Each year, more and more baby boomers are inching closer to retirement. And during a down economy in a society where many spend more than save, a shadow of doubt and fear is cast over what once was regarded as life’s golden years.
But it’s never too late to begin planning for the future, and the Central Arkansas Library System is partnering with the Garrison Financial Institute in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to help. The Garrison Financial Institute, created in 2005 by a gift from the Garrison family and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, works to advance financial education and research.
The institute and the library are offering a four-part series, “How Can I Afford Retirement?” at the Oley E. Rooker Library, 11 Otter Creek Court in Little Rock. The workshops are noncommercial and free but those interested in attending must register in advance.
The four two-hour sessions, held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the first four Thursdays in May, will each include a small discussion group and a question-and-answer session.
“This is the third time we’ve held this program and in the past, we’ve always had a really good response to it,” says Susan Hill Gele, spokesman for the Central Arkansas Library System.
Those interested in the sessions don’t have to sign up for the entire series but can instead register for individual sessions.
“Each session is a different topic and covers different content so you can pick and choose which ones you want to attend, “Gele says.
Session topics include:
“Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning” - May 2
This session will cover how to set retirement goals, project retirement income and expenses, allocate assets for retirement investments, and develop a personal financial/investment plan.
“Closing the Gap: Investment and Expense Strategies - Even for Late Starters!” - May 9
Those attending this session will be taught how to determine the gap between desired and projected income, build investment strategies to address those gaps, create retirement income from investment assets, and learn about catch-up provisions.
“Investing Wisely to Avoid the Financial Risk of Longer Life Expectancy” - May 16
This session will teach how to assess the risk of outliving assets, determine the best diversification, asset allocation, and types of investments, and learn how to understand the effect of withdrawal rates on those investments.
“Protecting Your Investments - The Best Defense Is a Wise and Safe Investor” - May 23
This session is about the common investment and retirement planning mistakes, the common methods of financial abuse and fraud, and basic insurance investment strategies for retirement.
The same series of workshops will be held Sept. 12, 19 and 26 and Oct. 3 at the Fayetteville Public Library at 401 W. Mountain St.
Each session will include a 15-minute briefing by a CALS reference librarian on resources available in the library.
“One of the appeals for us being involved in this is it gives us the opportunity to show patrons how to use the databases and retirement planning materials we have,” Gele says. “Then they can use and check out for free the materials to augment what they’ve learned from the sessions.
“Retirement is hopefully going to come upon us sooner rather than later,” Gele says,“and this will help prepare us for it when that time arrives.”
Those attending will receive a free copy of Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning. For more information or to register for one or more of the sessions, visit gfi.uark.edu/. For more information, contact Rochelle M. Costrell at (479) 575-4399 or e-mail her at [email protected].
Family, Pages 32 on 04/24/2013