Internet Marketing and Your Old Age

Everybody wants to learn how to make money on the Internet. What about saving money for retirement and your future? If you don't do it, who will? Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, recently confronted the U.S. Congress about the cost of future retirement benefits.

You may recall the 1999 Tom Hanks film, "The Green Mile". This film adaptation of Stephen King's novel provides just a couple of comparisons to current economics and Alan Greenspan. Greenspan's comments before Congress sometimes equal the length of "The Green Mile" (3 hours), but his testimony won't evoke tears unless you're a baby boomer, soon to be a Social Security beneficiary.

In "The Green Mile", Hanks plays a prison guard charged with the care of death row inmates. He treats each "death row" convict with care and Southern civility. In order to avoid stretching parallels to the movie, I will observe only that Mr. Greenspan, born in New York City (March 6, 1926; send him a card) is civil when Congressional Committees question his opinions.

"The Green Mile" ends at the hot seat for convicts. Alan Greenspan's February 25, 2004 testimony leads to an economic, political, and social hot seat: Social Security benefits. I suggest you read the full text of his testimony found at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs estimony/2004/20040225/

Now to "The Green Span" hot seat comments about Social Security:

**We sing Happy 62nd Birthday to the first baby boomers in 2008
**50% of them may retire at age 62
**Everyone's gong to live longer
**Social Security costs will escalate
**Funds to pay may not meet the demand

What does this mean to you? Well, it's motivation to make that site sell while saving toward retirement. Further, every site generating cash flow, may do so for years and years, if managed wisely. This means qualifying for retirement does not force you to retire. Cash flows can continue for your life time.

However, saving for retirement still makes sense. It saves you taxes now and later. Furthermore, an aging population living longer means Social Security benefits may be reduced when you become eligible. So, start saving now by starting any one of the following methods.

**Individual Retirement Account: You may contribute up to $3,000 in 2004, $4,000 in 2005-2007, and $5,000 in 2008 and beyond. When you reach age 50, "catch-up" provisions allow you to contribute an additional $500 in 2004-2005 and $1000 in 2006 and beyond. This means your IRA contribution in 2006 may be up to $6,000.
**If your Internet web site incorporated, you may have an employer sponsored plan. The Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE plan) "SIMPLE plan contribution for 2004 amounts to $9,000. This increases incrementally to an "adjusted" $10,000 in 2006.
**A SAR/SEP and 401(k) let you contribute up to $13,000 for 2004 (the maximum in 2006 is up to $15,000) Employer sponsored plans also allow "catch up" provisions for workers over age 50. For example, an employee over age 50 may contribute a "catch up" contribution of $3,000 for 2004 (the maximum "catch up" contribution is $5,000 in 2006).

IRA accounts and employer accounts may be opened at banks and brokerage firms. Check with your tax adviser and financial consultant first.

Social Security provides for basic needs during retirement. Make sure your resources permit the lifestyle you want by saving for your retirement now.

Ray Randall is a registered investment advisor with Ethos Advisory Services, Essex, Massachusetts http://www.ethosadvisory.com. He writes a weekly newsletter for Ethos Advisory Services, and is the webmaster for Echievements . You may write to him or call (877-895-3756).

(ARA) - If you've delayed planning for retirement because it makes you feel a) old or b) financially inept, think again. With a little foresight, you could be out there enjoying life like other people -- maybe even before you reach the so-called "retirement age."

Like many people in the prime of life, it's not unusual to think of retirement as such a distant idea that you avoid saving for it until next week, next year, next job. After all, who's got time to think about the "R" word? In reality, it's never too late, or too early, to start planning for retirement.

Retirement used to be defined as what a person was no longer doing. More and more, however, retirement has come to mean what a person is can do. Choosing a second career. Traveling to see the world. Volunteering in the community. Taking on a new hobby. Taking care of grandchildren.

If Mondays find you heading for the highway to work, but you'd rather be heading for the golf course to play, it might be time to consider your financial future -- even if you're among the three out of four Americans who hate financial planning.

"You don't need to be a financial wizard to start thinking about early retirement," says Randy Schuldt, vice president with IHateFinancialPlanning.com, a Web site devoted to the 75 percent of Americans who hate financial planning. "With some simple steps, you can take control of your financial future before it starts controlling your dreams."

