Retirement Worries

Sometimes I like to joke that I plan for my retirement every Wednesday and Saturday… as that’s when they draw numbers for the Power Ball lottery. But hey, as I’m writing, it’s fast approaching a half of a billion dollars!

That would make for a pretty sweet retirement nest egg and you can’t win if you don’t play, right?

As fun as it is to play “what if” to the tune of a hypothetical half a billion dollars, retirement isn’t a joke. But I am in a similar situation that many find themselves in – meaning, I’m getting close enough to smell retirement but not on track to retire comfortably when I thought I might have.

How much do I need to retire? Probably a lot more than I have! According to the September 2014 issue of Federal Reserve Bulletin (yes, that’s exactly as exciting as it sounds!), the average American is well shy of having saved enough for retirement

Under 50% of all American families have a retirement account and the median value of those who have retirement accounts is under $60,000.

You’re probably thinking that many of those families are young and haven’t started saving yet. Well, of those families where the head of the house is aged between 55 and 64 (or those who are very near retirement age), only 59% have a retirement account! In that age group, the median value of the account is just over $100,000.

So, over 40% of those heads of families that are within 10 years of retirement don’t have any sort of retirement savings and will rely solely on Social Security. And more than half of those that have a retirement account have less than $100,000 saved!

The reason I’m focused on that age group is to highlight the trouble America is in since our Social Security program is already in serious trouble, which Rodney detailed in the February issue of Boom & Bust. That, and I happen to fall in that age group. Stats are just stats until you see yourself in them – that’s when the abstract starts to look a lot more real.

Everyone follows their own path in life and mine happened to include three ex-wives and three children. All were very expensive and affected my retirement saving decisions.

The good news for me is that I’m now an empty-nester… free of kids and ex-wives! That means my spending has gone down dramatically and I’m really getting serious about retirement saving!

I’m still behind where I think I should be to have a comfortable retirement, but I’m getting closer, faster. Obviously, it’s been especially helpful being on the other side of kids and divorces, but also important here is bringing a sense of focus to retirement planning.

I haven’t given up all risk and still trade a lot of options but I have given up on the ultra-high leverage of futures trading. I’m nearly maxing out my 401(k) contributions, as Charles Sizemore suggests, but didn’t do so early in my career as he did.

I’ve known Charles for about 10 years and, as I can attest, he puts his money where his mouth is. Some people like to spend their money; Charles prides himself on frugality and saving. At our 2016 Irrational Economic Summit, a few of us were talking by the bar and when it was time to pay up, Charles mysteriously disappeared. Actually, it was no mystery to me!

All joking aside (Charles is a great guy), he’s our “retirement guru” for good reason. He’s always searching for new income and profit opportunities AND making sure he protects what he already has.

It’s no secret that we at Dent Research soon expect a brutal bear market that we believe may last until at least 2023. So, now is not the time to risk retirement dollars in stocks, and you know you’ll make next to nothing in CDs or a savings account.

Well, Charles found income opportunities to help you secure your retirement in what he calls “Private Income Funds.” A “Private Income Fund” was designed for wealthy investors to produce a constant income stream and Charles has adapted them to the needs of the average person.

These investments are similar to bonds in that they deliver a secure stream of income but they deliver 30% more income than bonds and are also like a stock, in that you can buy and sell them when you want. A Private Income Fund can be filled with many kinds of income-producing investments like municipal bonds, debt, REITs, dividend stocks and more.

Charles will make it even easier for you in his new research service… He’ll show you how to boost your income substantially without incurring a huge amount of risk. He’ll give you his top Private Income Fund recommendations right away so you can start collecting your monthly income checks. And he’ll deliver weekly alerts with specific buy and sell recommendations for the model portfolio.

So if you’re scrambling to accumulate enough retirement income to last you through retirement and you worry you just won’t have enough, listen to what Charles has to say in a special, free presentation next week!