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Table of Contents of our Free Guide on Financial & Retirement Planning

NOTE: A free copy of our guide will be available for download once your form is submitted.

		Page
Introduction		4
Planning Basics		5
Sources of Retirement Income Setting Realistic Expectations Managing Retirement Income Key Planning Concepts
Growing your Assets		12
Asset Allocation Options Retirement Plan Strategies Common Investor Mistakes
Protecting your Assets		17
Insurance Estate Planning Tax Planning & Reducing Taxes
Enjoying your Assets		25
Coordinating Finances Payout Options Managing Distributions & Withdrawals Common Distribution Mistakes
Summary		31

Excerpts from our Free Guide

Introduction

Over the past few years, retirement planning has become increasingly complex. Today, you need to balance a wider range of financial issues than ever before; from IRA and 401(k) accounts, to estate planning, income distribution strategies, tax changes and even how working will affect your Social Security benefits.

When combined with the fact that people are living longer than ever - making retirement more expensive - you quickly see why good, solid retirement planning has become so critical.

The goal of this handbook is to introduce the foundations of financial and retirement planning, to present possible strategies to save and invest before retirement, and ways to invest and draw down in retirement. It should help you to understand what issues are important to consider in your financial planning, what mistakes you can easily avoid, and what options you have to maximize retirement income.

Most importantly, while the handbook will not answer all your questions (as every personal financial situation is unique), it should provide the framework that will help you build the comfortable and enjoyable retirement that we all strive for.

Planning Basics (Page 5)

Many people share common concerns, namely that they won't have enough money when they get older, that they won't be able to live comfortably, or that they won't be able to do the things they had always planned in retirement. In a nutshell, in retirement you will have two central needs: income and security.

The first key point to understand is that yesterday's financial plans may not meet the needs of tomorrow's retiree. This section will illustrate why this is likely the case and more importantly, will begin to build the foundations on what you can do about it for your specific financial situation.

• Sources of Retirement Income
Determine where your retirement income is likely to come from.
• Setting Realistic Expectations
Outline your plans for retirement given that your income needs to last longer than before.
• Managing Retirement Income
Build an income/expense model to help you optimize your retirement savings.
• Key planning Concepts
Follow these pre-retirement strategies to help you build a more solid retirement plan.

Asset Allocation Options (Page 13)

Asset allocation is the process of dividing up investments among different kinds of assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and cash, with the objective being to optimize the risk/reward tradeoff based on an individual's specific situation and goals.

The following represent the different ways you can split up your assets

Seven Simple Tax-Saving Strategies (page 23)

To avoid paying the IRS more than you have to, keep the following in mind:

	Hold appreciated securities more than one year To benefit from the attractive long-term capital gains rates, you must held the asset being sold for more than one year.
	Carry forward losses from previous years You can use capital losses to offset capital gains and reduce your tax burden. Many people overlook losses they have carried forward from the previous year's tax return. You can use net losses up to $3,000 to reduce ordinary income in a single year.
	Plan carefully when excercising Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) Develop a plan for exercising your ISOs, taking into consideration tax consequences. Without proper planning, exercising ISOs could make you eligible for the alternative minimum tax (if you weren’t already).
	Be diligent about estimated payments If you make estimated tax payments, be careful not to underpay or miss any payment deadlines, either of which may trigger IRS penalties.
	Stipulate which securities to sell Whenever you sell securities, specify the shares you intend to sell by their purchase dates to help reduce capital gains taxes. If you don't, the IRS will assume you are using the FIFO method (first-in, first-out) which equate to the shares you've held the longest - and which may have the most appreciation.
	Take advantage of tax credits Be sure you know about and take advantage of every tax credit you’re entitled to. These may include tax credits related to children, adoption, lifetime learning and retirement savings contributions.
	Invest your refund If you have a refund coming, use it to fund your long-term goals instead of spending it. Take advantage of the ability to automatically deposit your refund directly into your IRA.

Payout Options (Page 26)

As you would expect, there is no universal right answer as to how to take your money out of your retirement plans (pensions, 401(k)s, IRAs, etc.).

There are several options you have available, each with their distinct advantages and disadvantages that you will have to match with your specific financial situation and needs. The primary options include:

Retirement Choices	Advantages	Disadvantages
Pension Annuity An annuity is a regular, monthly payment, usually for your lifetime	Payments come in on a regular basis Option to spread payments over your spouse's lifetime aas well as your own	Tax due on amount you receive each year. Could potentially push you into higher tax bracket Some plans could be unsafe or under-funded - potentially leaving you less than expected
Periodic Payments Periodic payments are installment payments of roughly equal amounts paid over a specific period, often 5 to 15 years	Assurance of regular payments at pre-determined intervals Larger payments because of shorter time frame Option of rolling some (but not all) payments into an IRA	Commitment to payment schedule limits ability to get lump sum if needed No assurance of lifetime income Taxes could be at highest rate Inflation could erode future purchasing power
Lump Sum A lump sum payment is a cash payment of the money in your retirement account	Control over investing and gifting your assets Eligible for income averaging (if born before 1936) Not dependent on employer's financial health Can invest to take advantage of long-term capital gains rate	Tax due immediately Potential of early retirement over-spending No assurance of lifetime income Earnings of assets no longer tax deferred
IRA Rollover An IRA rollover is a lump sum payment deposited into an IRA account	Money remains tax-deferred Self-directed nature means you control how it is invested Freedom to take distributions as needed Protection from early withdrawal penalties on lump sum if you're not yet 59½	May pay more tax over time than you might have paid on the lump sum Withdrawal schedule required after you turn 70½ Transfer required by employer to avoid 20% witholding requirement

Common IRA Distribution Mistakes (Page 30)

The following are common IRA distribution mistakes. Many times the mistakes are easily avoidable - and can even cut your taxes on IRA withdrawals.

Never take more than required from your plan(s)
You own two buckets of money: money that's been taxed ("regular money") and money that has not been taxed ("IRA money"). When you spend $1 of regular money, the cost is $1. When you spend $1 of IRA money, the cost to you is about $1.33 because you need to pay approximately 33% of income tax on the amount you withdraw. Therefore to reduce your taxes consider not withdrawing anything more than the required distribution from your IRA money, even if it means spending regular principal for living expenses.

Mistakes in selecting beneficiaries
Most people select their spouse (or children) as beneficiary for their IRAs. As simple as this seems, it can create problems. When you leave an IRA account to your spouse, it inflates his or her assets - and if he or she later dies with an estate exceeding $2.0 million (the estate exemption limit for 2007), that person would pay estate tax. Solutions might include leaving your IRA to your estate (although the IRS requires rapid distribution) or in a trust where the trustee can be empowered to determine distributions.

Giving to charity
If you want to donate money to charity, do it from your IRA money. The Pension Protection Act provides IRA owners who are 70½ or older the opportunity to make income-tax free IRA distributions directly to a charity. Also, when you leave your IRA to non-charitable beneficiaries, they will pay both income and estate taxes on the distributions as the money has been growing tax-deferred to that point.

Shelter your retirement money from estate tax
Many people have reached age 70½ and are taking only the minimum required distributions from their IRAs. By taking the minimum required, their income taxes are minimized. But depending on your situation, this tactic can create another problem: the IRA balance continues to grow and it could be subject later to double taxation - income and estate taxes. One solution would be to take a larger annual distribution from your IRA, pay the taxes on the amount, and invest the proceeds in financial products owned outside the estate - certain of which generate proceeds which could potentially be free of both estate and income tax.