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Plan for Retirement
The average American spends
20 years in retirement.
The three major elements of your retirement portfolio are Social Security benefits, savings and investments, and benefits from pensions. Financial security in retirement takes planning, commitment and, yes, money.
To help you plan for retirement each year the Social Security Administration sends you your personal Social Security Statement. Your Statement gives you an estimate of the monthly benefit amounts you and your family may qualify for now and in the future; benefits, on average, are equal to about 40 percent of what you earned before retirement. Once you've reviewed your Statement, you may want to explore a variety of retirement scenarios using a range of assumptions about your future earnings or when you stop working. You can do that with the Retirement Planner. The Planner not only tells you how to qualify for Social Security benefits, but it also includes a Retirement Estimator and Benefit Calculators that help you calculate your own benefit estimates. Follow this link to learn more about full retirement age, how to apply for retirement benefits or Medicare, what documents will be needed, and more.
Top 10 Ways to Prepare for Retirement (as provided by the U. S. Department of Labor:)
1. Start saving, keep saving, make it a priority, and stick to your goals. The sooner you start saving, the more time your money has to grow...it's never too early, or too late, to start.
2. Know your retirement needs. Experts estimate that you will need at least 70% of your preretirement income to maintain your standard of living once you stop working. You can request the Savings Fitness Guide to help with your financial future.
3. Contribute to your employer's retirement plan whenever offered. Your taxes will be lower, your company may kick in more, and automatic deductions make it easy. Over time compound interest and tax deferrals make a big difference in the amount you will accumulate.
4. Learn about your employer's pension plan. Find out what benefits you may be entitled to from your spouse. For more information, request What you should know about your retirement plan.
5. Consider basic investment principles. How you save can be as important as how much you save. Know how your savings or pension plan is invested, and remember to diversify to reduce risk and improve return.
6. Don't touch your retirement savings...you'll lose principal and interest, and you may lose tax benefits.
7. Ask your employer to start a plan if one is not currently offered.
8. Put money into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). These also provide tax advantages.
9. Find out about your social security benefits (as described above).
10. Ask questions of your employer, your bank or credit union, and your financial adviser...and make sure you understand the answers.
Brochures and other resources about retirement are available from the Social Security Administration.
The following Web sites can also be helpful:- AARP
- American Savings Education Council
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
- Consumer Federation of America
- The Investor's Clearinghouse
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Information provided by the SSA and DOL. more -
Florida KidCare health insurance
Child Health Insurance You Can Afford
Through Florida KidCare, the state of Florida offers health insurance for children from birth through age 18, even if one or both parents are working. It includes four different parts. When you apply for the insurance, Florida KidCare will check which part your child may qualify for based on age and family income.- MEDIKIDS: children ages 1 through 4.
- HEALTHY KIDS: children ages 5 through 18.
- CHILDREN’S MEDICAL SERVICES NETWORK: children birth through 18 who have special health care needs.
- MEDICAID: children birth through 18. A child who has other health insurance may still qualify for Medicaid.
Some of the services Florida KidCare covers are:- Doctor visits
- Check-ups and shots
- Hospital
- Surgery
- Prescriptions
- Emergencies
- Vision and hearing
- Dental
- Mental health
Follow this link for information on eligibility and cost.
There are several ways to apply for Florida KidCare:- Apply online or
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Government Information on your iPhone
On the go, but need answers? You don't need to wait until you get home to have your questions answered. Download the official USA Search iPhone application and you'll have the answers right at your fingertips.
This app provides information and images from every federal, state, local, territorial and tribal government website and can be downloaded to your iPhone, Android or Blackberry. You can also access information from several government databases, including information on:
- Recalls
- Food pyramid
- Food guidelines and information
- Prescription information
Click here for other free government apps* from the IRS to check your refund status, the EPA, FEMA, the Library of Congress, the FBI, Fuel Economy.gov., MedLine Plus, and many more.
*All the apps featured currently are free. Charges from your cell phone carrier may apply.
Information provided by USA.gov more -
Helping Those Affected by Overseas Disasters
What Can I Do To Make A Difference?
Many of us have been moved to help in the relief efforts of the terrible devastation of recent disasters in our country and around the world. The media attention that follows an international disaster brings about a compassionate response that often fills us with empathy and a feeling of powerlessness. Many are not sure of how they can best support the efforts of groups and governments responding in a crisis situation. Here are a few recommendations on the most appropriate ways any of us can help.
Make A Donation
Giving donations is often the best way to help in a natural disaster. Relief efforts cost massive amounts of money in order for relief teams to do their jobs and provide necessities to victims. Cash allows relief professionals to procure exactly what is needed in a disaster situation and ensure that donations are culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate. Be sure to give to a reputable, well-established organization to ensure that your gift makes the best possible impact toward relief, one that spends the largest percentage of its donations on direct assistance to victims of the natural disaster instead of using the money for other programs and expenditures. As a rule, avoid charities that will not disclose the breakdown of how each dollar is spent. Also, avoid those that spend more than 20% of monies received on "administrative" or other expenses.
Take the time to thoroughly research the organization to which you intend to donate. Treat this as you would any other investment. Beware of scams and if giving online, be sure you are on the designated site for that organization. If you would like to check out different charitable organizations, a good place to start is the Better Business Bureau.
Give Blood
You can literally save a life by giving blood. Even when disaster occurs far from your hometown, or in another country, donating to your local blood bank will help keep national and international blood supplies stocked and ready for transfer to wherever they are needed. Visit the American Red Cross to learn more about donating blood.
Volunteer
First, decide if you can physically and mentally volunteer for disaster relief. When you volunteer to go to a disaster area you will be exposed to one of the most stressful situations you will ever witness. You may work 20 hours and sleep 4 hours. You may or may not have enough food and water. You will be exposed to a dangerous physical environment.
To ensure your skills will be best utilized, it is important to go with an organized agency. The reality is that volunteer opportunities for international disaster relief are extremely limited, and people without disaster relief experience are generally not selected for relief assignments. Candidates with the greatest chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications, logistics, or water/sanitation engineering. Most agencies require at least ten years of prior experience, as well as several years of experience working overseas. It is not unusual to request that volunteers make a commitment to spend at least three months working on a particular disaster.
It’s important to know that once a relief agency accepts a volunteer, they are responsible for that volunteer's well-being, including food, shelter, health and security. Untrained volunteers can actually do more harm than good. Resources are particularly strained during a disaster, and another person without the necessary technical skills and experience can be a considerable burden to an ongoing relief effort. Potential volunteers should also keep in mind that relief work is a profession, and that it takes a unique individual who can work effectively in incredibly difficult conditions. Discuss insurance options with the volunteer organization, your insurance agent and your medical insurance organization to make sure that you and your loved ones are covered if anything were to happen to you in the disaster area.
If you truly are interested in becoming a qualified volunteer, start small and start locally. Volunteers typically have a critical skill such as Physician, Nurse, Emergency Medical Technician. If you do not have these skills, consider taking an EMT course and becoming certified. Then volunteer with the local fire department to keep your skills sharp and learn the "soft skills" such as how to effectively engage with a person who is hurt and in crisis. Volunteering in your own community through a variety of programs will lend you experience in dealing with and helping people in need. Your local Red Cross can provide you with information on their disaster management training courses, which are held throughout the year. To find your local Red Cross, please visit the Red Cross Web site.
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