A little help goes a long way.
In addition to meeting with a financial consultant, there are a lot of useful Web sites that provide excellent information about retirement planning that you can discover on your own. We have highlighted a few of them here.
Ed Slott and Co. - IRA Experts
Ed Slott was named as "The Best" source for IRA advice by The Wall Street Journal and called "America's IRA Expert" by Mutual Funds Magazine. His Web site provides important information about changing tax law, news from the financial sector, tips for working with financial advisors, and other financial planning advice in the form of articles, blogs and videos. Users can even post their financial questions to a discussion forum and have them answered by Ed.
AARP - Money Section
This section of the AARP's Web site deals with the financial interests of its members. The site delivers current news stories, book reviews, and feature articles on varied topics affecting retirees and pre-retirees. Categories of information include Work, Personal Finance, Retirement and Consumer Information.
Charles Schwab
For those new to investing, the consumer side of the Charles Schwab Web site provides information on how to select a financial advisor, "Investing Basics," and a glossary of investing terms. More advanced information is provided in their "Research & Strategies" and "Advice & Retirement" sections. Clients with Charles Schwab accounts can log in and access up-to-date information about their portfolios as well.
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
One of the main goals of FINRA's Website is to help to protect the investing public. They publish information to provide individuals with the tools needed to avoid problems when investing. Information provided includes tools and calculators, explanations of investment types, alerts of fraud and scams, market data and statistics and tips for investors of all levels.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - For Seniors Section
This section of the SEC Web site has information focused on senior investing issues. There are articles about investing wisely, spotlights of various investment products, and tips on fraud protection. There are also resources such as retirement calculators, a Do Not Call Registry and events calendar.
Retirement Resources
This Web site lists by category an impressive collection of Federal and State tax laws, codes, summaries and guidelines, as well as financial resource calculators. In addition, there are links to articles of all kinds, ranging from The Motley Fool, New York Life, Yahoo! Finance and Quicken.