How to retire abroad plus expert advice for nervous investors
Adds subscription info for newsletter at top
By Lauren Young
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) -Sign up here for the Reuters On the Money newsletter to get U.S. personal financetips and insights.
Do you dream about living overseas when you retire? My husband and I like to talk about our ideal retirement spot. We both like the idea of a beach with mountains nearby.
Oh, and he needs good sushi.
I want culture and community.
My friend Jill’s latest retirement obsession, meanwhile, is a small town in Spain. (I can’t tell you the name because she doesn’t want her secret to get out.)
It’s easy to dream. But moving to another country is no small step. Yet it is one that many have already taken: At least 5.4 million Americans lived abroad in 2023, according to the Association of Americans Resident Overseas.
The magazine "International Living" recently released its 2024 Global Retirement Index, ranking locales around the world according to a variety of criteria. Costa Rica is first on the list while Portugal, Mexico, Panama and Spain round out the top five.
One big reason for such a move: thestrength of the U.S. dollar in foreign countries. Most Americans are far behind on retirement savings, so if they can find a location with a much lower cost of living, the math changes immediately.
Here are tips for anyone considering locales abroad for their retirement years. Also, it’s fun to fill out this Expatsi survey which suggests places to retire.
Where do you fantasize about living in retirement and why? If it’s in another zip code or even on another continent, have you taken a test-drive yet? Write to me about the experience at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.
LIFE AND LEGACY
Every day I log onto Facebook and it feels like someone I know has lost a person dear to them: A parent, a grandparent, a sibling, a friend, a colleague. I look at those posts carefully because I am interested in other peoples’ lives. (I guess that’s why I’m a journalist.)
While I never met former Google executive Susan Wojcicki, I’ve read enough about her since her death at age 56 to know she was a force. Many people I respect have shared the kindest words about her legacy as a leader, mentor and innovator. She was a working parent (with five kids!) who made family a priority.
My favorite tribute post is from a former Reuters reporter, Aaron Pressman. The human side of technology is often lost in the rush for fame and fortune, Pressman writes in this magnificent reflection, which I implore you to read.
The memory of Susan Wojcicki should remind us to be our authentic selves.
WHAT I’M READING AND WATCHING
Foreign tourism to Portugal has best first half ever
How to avoid online scams and what to do if you become a victim
Stonehenge's hefty Altar Stone came all the way from Scotland
The dramatic turnaround in millennials’ finances
Shrinking cash cushions may pinch US consumer spending
What we lose when we lose a pet
US expects billions in savings from Medicare drug price cuts of up to 79%
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
AI Weekly: Google's Pixel power up. From Google's AI power-up to Elon Musk's EU data dispute, this is AI Weekly. Watch here.
THE PROBLEM WITH 401(K) MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS
When you are saving for retirement in a 401(k) account, the standard advice is to put aside enough to capture your employer’s matching contribution. That makes sense, since the contribution represents a risk-free 100% return on every dollar you save.
The match is intended to be an incentive that encourages saving – but recent research shows there are better ways to get people to sock away their money. In many cases, the current structure of matching programs actually contributes to pay inequity – and they are not the most powerful incentives available to employers.
“When we first created an employer match, we thought that was the carrot — the incentive that would get people to participate,” said Fiona Greig, global head of investor research and policy at Vanguard and co-author of a recent research brief on matching contributions. “But now we have a much heavier hammer.”
That hammer, she said, includes the rise of plan features like automatic enrollment, auto escalation of contribution rates and higher initial default contribution rates.
The problem is that employer contributions tend to benefit higher-income earners.
Here are some ideas to level the playing field for retirement savers. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.
EXPERT ADVICE FOR NERVOUS INVESTORS
Things have calmed down, but some of you may still be worried about your portfolio amid recent market volatility. If you are still queasy, the best advice I can offer is: Keep calm and do nothing ... with a few caveats.
Yes, the markets have seen wild swings in the past month on recession fears, an AI correction, the Japanese yen, the U.S. election and basically anything else investors can find to blame.
Research shows that reacting to short-term market moves never works out well for investors. And that’s why I simply do not look at my accounts whenever the market takes a dive. During the pandemic, I swear I did not peek at my retirement money for more than a year!
Here are four worthwhile links to calm your nerves and provide insight:
As always, personal finance expert Ron Lieber offers up words of wisdom about market mayhem and bad investment decisions. (The comments are quite, er, interesting!)
And while the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates amid stock swoons in the past, my colleagues Ann Saphir and Dan Burns look into the chance of a rate cut happening now. (Spoiler alert: Unlikely, they say.)
Suzanne McGee writes about the ETFs that offer investors the chance to swap some stock market upside for downside protection.
Obviously, some folks might see a downturn as a buying opportunity or a time to take advantage of tax-loss harvesting. There are always exceptions to staying put.
The bottom line? Think carefully before you make any big financial moves.
A$K LAUREN
Do you need to refinance your mortgage? Are you in the market for a new car? Send your money questions to onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com, and I'll tap my extensive source network and braintrust for expert advice.
Don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter! Even better, share it with a friend!
NEW PODCAST ALERT!
Subscribe to our newest podcast: Reuters Econ World. Every week, Carmel Crimmins and her guests dive deep into a single economic principle driving global headlines and help listeners understand the ideas and debates shaping the global economic agenda.
Listen here.
Reporting by Lauren Young; Editing by Mark Porter
免責聲明: XM Group提供線上交易平台的登入和執行服務，允許個人查看和/或使用網站所提供的內容，但不進行任何更改或擴展其服務和訪問權限，並受以下條款與條例約束：（i）條款與條例；（ii）風險提示；（iii）完全免責聲明。網站內部所提供的所有資訊，僅限於一般資訊用途。請注意，我們所有的線上交易平台內容並不構成，也不被視為進入金融市場交易的邀約或邀請 。金融市場交易會對您的投資帶來重大風險。
所有缐上交易平台所發佈的資料，僅適用於教育/資訊類用途，不包含也不應被視爲適用於金融、投資稅或交易相關諮詢和建議，或是交易價格紀錄，或是任何金融商品或非應邀途徑的金融相關優惠的交易邀約或邀請。
本網站的所有XM和第三方所提供的内容，包括意見、新聞、研究、分析、價格其他資訊和第三方網站鏈接，皆爲‘按原狀’，並作爲一般市場評論所提供，而非投資建議。請理解和接受，所有被歸類為投資研究範圍的相關内容，並非爲了促進投資研究獨立性，而根據法律要求所編寫，而是被視爲符合營銷傳播相關法律與法規所編寫的内容。請確保您已詳讀並完全理解我們的非獨立投資研究提示和風險提示資訊，相關詳情請點擊 這裡查看。
