Annual policy statement

Vacations are for People, NOT Your Retirement Plan

September 10th, 2015 by Pamela Yellen | Leave a Comment

Do you remember how much value the stock market lost in the crashes of 2000 and 2007? I’m talking about what percent the market lost during each of those crashes.

If you’re not sure, take a guess before you read on.

The tech crash happened just 15 years ago. The S&P 500 lost 49% from March, 2000 to October, 2002. Many investors – myself included – had moved their money into NASDAQ tech stocks, which plunged 78% during that same 2-1/2-year period.

Then the S&P 500 peaked again in 2007 – just a few years later. By March of 2009, it had plunged 57%.

That makes two heart-stopping losses of more than 49% just in the last 15 years. [Read more…] “Vacations are for People, NOT Your Retirement Plan”

Bank On Yourself Round-Up for week of July 13, 2011

July 13th, 2011 by Pamela Yellen | 2 Comments

Here are short summaries of three of the most interesting and thought-provoking items that have crossed my desk this week. Enjoy… and tell us what you think!

Would you be prepared if you suffered a 30% pay cut?

A shocking new report reveals that the average person’s pay levels off when they’re in their 40’s. After that, about all you’ll be likely to count on will be cost-of-living adjustments to keep pace with inflation.

That will come as a real surprise to many people who assume their pay will continue to rise as they get older.

And if you lose your job while in your 50’s, you’re likely to remain jobless longer than when you were younger, according to the report.

Read this sobering and well documented article from the Wall Street Journal.¹

What’s your best self-defense? When planning for retirement, assume the only salary increases you’ll get will be cost-of-living adjustments. And identify a worse-case scenario – such as a 20% pay cut during your final ten years in the workforce – and try living on that income and putting the rest into savings.

The “unrealized loss” riddle

December 8th, 2010 by Pamela Yellen | 14 Comments

Note: this post has been updated in November 2011

-$62,734.06. That’s the “unrealized” loss we’ve had in one of the mutual funds in our retirement account, according to the statement we just received.

A $62,734.06 unrealized loss.

I keep staring at the statement, hoping that number will somehow magically turn positive. After all, we’ve had a nice run-up in the stock market recently, and that mutual fund has one of the best long-term track records of any fund.

What the heck is an unrealized loss, anyway?

I realize I’ve lost a whole bunch of money. And I remember working my butt off to make that money!”

A $62,734 “unrealized loss.” Is that an oxymoron, like “Great Depression,” “small fortune,” “accurate forecast” and “quickly reboot”?

I dunno if it qualifies as an oxymoron. But I do know it’s moronic that we pin our hopes and plans for financial and retirement security on things we can’t predict or count on!

My husband Larry is 61 and theoretically four years away from retirement. He probably won’t retire when he’s 65 because he says he’d get bored. But if we were relying on the conventional wisdom about saving for retirement, it wouldn’t even be an option for him.

Did you know that 40% of retirees were forced to retire sooner than planned, due to health problems, job layoffs and other factors beyond their control?

Of course, none of us want to think that could happen to us… but what would you do if it did?

Another mutual fund in our retirement account shows an $8,012.16 “unrealized” gain.

And there lies the rub: You don’t actually lock in a gain or loss until you sell an investment.

(November 22, 2011 Update: Our most recent retirement account statement shows our “unrealized loss” is virtually unchanged since I wrote this blog post almost a year ago. And looking at the Dow’s ups and downs over the past year makes a day on the roller coasters at Six Flags look tame.)

Unfortunately, studies and history show that most of us are far more successful at locking in our losses than our gains.

Can you tell me what your retirement account will be worth on the day you plan to tap into it? (Not what you hope it will be.) If your answer is “no,” how can you even call it a plan? And what will you do if the market plunges by 50% – again – right before you planned to retire?