Retirement planning is no slam-dunk. To make sure you retire in comfort, you have to start saving early and often. You need to pay attention to your money and not be distracted by the stresses and strains -- or the joys -- of day-to-day life. In the long run, you'll thank yourself for keeping one...

Taking Social Security benefits at 62 may seem like a good idea, but if you wait, you'll thank yourself later. Here are four reasons why: 1. You get less money when you claim early If you take your Social Security at age 62, you take a 25% haircut. Or as Social Security points out here, if you...

I get tired of all the negative Detroit news. In the wake of the U.S. Census report that the population of Detroit had dropped 25% in 10 years, because I live nearby, WalletPop asked me to write about what's driving people out of the city and what it's going to take to get them back. I don't...

Top your spring to-do list with an IRA tuneup -- before you sharpen the lawnmower blades and scrub up the the barbecue grill. Here are four steps to getting your IRA and/or your 401(k) in top shape. Most of this advice comes from Dan Keady, director of financial planning for TIAA-CREF. 1. Total...

Just because you don't have a 401(k) at work doesn't mean you can't (or shouldn't) save for retirement. There are many tools for putting money in the cookie jar and earmarking it for your old age that aren't reserved for those with a workplace retirement savings plan. Here are five ways to set up...

Retirement confidence surveys remind me of Chicken Little. You remember her. She gathered a long line of followers who believed her warning that the sky is falling. Ultimately, she and her followers were so distracted by their fears that the fox led them to his den and something far worse than...

Being old and poor doesn't sound like much fun. Here's what you need to know to avoid that fate -- or get help if you can't. One quarter of baby boomers, ages 46 to 65, appear to be headed for poverty in their old age, according to a recent Harris poll, because they have no retirement or personal...

Neglecting estate planning is a grave error. If you don't plan your exit strategy before you die, it is likely that a lot more of your money and your property will go to Uncle Sam and the state tax man than your loved ones would have had to pay if you had been savvy about estate planning.

Talking to your parents about growing old and their plans for the future is hard to do. After all, they still remember changing your diapers. What could you possibly know that they don't? Talking about their money is even harder -- worse than talking about sex. And you remember that awkward...

Retirement savers are back on track after the 2008 stock market downturn, according to a report from Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest provider of workplace retirement savings plans. Fidelity reported that the average 401(k) savings reached a 10-year high at the end of 2010 with the...