Retirement Planning

As a part of my term project for Agricultural Financial Management, I chose to attend two classes on retirement and planning. We learned a great deal about the common mistakes and misconceptions about retirement planning and how most of the general public is doing it wrong. The biggest mistake is that people are not setting up retirement plans, but are relying solely on social security benefits, which may not even exist by the time my generation retires. We learned about the different types of retirement plans and how to determine the best plans for ourselves depending on the type of career we choose to pursue. However, the most rewarding segment of the class was having the opportunity to listen to Nate Oltmans, a licensed financial planner, …show more content…
There are two major types of Individual Retirement Accounts, traditional tax-deductible IRAs and Roth IRAs. Although contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax-deductible, all withdrawals are tax-free. Additionally, one can contribute even if he already has a defined contribution plan. IRAs can be great investment options, but if one is not careful and responsible, they could retire with less than they …show more content…
Arnie Oltmans. He is a retired Airforce pilot who runs Cornerstone Wealth Management. Nate taught us a great deal about retirement planning and strategies to improve financial management. His steps for success for when I get my first job have been engrained in me and will not soon be forgotten. Nate is a huge proponent of active retirement strategies and investing in foreign companies. This is a very difficult and time consuming method of investing, as well as very risky. Dr. Oltmans, on the other hand, prefers index funds, for a hired professional manages them and minimizes the risk of moving investments at the wrong time. I was thrilled to listen to Nate explain investment and retirement strategies and hope I am able to speak with him further about it in the future. Retirement planning is one of the most important things working people should be aware of. Social security is running out and it is up to us to finance our own retirement. There are numerous options for planning this, giving no excuse for entering retirement with nothing but social security. After attending the two extra class sessions, I feel confident that I have the knowledge and resources to start planning for my retirement. After all, there is no better time to start than right