Retirement, financial plans discussed
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While the topics of retirement planning and estate tax planning may not be something that most college students think about, it will become important in the future and is something that requires careful planning and thought.
On Monday in Carver Hall, the College of Business hosted the last of a series of five seminars that discussed financial literacy, specifically retirement planning and real estate planning.
Jake Zehr, an individual consultant at TIAA-CREF, explained the importance of planning for retirement. One of the primary goals that Zehr talked about was helping those professors at Iowa State set up a retirement fund.
The talk began with some significant statistics and facts. “In 25 years, there will be potentially one million people living over the age of 100, and we need to plan for retirement because the government is not going to take care of all of us,” Zehr said.
He added that only about 40 percent of Social Security benefits make up retirement funds, which leaves prospective retirees the task of finding other ways to pay for retirement.
One of the important factors in retirement planning is the condition of the stock market. Although the market has taken a downward turn, it also brings lower share prices. By purchasing shares at a time like this, people can potentially make a greater return on investment and increase the value of their retirement portfolio.
With the aid of pie charts, Zehr showed the impact current students can have on willingness to invest in the stock market. The younger a person is, the more willing he or she is to invest because younger people have a longer amount of time to see the effects. Older investors become more conservative with their money.
He described that aggressive investors will put 90 percent of their money in the stock market. Someone in their 20s or 30s, for example, will most likely fit in this category because they have time to weather the stock market.
College students are more focused on starting a career, but keeping retirement in their sights is necessary. “Investing and planning for retirement is like doing the dishes or doing laundry. It’s something that we don’t want to do, but we have to,” Zehr said.
The last hour of the presentation focused on the idea of wills and where assets and estates will go once we pass away.
Alicia Waltenberger, wealth planning specialist at TIAA-CREF, said estate tax planning provides the management and distribution of personal affairs after death. The importance of finding a qualified estate planning attorney was stressed. This could significantly aid in the ease of distributing wealth and estate to designated people.
The discussion also emphasized the importance of a living will, which helps identify the health care a person wants to receive if they become incapacitated.“We are living longer, therefore the risk of disability goes up,” Waltenberger said.
On Monday in Carver Hall, the College of Business hosted the last of a series of five seminars that discussed financial literacy, specifically retirement planning and real estate planning.
Jake Zehr, an individual consultant at TIAA-CREF, explained the importance of planning for retirement. One of the primary goals that Zehr talked about was helping those professors at Iowa State set up a retirement fund.
The talk began with some significant statistics and facts. “In 25 years, there will be potentially one million people living over the age of 100, and we need to plan for retirement because the government is not going to take care of all of us,” Zehr said.
He added that only about 40 percent of Social Security benefits make up retirement funds, which leaves prospective retirees the task of finding other ways to pay for retirement.
One of the important factors in retirement planning is the condition of the stock market. Although the market has taken a downward turn, it also brings lower share prices. By purchasing shares at a time like this, people can potentially make a greater return on investment and increase the value of their retirement portfolio.
With the aid of pie charts, Zehr showed the impact current students can have on willingness to invest in the stock market. The younger a person is, the more willing he or she is to invest because younger people have a longer amount of time to see the effects. Older investors become more conservative with their money.
He described that aggressive investors will put 90 percent of their money in the stock market. Someone in their 20s or 30s, for example, will most likely fit in this category because they have time to weather the stock market.
College students are more focused on starting a career, but keeping retirement in their sights is necessary. “Investing and planning for retirement is like doing the dishes or doing laundry. It’s something that we don’t want to do, but we have to,” Zehr said.
The last hour of the presentation focused on the idea of wills and where assets and estates will go once we pass away.
Alicia Waltenberger, wealth planning specialist at TIAA-CREF, said estate tax planning provides the management and distribution of personal affairs after death. The importance of finding a qualified estate planning attorney was stressed. This could significantly aid in the ease of distributing wealth and estate to designated people.
The discussion also emphasized the importance of a living will, which helps identify the health care a person wants to receive if they become incapacitated.“We are living longer, therefore the risk of disability goes up,” Waltenberger said.
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