granted loans, and the power of attorney has also been transferred to a new person. It was the same person who rented his house prior to leaving the States.

Stealing Musician

The director of a business involving music production has committed fraudulent transactions conjuring more than 5 million dollars. This has affected high scale financial institutions like the Sun Trust Bank and the American Express.

Singer at Large

An ex-singer looking for credit card debt relief and serving prison time stole the identities and numbers of 200 companies and 150 individuals, making transactions worth more than 1 million dollars.

Becoming a criminal and stealing other people’s hard-earned money wouldn't come in question if only a person tries to seek some debt relief advice.

The above article is written and edited by Angelina J who is an expert adviser for debt related issues.

Saving for Beer or Retirement the Results Can be Delicious - Infographic

Here is a new way to look at saving for your retirement. It's funny how you can make a point by comparing something fun to something not to fun. Saving for retirement is boring and the payoff is so far away that you can get easily discouraged. 

If this info graphic doesn't drive home the power of saving even the smallest amount of money I don't know what will. Start today so when it's retirement time you'll have all the beer, I mean money you'll need for a secure retirement. 

Thanks to Erik at RothIRA.com for giving us a laugh and something to think about.  

From: RothIRA.com

Do Baby Boomers Still Need Life Insurance?

Universal Life Insurance Company (Photo credit: Thomas Hawk)

All through our lives we have had many different types of insurance. Whether it was car insurance, home insurance, or life insurance we know to protect ourselves and our families, it was a necessary expense. But in retirement is it still necessary to have life insurance? The kids are on their own and are self sufficient. We have less to protect and don't view the need for life insurance anymore.

Maybe you think life insurance for people over 50 isn't important. Think again. While people under fifty often get life insurance for financial protection for their spouse and children, people over 50 have even more ways to use life insurance.

If you have a spouse who will survive you, there is a need for some financial security for the rest of their life. Other needs for life insurance can be:

1. Taking care of your adult special needs child.
2. Paying off your mortgage and your debt.
3. Pension Maximization Strategy- letting you take the maximum dollars in retirement benefits.
4. Providing for your estate taxes.
5. Providing financially for your family business. 
6. Final expenses.
7. Charitable giving.
8. Providing for children or grandchildren for college and/or professional school.

I'm sure we've missed one or more reasons for life insurance in your senior years.  Whatever your reasons for needing life insurance are, the process is still the same. 

What keeps most Boomers from getting life insurance?

The answer for most people is cost. Seeing that large monthly payment makes people not purchase the insurance. But by doing that, everyday your making it worse. The price you will pay for your monthly premium on a 20 year term policy dramatically increases as you go from 50 to 60 and from 60 to 65.

Men have it worse when paying for life insurance. Women live longer than men so their insurance costs are less. Also as we age we have more health issues which will increase the premium we need to pay. Here are two examples of life insurance rates, compared for men and women. 

Female, Preferred risk,  $250,000 of insurance for 20 years, level face amount and premium

• Age 50 is $39 per month
• Age 60 is $94 per month
• Age 65 is $167 per month

Male, Preferred risk,  $250,000 of insurance for 20 years, level face amount and premium

• Age 50 is $50 per month
• Age 60 is $129 per month
• Age 65 is $258 per month

It pays to apply for your life insurance as early as possible so you can lock in low rates.

How much life insurance do you really need?

When shopping for life insurance deciding the amount of coverage depends on many factors. The insurance should only be as much as needed to fulfill a specific need. Support for the surviving spouse must be measured with the state of savings, pension, and other income. You may only need to just provide enough money to pay off a mortgage and provide burial expenses. 

Life happens and the best time to buy life insurance is today when your healthy and at your youngest. It will be at the most affordable price and only be more expensive if you wait.

3 Ways to Maximize your 401k

Finance (Photo credit: Tax Credits)It's easy to get the most out of your 401k, especially if you start planning early. A comfortable retirement is within the reach of anyone who takes their financial responsibilities seriously, and maximizes their 401k account. Here are some simple ways to do it:

Start Early

It is never too early to start thinking about the future, or to start learning about the fascinating world of finance. Pay attention to your investments, to your retirement, and to the economic world. Put as much as you can into your 401k, because if it is one the primary things you spend money on then you will take it seriously and tend it carefully. Although you cannot put more than $17,000 into a 401k in a year, if you can come anywhere close to that you will not regret it. Even one year of large contributions will pay well later. If you want to take the fullest possible advantage of the tax breaks, then you should contribute about $1,417 a month. That's about $327 a week. That seems like a lot, but it will be worth it. Be sure to take the fullest possible advantage of employer 401k matching to your account. That is a service that costs you nothing, but benefits you tremendously.

Diversify

Most 401ks have generous options for investing in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and more. A diverse portfolio distributes risk and ensures that no single disaster can completely undo the fund. The beauty of the modern market is that, no matter what happens, some sector of the economy benefits. The harder it rains, the more umbrellas somebody can sell. If your 401k is used for intelligent selections from the entire financial spectrum then it will truly be an ill wind that blows no part of your portfolio any good. Please be sure to not put too much money into investing in your own company. That is counter to the principles of risk management, which are at the heart of any great investment plan. Your fortunes are already tied to your employers. Maximize your freedom, and diversify.

Take It Seriously

Assiduous attention to the financial market is the surest guarantee of a long and productive economic life. The market changes, constantly, and the only constant is change. There is no way to know what the top stocks will be in many years, when you are ready to retire. The only way to know is to pay attention from now on until then. Make your economic life part of your everyday life. Read the financial news. Not only will this give you ideas for investments, but regular contact with the financial world will keep you aware of the usual conditions and the way that major events tend to play out. This can really help you keep your sanity when strange moments find the financial market and the less-informed investors panic, lose their heads, and make emotional decisions with terrible consequences. The truly iron-willed can even find ways to make a profit in this situation.

Dan is a financial blogger and a writer for a company that provides useful information and guide here on life insurance.

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