This is the time of year when the phrase "tax deduction" causes people's ears to perk up. As you may be aware, a tax deduction reduces your taxable income which, in turn, reduces the tax you owe or increases the tax refund you'll receive.

While most tax deductions arise from the payment of expenses like unreimbursed employee expenses, big medical bills, or mortgage interest, there's another, far more attractive category of tax deductions: deductions for saving for retirement.

That's right. By playing your cards right, you can save for your future while saving taxes today. Learn how to save taxes while saving for retirement.

Tax Deductions - How to Save Taxes While Saving for Retirement originally appeared on About.com Retirement Planning on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 14:45:19.

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Although millions of Americans will scramble to make their IRA contributions before the deadline it's an entirely unnecessary exercise. With decent cash-flow planning you can make your IRA contribution anytime.  In fact, a 2010 IRA contribution may be made anytime between January 1, 2010 and April 15, 2011.

Furthermore, the sooner you make your contribution the sooner you change the growth in your money from taxable to tax-deferred (regular IRA) or tax-free (Roth IRA).  You only have to move up your contribution once in your life. If you do so successfully, you'll never scramble to make the contribution ahead of the deadline again - you will have already made the contribution - last year.

Ready to make a difference in 2010? Here are the 2010 IRA contribution limits. Still haven't quite nailed 2009? Take a look at the 2009 IRA contribution limits.

Why wait to make your 2010 IRA Contribution? originally appeared on About.com Retirement Planning on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 11:23:50.

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Stock market investing is an important part of preparing your retirement plan for growth.  Despite the volatility and risk that is part of stock investing, you can't expect significant growth in your retirement account balance without it. Still, investing in stocks should be done with care and understanding:

• Learn the different kinds of stock choices you have
• Understand the  options, such as mutual funds and ETFs, you can pursue which may simplify things for you.
• Make dollar cost averaging and re-balancing important parts of your stock market investing, right from the beginning.

Learn all about stock market investing for retirement.

Investing in Stocks as Part of Your Retirement Plan originally appeared on About.com Retirement Planning on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 09:58:53.

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As we get well into tax preparation season, it's a great time to remember that you can still make a 2009 contribution to your IRA.

That's right--even though the calendar reads 2010, the law states that you can still make an IRA or Roth IRA contribution and have it count as a 2009 event.  The advantage?  Depending on your specific circumstances, your contribution just might lower the taxes (or increase the size of the refund) due when you file.  The tax deductibility of your IRA contribution is based on your income and ability to participate in a workplace retirement plan.

Even if you don't gain an upfront tax deduction for your contribution, by making a contribution today you'll use your 2009 contribution limit, leaving you another year to try to come up with the funds to make a 2010 contribution.

The deadline to make a 2009 IRA contribution is April 15, 2010, but why wait?

Contribute like it's 2009 originally appeared on About.com Retirement Planning on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 11:58:17.

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Are you ready to retire?  I don't mean, "Have you had enough with your job?"  I mean, "Are you ready, financially speaking, to retire?"  Most workers aren't.  That's okay. I'm not ready to retire myself, but then again, I'm not near any standard retirement age either.  But for those getting ready to retire in the near term, you may wish you had a checklist of considerations as you approach those final working days.

Good news - now there is a Retiring page.  With insights and articles about Social Security, Estate Planning, Health and Long-Term Care Insurance, and Spending in Retirement, the Retiring page is your launching pad as you count down your days until retirement.

It's also not a bad resource for those daydreaming about the possibility of retiring one day or for those with a little extra time on their hand because, you know they made it to retirement already.

Ready to Retire? originally appeared on About.com Retirement Planning on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 11:04:41.

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