Thanks for the laugh.  Portfolio.com

It's common for an investor to have several IRA accounts. 

They may be funding a Roth, Traditional or rolling money from their old employer into a Rollover IRA.  Often, they will have these accounts spread between banks, or different brokerage or mutual fund companies.   Most IRA providers let you add different beneficiaries on each of these accounts.  It makes sense- you may want to give these IRA accounts to different individuals, charities or family members.

Looks like Vanguard is requiring investors to have the same beneficiary on their IRA accounts.

FinancialPlanning.com provides details on Vanguard's beneficiary change.

Vanguard is requiring customers to have the same beneficiary noted on all their IRA accounts, and if not changed soon, the mutual fund giant will do it for them, according to Forbes.

Vanguard sent out letters to 170,000 customers who had different beneficiaries on their multiple IRA accounts, stating they have to have identical beneficiaries for IRAs holding money rolled over from employer pension plans, traditional IRAs, both pretax and aftertax, and Roth IRAs.

CNN.com provides some great resources including web sites and resume tips for job seekers. Finding a job after 50.

When you are ready to send out those resumes, customize your search. Check out AARP's National Employer Team. This is a list of companies that actively recruit older workers. Some of the companies include Quest Diagnostics, Pitney Bowes and Verizon. Other online resources include: Senior Job Bank, Your Encore and Seniors4Hire.

New employee's in California state and local government may be looking at big changes.

The proposed changes include:

• Raising the retirement age from 50-years-old to at least 65 for non-public safety employee
• Reducing pension payments
• Cutting health care out completely for part-timers

"The savings will be in the range of $500-billion over the next 30 years," said Keith Richman, who created the ballot measure. "And really, all we're asking for is that public employees retire at the same age as those in the private sector."

Courtesy abc7.com

Many of our readers are familiar with the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals.   Here's a  withdrawal rate refresher on our web site.

CNNMoney explains this 4% "rule of thumb" for retirement and explains how to factor in inflation.

But before I get into some of the subtleties about this oft-quoted rule, let me explain how it works. Many people think that the 4 percent rule means that you simply withdraw 4 percent of retirement savings each year. But that's not right. In fact, the 4 percent figure applies only to the percentage of your savings that you withdrawal the first year of retirement.

You then increase the dollar amount of that initial withdrawal for inflation each year.

So, for example, if you have $1 million in your 401(k), you would pull out $40,000 the first year. If inflation were running at, say, 3 percent a year, you would increase that amount to $41,200 the second year, roughly $42,400 the third year and so on.

I've been listening and enjoying National Public Radio (NPR) a lot more recently.   It makes commuting a little more pleasant.   Last week's Morning Editon featured Chicago Tribune columinist Gail MarksJarvis and author of a new book on retirement planning provide her thoughts and podcast.

Imagine that you have saved what the majority of Americans who are 10 years away from retirement have saved: It's no more than $88,000, according to the latest research by the Congressional Research Service. What would $88,000 give you? If you bought an annuity when you retired—an insurance policy that promises you a certain monthly income for life—you would be able to buy one that would give you about $653 a month.

So that's perhaps $653 from your lifetime savings, and $1,011 in Social Security—or about $1,664 a month to live on.

How does that sound?

NPR.org Can you Afford A Healty Retirement?

The City of Los Angeles plans to offer a Roth individual retirement account to the 36,000 participants in its $2.7 billion 457 plan. The city is still awaiting approval from city council but expects to move forward in two to four months.

The city will offer the same institutional funds offered in their 457 plan.  These funds should have lower fees than most retail mutual funds.   Hopefully, more employers will offer this Roth option!

Courtesy of InstitutionalInvestor.com

Have a discussion with a fee-only financial planner this month!

Take advantage of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAFPA) and Kiplinger's Magazine offer Kiplinger's Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Days. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time on Friday, August 17, and Thursday, August 30, NAPFA members across the U.S. will be standing by to answer your questions.

Get your questions and statements ready. 

Kiplinger's Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Details

Unlike your active retirement plan through work, the IRA account  does not offer any loan provisons. 

However you are able to withdraw funds from an IRA and replace those monies under the "60-day rule."   Most IRA custodians will take a request over the phone and send a check directly to you.  Make sure to replace the money within the 60 day window or face IRS scrutiny. 

If you're withdrawing from a Roth IRA-it's different, your contributions can come out at any time.

WSJ.com explains IRS policy on the "60-day rule." 

Here's a list of low cost variable annuities (VA).   Look at these after funding your employer plans like 401k or 403b and after funding an IRA.  Also, most of these annuities are sold with "living benefits" now. 

FinancialPlanning.com shows us the expenses on annuities and explains "living benefit" features.

If your spouse is staying home to take care of the kids, or at home for any reason..they still can set up and fund either the Traditional or Roth IRA each year.  Even though it's a separate IRA account, most of the major mutual fund companies or brokerages will be able to have a husband's and wife's account information on one statement. 

Also, most allow one spouse to have trading authority on their partners account.  Contact your IRA custodian.

CNNMoney.com explains spousal IRA basics.

I've mentioned several "Lazy Portfolio's" over the last several months...but this last week has seen a ton of volatility and spiking oil prices.  This might be a good time to check all of your IRA accounts, 401k or 403b plans and make sure you're on track for the long term.   If you've experienced drastic swings in you're account this week- look at your asset allocation and just see what you've got in your portfolio. 

I spent yesterday morning at home and had CNBC on all day....it's too nerve-racking to watch the markets all day!