The Prudent Professor

by Bridges, Edwin M.; Bridges, Brian D.

• ISBN13: 9781579224677
• ISBN10: 1579224679
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-11
• Publisher: Stylus Pub Llc

Summary

This is a guide for anyone in the academy ' faculty member, administrator or professional staff ' at whatever point she or he may be along the career path. Whether you are a newly-minted Ph.D. landing your first job, at mid career, or even already retired and concerned about how long your money might last, Ed Bridges offers you a straightforward, easy-to-grasp, and structured way to think about money, learn how it works, understand the priorities for your stage in life, determine your objectives, and develop a personal plan most likely to achieve them. Why a book specifically for those who work in higher education? The chances are that your retirement funds are mostly invested in TIAA-CREF funds, and that the plans created by the different institutions where you have worked, or will work, impose sometimes conflicting limitations of how you can manage your retirement money. This is potentially complex terrain with which many professional financial advisors are unfamiliar. This book provides ample guidance for you to manage your retirement funds, but if you do prefer to seek professional advice, it sets out the criteria for choosing a reliable advisor, and may even be a book from which your advisor can benefit if he or she is not fully conversant with TIAA-CREF's offerings, and the quirks of academic retirement plans. What makes this book unique is that Ed Bridges shares with you his self-education about the risky business of investing and retirement planning. As he writes, 'œIn schooling myself, I adopted the mind-set that I had used as a social scientist for the past forty-six years. I distinguished between fact and opinion and scrutinized the evidence behind every author's claims; moreover, I searched for research that might corroborate or refute these claims. In the process, I learned a great deal about the route I should have taken to retirement from the time I accepted my first academic appointment to the time I submitted my intention to retire. Join me as I relive my long journey so that you may avoid my wrong turns and succeed in reaching your ultimate destination, a worry-free retirement, despite the risks and uncertainties you will surely face when you retire.' The book includes simple questionnaires and worksheets to help you determine where you stand, and think through your options.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction: A Preview of Retirement	p. 1
Saving for Retirement	p. 15
Getting There: A Look in the Rearview Mirror	p. 17
How Much Do I Need to Save?	p. 23
Do Investment Costs Matter?	p. 27
Should I Invest in Index or Actively Managed Funds?	p. 35
What Should My Mix of Assets Be?	p. 39
Why Should I Diversify?	p. 47
What Investing Principles Would Serve Me Well?	p. 53
How Do I Build an Investment Portfolio?	p. 59
What Role Should TIAA-CREF Retirement Annuities Play in My Investment Portfolio?	p. 71
What Role Should TIAA-CREF Retirement Class Mutual Funds Play in My Investment Portfolio?	p. 87
Preretirement Considerations	p. 95
Can I Afford to Retire?	p. 97
Should I Purchase an Annuity?	p. 107
When Should I Start Taking Social Security?	p. 119
Do I Need Long-Term Care Insurance?	p. 125
How Much Should I Set Aside for Health Insurance?	p. 131
How Do I Put My Financial House in Order?	p. 139
Should We Sell Our Home and Relocate?	p. 145
Is a Reverse Mortgage Right for Me?	p. 151
How Should I Use a Financial Planner?	p. 153
Can I Count on TIAA-CREF's Financial Services?	p. 165
Creating a Pension Plan	p. 179
How Do I Maximize My Retirement Income and Financial Security?	p. 181
What Are My Income Options With TIAA-CREF?	p. 191
Should I Incorporate a TIAA Traditional Payout Annuity Into My Pension Plan?	p. 205
Should I Incorporate a TIAA-CREF Variable-Income Annuity Into My Pension Plan?	p. 221
Should I Use Systematic Withdrawal as a Major Source of My Pension Income in Retirement?	p. 231
Remaining Solvent	p. 245
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, What Is the Greatest Threat of All?	p. 247
How Can I Protect My Nest Egg Against Huge Losses?	p. 251
How Can I Protect My Nest Egg Against Fraud?	p. 261
Beyond Retirement	p. 267
What If I Finish in the Black?	p. 269
Money, Happiness, and a Fulfilling Retirement	p. 277
Appendixes
Illustration	p. 283
Possible Questions to Ask When Seeking Financial Advice	p. 287
Experiences With Vanguard's Financial Planning Services	p. 293
Planning Tools & Calculators	p. 299
Special Issues for Women	p. 305
Must Reading for an Informed Investor	p. 307
Determining Minimum Distribution Requirement	p. 309
Operating Expenses for CREF Variable Annuity Accounts, 1997-2008	p. 311
Total Investment Costs for the CREF Variable Equity Accounts	p. 313
Publications	p. 315
TIAA-CREF: Strengths, Shortcomings, and Needed Changes	p. 317
Formula for Calculating Annual Income Increases/Decreases From Variable Annuities	p. 323
Historic Returns: Worst Case, One Year	p. 325
Annual Income Changes for TIAA-CREF Variable Annuity Accounts, 1996-2005	p. 327
TIAA-CREF Variable Income Changes, 2001-2003	p. 329
Annual Review of Your Savings and Retirement Plan	p. 331
Investing Terms	p. 333
References	p. 335
About the Authors	p. 343
Index	p. 345
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