To help better understand what's involved in retirement planning, IHateFinancialPlanning.com has developed a 10-minute quiz -- an early retirement calculator of sorts -- that will help determine your state of readiness. If your score points to a lifetime of enduring the daily grind, a visit to IHateFinancialPlanning.com or a meeting with a financial planner might help perk up your financial future.

IHateFinancialPlanning.Com Early Retirement Readiness Calculator

1. I dream about my retirement
   1. All of the time
   2. Only when work drives me nuts
   3. None of the time

2. I know exactly what I want to do when I retire
   1. Yes -- in fact I've identified the date
   2. Too many choices to decide
   3. No -- I'll be too old anyway

3. IRA stands for
   1. Individual Retirement Account
   2. Irish Republican Army
   3. IRA -- you mean my cousin Ira?

4. I regularly contribute to my 401(k) at work
   1. At the maximum amount of money allowed
   2. As much as I can afford
   3. Never

5. I expect my health insurance costs to decrease as I get older
   1. False
   2. I'm not planning on getting older
   3. True

6. If I pay off my mortgage before I retire I will be able to
   1. Pocket up to $250,000 in tax-free profit on the sale of my home
   2. Barely scrape by on my other bills
   3. Guffaw loudly because only rich people can afford to do that

7. I can phase into retirement if I
   1. Plan ahead for big ticket items that might tempt me to draw on investments too soon
   2. Take a one month leave from my current job to test the waters
   3. Just up and quit

8. The cost of inflation
   1. Is expected to rise from 2 to 4 percent per year
   2. Is always changing
   3. Will have no effect on retirement plans

9. The nation's Social Security program
   1. Will eventually run out of money
   2. Will cover only some of my retirement costs
   3. Will always be there for me, just like it was for my parents

10. Disability income insurance is
    1. A good idea, since there's a 42 percent chance I'll become disabled between the ages of 30 and 50
    2. Something you should buy if you have a disability
    3. Only for old people

11. A fixed-rate annuity is
    1. A contract with a life insurance company designed to provide for a regular stream of payments at a later date
    2. Too complicated for me to worry about
    3. Considered to be a risky investment

12. The key to early retirement is
    1. Having a retirement goal
    2. Having a job with a good retirement plan
    3. Winning the lottery

SCORING:

Give yourself 3 points for every "A" answer; 2 points for every "B" answer; 1 point for every "C" answer.

36 points: Kiss work goodbye? You may be headed straight for the beach. We'd tell you to pack suntan lotion for when you leave, but then, you've probably already planned that, too.

25 to 35 or more points: So near, yet so far. While you may have a good understanding of what a retirement plan needs to include, it's time to put your ideas into action. Check out IHateFinancialPlanning.com for some easy to understand, non-intimidating ways to fill the gaps of your plan.

16 to 24 points: Minimum effort may not get you where you want to go. Your plans could still use some fleshing out. You may want to consider talking with a professional to help solidify your dreams. Keep your retirement goals in mind and get a financial plan that will keep you headed in the right direction.

12 to 15 points: Early retirement, or any kind of retirement, might not be in your future. Get thee to a financial professional! If the mere thought of it makes you queasy, at least do this: mark your calendar for Feb. 3-10. That's the official celebration of I Hate Financial Planning Awareness Week, a week dedicated to helping people who hate financial planning learn how to deal with money matters and how to manage and invest money. You'll find more information and ways to cope at IHateFinancialPlanning.com. It even has an on-line panic button that you can push to get out your financial frustrations.

Courtesy ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more information, contact Maclaren Latta, Carmichael Lynch Spong, (612) 375-8570, mlatta@clynch.com or Stephen Dupont, Carmichael Lynch Spong, (612) 375-8525, sdupont@clynch.com.

About IHateFinancialPlanning.com

IHateFinancialPlanning.com is a Web site that's already helped more than 1.5 million people who hate financial planning make sense of their personal finances through fun, friendly, easy-to-understand content and financial planning tools. The Web site was developed by ReliaStar Financial Corp., a member of the ING Group.

About ING Group

ING Group is a global financial institution active in the fields of insurance, banking and asset management, with more than 100,000 employees in 65 countries. ING provides a full range of integrated financial services for its clients through a variety of distribution channels. In the United States, ING's product and service portfolio includes banking, fixed and variable annuities, investment management, life insurance, mutual funds, personal finance education seminars, and trust services. For employers, ING businesses also offer a full range of retirement and other worksite benefits, including group insurance products. For more information, visit www.ing-usa.com.