Why pension is a "happy working life"

When you're 10 years old, you just can't wait to be a teenager. When you are a teenager, you tend to be at home and away at College. When you're in College, a graduation not come soon enough. And when you're toiling away at your career, you long for the day when you can slow down and finally retire. Then you retire and something happens, nothing is expected.

[See 10 key retirement ages, plan for.]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anything actually look forward to. However, after retirement, of course, the next phase of life that we expected. In fact, the next phase of natural death, this is not what we expected at all. We spend our entire lives trying to put on that one.

Until retirement age we live in a natural state forward thrust. We are working on something. We build, build the future. Retirement planning is all that comes to screeching halt, and may be difficult to adapt to the course, we look forward to a trip to Europe or visiting grandchildren, but we stopped looking ahead to the future with a capital f. pension is what we work for our entire adult lives. Since we fantasize about our future, when we actually live in it?

I always thought that fantasizing about the future is one of the greatest pleasures of life. We get through all the difficult parts of other phases, daydreaming about next. Fortunately, research says, I'm wrong about this. A recent study by Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, Matthew North and actually shows that daydreaming about the future doesn't really us happy at all. In fact, a mind that wandering past or future apparently makes us less happy. Lucky respondents at Harvard study thought about what happens at this time.

[See 5 ways to determine if you are ready to retire.]

It's not exactly a new solution. Positive psychology researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow called it an act of such involvement while engaged in activities, time flies. When you are interested in what you do, your mind does not wander to something else. Not surprisingly, this research involved in most, well, engaging activities, were very happy because their minds are not wandering away from activities at your fingertips. Among the activities most type of participation had sex, conversation and meditation. Two types of activities that allow most mind wandering work and commuting to work.

[See 5 ways to keep pension exciting.]

This is good news for those who got to the point of retirement. Besides the fact that you no longer are two of the most vulnerable wandering activity as your mind is obsessed with the next phase of your life. Because dreaming about your future actually makes you less happy, here's your chance to stop doing something that does not really you happy anyway. Without this next phase of the stop, you can think of here and now. Now you are free to live in the future, you're fantasizing about.

Lagier Sydney is a former certified public accountant. Since retiring in 2008 at the age of 44, she wrote on the transition from a productive member of society to GAL leisure on your blog, retirement: the complete works.

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Whether you go into your pension pistol?

When it comes to golf with friends, nothing terrible has close to track where you can declare a Mulligan. But when it comes to personal finance, it's completely different games.

The last potential Mulligan is related to taxes and IRA.If your traditional IRA (deferred tax) is converted to IRA Roth (no deferred tax) at the beginning of 2010, you can switch back to the end of the year. reason: because Mart is lower now than it was then, investors who have moved from a traditional IRA, Roth IRA in similar reserves much better can now potentially be taxed on the money, they don't have.

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Here's a hypothetical example: in early 2010, Susan convert traditional IRA, Roth IRA in equity funds invested in the Fund.At the same time, regular IRA balance was $ 40.000, all this is deductible contributions and their earnings. Susan Roth IRA is now worth only $ 30.000 but based on where it is currently (in an account with a tax bill is coming in 2010), it will still have to pay taxes on $ 40.000 conversion.

Solution?To avoid paying tax on the $ 10.000 market losses, Susan, you can switch the Roth IRA TO switch back to a traditional IRA, using a process called recharacterization.

Here's how it looks: If the stock market at the end of the year is still lower than where it was when it was originally produced as traditional recharacterized Roths can bank at the end of the year when the market is still down.Then, upon receipt of 2011, see markets at the beginning of the year if stocks rebound, convert back into your mouth, you can save a significant amount of income tax.Simply put, will allow taxpayers to make post recharacterizations-year-end tax planning, all or part of their conversion to manage their total tax liability.

Recharacterization is the easiest way To do so, due date (plus extensions) a taxpayer's profit for the year, who suffers from performance at this year's return. Accordingly, the taxpayer, who made the conversion may 2010 to recharacterize return filed on or before 15 April 2011 (he or she has before 15 October 2011, if the automatic extension of six months to file a tax return in 2010).

Make the conversion includes transfer the converted amount (plus or minus losses) from Roth IRA switch back to a traditional IRA through direct transfer (trustee to trustee).

Here's how does the transfer: you should notify the governing your traditional IRA, Roth IRA and a brand new one that you want to convert or un recharacterize. the notification shall contain the following information:

‧ The date of conversion and a tax year to which was made

‧ The type and number of mouth IRA Conversion to be recharacterized

‧ The direction to the trustee in the trustee for the trustee transfer, conversion and any net income provided the trustee's IRA

‧ Any additional information necessary to make the transfer, including the names of Trustees involved

Things to consider before recharacterization:

‧ Recharacterized amount considered it or transferred to a second IRA in the same day and in the same year, the tax is actually the first IRA.

‧ Transferred earnings are treated as if they were earned in the second IRA.

‧ No deduction is allowed outside contributors to first IRA.

‧ Banking, not gagged Recharacterized cannot convert back to a Roth IRA and later:

‧ The beginning of the tax year following the year of the first transformation

‧ 30 days after recharacterization for non-Roth IRA

‧ If you are not satisfied, the amount of taxable income for the year will be calculated using the value from a non-Roth IRA conversion during first.

This is a complicated process so closely with tax consultant and certified financial planner when making this change, we strongly recommend another resource that you might find useful is the IRS pub 590, individual retirement arrangements.

Second chance for personal finances don't come often. is one thing that investors will want to use when the conditions for them.

Doug Lockwood, CFP, is a partner in the harbour – indicators Financial Group, a full service wealth management team dedicated to helping clients build and preserve their wealth over 18 years of age he was recently named one of America's top 100 financial advisors, registered Worldwide magazine (August 2010) Lockwood has registered representative with and securities, LPL. Member FINRA/SIPC.

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