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For most college students, the last thing on their mind this probably their retirement. It is however, an important thing to look into when looking into a new job, especially if you plan to stay there and build a career. A company can offer retirement options that they reward after so many years if service, like profit sharing and pension plans. They will most likely offer plans which employees contribute to, like 401(k) and 403(b) plans. In these cases the employee can contribute pre-tax money, which is often matched by the company, and invest it into a variety of mutual funds, money markets, and bonds. It's true that someone who starts investing at 25 and continues until 35, then allows the money to grow will most likely have more than someone who starts at 35 and continues until retirement. The sooner you begin, the better chance you will have.
General Disclaimer: This site has been created by a group of Northern Kentucky University students and is intended for informational purposes only. There is no guarantee as to the accuracy of the information contained herein or within linking sites. Presence of a link does not indicate endorsement by Northern Kentucky University. Copyright 2000
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 The
retirement center at www.quicken.com/retirement
is an excellent source of retirement information one could receive from
one's company. It provides the user a 401(k) guide, including
basic information on what the plan is and how it works. It also has
more detailed information on asset allocation, rollovers, contributions,
taxes, and distributions. The site gives users solid information
on how much they can contribute, what happens if they contribute too much,
and what the tax implications are of taking a 401(k) out. The site
also includes a section on Pension plans. It describes what
the plan is, and compares to 401(k) so one can see the similarities and
differences. It also talks about the tax implications and laws that
surround retirement plans, which is usually many, in a clear, easy to understand
way. 403(b) information is also provided. The site talks
about the basics, which are similar to 401(k), and also highlights it’s
differences from the two previously mentioned plans. The site also
relates how the plan differs in a couple of ways: it’s for tax-exempt employers
and that it is a custodial account.The site also provides a Retirement
calculator, in which one can take into account company retirement,
social security, and other individual retirement options. In addition,
it has information on these non-company retirement plans
The
website at www.morningstar.com
gives the user a wealth of investment information, including information
on retirement options, mutual fund information, and stock investing information,
all from the first page. It also allows the user to read articles
about and get information on the stock market. On the Mutual fund
page,
it permits the user to research different mutual funds that would be included
in a 401(k) and 403(b). It also gives information on funds that are
doing well, allows one search the types of funds that would be good for
different types of investors, and relates what types of fees and taxes
that relate to investing. It also gives the user the opportunity
to research the major companies in which the funds are invested.
On the Conversation page, a user can ask questions and see what
other people are talking about concerning retirement plans and investing.It
also offers 401(k) advice including investment strategies and fund
recommendations. In addition to this, the site also information on
a University page, which offers a lot of basic information on investing
and how different types of retirement plans work. The site also provides
a large bank of articles on different issues involved in investing from
Dow Jones Business News and the Wall Street Journal.
The
website www.search401k.com is an
information database that can be used by financial advisors, plan providers,
and plan participants to research their retirement plans. In the
Plan
Participant section the user is provided with the opportunity to rate
the record keepers of retirement plans that his or her company offers.
The site then emails the rating to the user. It also provides charts
and graphs that illustrate the pluses of participating in the plan.
The site also has graphs that show the types of returns that participants
have seen in different types of investment vehicles. The site also
provides places to get more in depth information in retirement options,
stock market information, and fund research. The recommends certain
sites, like Morningstar, mPower, and Quicken. Overall, the site is
useful to a new and old participant because it breaks the information down
into graphs, and is easy to use.
The
website at www.401k.com, provided
by Fidelity Investments the user with a great deal of basic 401(k) information.
Under the Funds tab, the user can get information on Fidelity and
other mutual funds, and advice on how to invest responsibly. The
About
401(k) tab gives the user concrete information on the plan works, how
to borrow from it, and what to do with it after one retires or leaves their
current job. The site also offers Stages magazine, a Fidelity
publication that has information on investing and current issues in the
stock market. Under the Tools tab, the user will find a asset
allocation worksheet, which allows the user to see what kind investments
suit him or her. The Tools tab also provides a take home
pay and retirement planning calculators. It also has an
investment
dictionary that gives unfamiliar participants definitions of common
terms. Plan advisors can get information about moving or opening
a 401(k) plan at Fidelity under the Plan Sponsors Services tab.
The site can also be utilized by participants in plans who's company uses
Fidelity as a record keeper to check and change his or her account and
for Fidelity brokerage investors to access their accounts as well.
The
website at www.irs.gov offers the user
a variety of tax information. It is a very large site, but is organized
so it is pretty easy to get around. The site offers information for
individual tax payers and business tax information. Under the
Tax
Help and Ed button is a list of frequently asked questions about taxes.
The user can go to the FAQ page and they will find many categories
pertaining to different tax issues. Under the
Types of Income
tab,
the user will find a wealth of information pertaining different types of
retirement plans like pension plans, 401(k)s and annuties. It also
describes what types of IRS penalties apply to the particular plans depending
on if it is taken as a lump sum distribution and payments over a period
of time. The site also has information on how dividends and stock
that are often included in company retirement plans are taxed. The
information on this page is arranged in a fashion that is easy to understand
and also directs the user to specific tax forms directly from the page.
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