Seniors should start planning for their funeral to spare their loved ones from the experience of making tough decisions, according to this article on Kiplinger. When creating a funeral plan, they should do some research by calling or visiting funeral homes and decide on the cost and details of the burial, such as the casket to be used and whether they want to be cremated. “I urge people to do this before death is knocking on the door,” says an expert.
A survey by the Federal Reserve Board has found that 36% of Americans are on track for achieving their retirement savings goals, with about 44% of the respondents saying they are lagging behind their targets, according to this article on Bloomberg. Twenty-five percent of the non-retired respondents also claimed they have no retirement savings or pension, with a big number of younger respondents having no savings at all. Of those in the 60 and above age bracket, 13% claimed they have not saved for the golden years. The survey also found that about 25% of retirees had to retire because of lack of job opportunity, with a bigger number of retirees saying they were forced to leave the labor force because of poor health.
Workers are likely to become disabled before reaching retirement, but most of them do not have disability insurance, according to this article on CNBC. They are advised to take advantage of the plan their employer provides, while those who have no access to workplace disability coverage should consider buying from a private insurer. “Understanding both short- and long-term disability coverage options is one of the most important ways individuals can protect themselves, their families and their finances,” says an expert.
Young workers who intend to save for their first home and build their savings at the same time should consider building their emergency fund before pursuing other goals, according to this article on MarketWatch. ”You should have enough savings in an emergency fund to deal with things like temporary job loss or having your car die without needing to take on more debt or miss bills,” says a financial advisor. “There’s no point saving for retirement or saving for a down payment if you can’t come up with a couple thousand dollars for unexpected required expenses.”
