Happy New Year!

by The ME Team

We have put 2008 behind and are embarking on a wonderful 2009.  This year is starting off with Hope and Change.  Our 44^th President Barack Obama was sworn into office on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.  It came at a time that was symbolic around the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., who not only had a dream but also wanted to see the world change. 

 

For many people, ethnicity and gender, we did not think this day would probably come.  But 40 years later, here we are in 2009, waiting for the hope that our parents infused in all of us, “that you can be anything you want if you put your mind to it.”  How amazing and powerful that is and to see it into action.  It’s amazing to see America ready for a change.  Change starts within the mind and to see America changing means that we are changing our thought pattern and getting clear, focused and moving in a direction that means we are apart of the solution and not the problem.  There is a quote that comes to mind by Gandhi “Be the change you wish to see in the world!”

 

Even if President Obama was not your preference/choice, be willing to embrace change to make America a better place and inspire our youth to be the next “change” generation.

If you want to be a part of change: 

 

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Retiring Right  

   
   By the Smith Barney Division of
   Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
   Courtesy of Evaggelia Hatzimanolis


Financial Advisor – Wealth Management
Financial Planning Specialist
Guided Portfolio Manager

Citi Smith Barney
595 S. Federal Hwy. Ste. 400
Boca Raton, FL  33432
561.393.1576
800.327.0146

September, 2008

 

 

 

 

Retiring Right

Wealth alone is no guarantee of a secure retirement. It’s time to start thinking about what you’ll need.
Even if you are doing well, plentiful assets and a good income are probably not enough to get rid of your worries about retirement—at least not according to new studies of high net worth investors. Thousands of affluent boomers and Gen Xers studied by Wharton and State Street Global Advisors expressed fears about outlasting their money. You may be worried about preserving your standard of living in the face of market downturns, inflation and health care costs during a retirement that may last 30 years. In fact, 57% of those surveyed cited rising health care costs as their number-one concern. And if you’re in the younger half of those surveyed, a lack of traditional pensions and Social Security and Medicare safety nets is probably also on your mind.

Experts agree that wealth alone is no guarantee of retirement security; saving too little “runs up and down the income scale and wealth scale,” says Olivia S. Mitchell, an insurance and risk-management professor at Wharton. Comfortable living inevitably translates to spending. Though the wealthy save, Mitchell explained in the Wharton study, “people with high earnings also spend a lot” to keep the lifestyle they enjoy going.

Reasons for concern
Your retirement isn’t likely to be the same as it would have been 50 years ago. The old adage was that you needed 80% of your current income when you retire—but nearly half of the 1,800 millionaires surveyed by the 2007 Phoenix Wealth Survey said they will need more than 100%. You may even be thinking of working indefinitely, at least part-time, in order to stay engaged and support a comfortable lifestyle. Also, your life expectancy has increased, even from just a generation ago. Determining your retirement goals is a complex process—one that means taking the time to figure out what it is you really want now and down the road.

The plan
Worried as you may be, you may not have begun planning. 59% of high net worth investors have no formal written plan for their retirement goals—but Smith Barney’s retirement analysis can help. Your Financial Advisor can run this analysis to assess your financial situation, your potential annual retirement income, your savings and investments and your tax situation.

Then, it’s time to analyze your retirement goals. Once you know what you want, your Financial Advisor can determine ways to help you get there, whether that involves altering your investment strategy, changing the amounts you contribute or something else entirely. The retirement analysis will provide you with a full report, including savings recommendations and sources for retirement income.

Talk to your Financial Advisor about how a retirement analysis might benefit you.

Evaggelia Hatzimanolis is a Financial Advisor with Smith Barney located in Boca Raton, FL and may be reached directly at 561.393.1576.  Please note I will update monthly with Financial Planning Solutions.  Please click on website link www.fa.smithbarney.com/eva for Featured Reports.  Also feel free to contact me with any topics of interest that may help you reach your retirement goals.

Citigroup Inc., its affiliates and its employees are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice. These materials and any tax-related statements are not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any such taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Tax-related statements, if any, may have been written in connection with the “promotion or marketing” of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed by these materials, to the extent allowed by applicable law. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer’s particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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