Videoconference offers sound advice for scholars about planning for retirement and old age
NEW YORK
Let’s say a married couple has worked for the samestate university for the past thirty years — the wife in admissionsand the husband in buildings and grounds. They are now ready to retireand want to invest some of their savings in the stock market. What is asafe way to do that?
Another female employee, age fifty, delayed investing in any kindof IRA and now only has social security. Is it too late for her tostart a retirement plan?
These were the types of questions raised by a panel of financialplanning experts who recently participated in a nationalvideoconference targeting higher education personnel.
Titled, “Reaching Your Financial Goals, Tips from America’sExperts,” the videoconference was sponsored by TIAA-CREF in conjunctionwith the College and University Personnel Association (CUPA). Itbrought together moderator, Elizabeth Vargas, an ABC News Correspondentfor 20/20; Peter L. Bernstein, president of a consulting firm toinstitutional investors and corporations, and author of Against theGods: The Remarkable Story of Risk; Elissa Buie, president elect of theInstitute of Certified Financial Planners, and one of the top 250financial advisers in the country, according to Worth magazine; Dr.Martin Leibowitz, TIAA-CREF’s vice chairman and chief investmentofficer; Kay McFarlin, assistant vice president with TIAA-CREF andcounselor to education institutions on pension and group insurancedesign; and Jane Bryant Quinn, one of the nation’s leading commentatorson personal finance.
Financial planning, IRAs, the stock market, and investments are notjust topics that should only concern those nearing retirement,according to the panel. The earlier you start saving, investing, andplanning, the better. One young woman in a film clip said she startedwith her first job saving 3 percent of her salary. The panel agreedthat was a good idea, but advised that the amount should increase overtime with the length of one’s career.
The panel also recommended a diversified portfolio that makes useof IRAs, mutual funds, money markets, certificates of deposit (known inbanking as CDs), stock market investments, and many forms of financialplanning.
