Latest Updates

Is the Federal Government planning a takeover of your retirement plan?

This concept is currently under discussion by Democrats in the U.S. House.  This plan would confiscate all workers' personal retirement accounts --- including all 401(k)s and IRAs---and convert them into accounts to be managed by the Social Security Administration.
A similar plan, a 15% levy of all retirement plans, surfaced during the early years of the Clinton administration.

The 2010 version is a spinoff of congressional hearings that were conducted in November 2008.  In those hearings, Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

Unfortunately, this option is again being discussed (January2010,) as a viable alternative to allowing you, the consumer, contributor, and owner of your personal retirement plan to control the plan you now own.  Will this plan become a reality one day?  Who knows, and who can say for sure?  However, it is upsetting that anyone would lend credence to such a plan to take over an American citizens’ personal retirement account!  But this shouldn't be such a great surprise in light of the fact that congress was one vote away from nationalizing America's entire healthcare system.  Thanks, Scott Brown and the citizens of Massachusetts.

What can you do to protect your retirement accounts?  Be vigilant and stay informed.  SPEAK OUT!  Since the government is again considering the very possibility of confiscating your retirement accounts you owe it to yourself to speak out.  Call, email, fax, or write all of your congressmen.  Encourage all of your friends to do the same.  This idea will not be in the best interest of the vast majority of Americans.  

Consider how congress has mismanaged the Social Security program.  It has become nothing more than a “pass through” account, where the monies coming in are simply reprocessed and sent out as monthly payments to recipients.  Congress has long-since spent all of Social Security’s assets on other projects and programs.  Why would anyone think congressional confiscation of retirement accounts would be successful by anyone’s standard of measurment?  Plus, you earned the monies in your retirement accounts and they belong to you.  You, and you alone, have the right to decide how you will use your funds. 

A safe place to give to Haitian earthquake relief is:

www.samaritanspurse.com

Want to contribute to an organization helping with Haitian earthquake relief and know that your money will be used for its intended purpose?  We at christianretirement.com have contributed through a Christian organization that has been on the ground providing relief in Haiti since the earliest days of the earthquake. 

The organization, Samaritan’s Purse, is a Christian ministry founded by Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist, the Rev. Billy Graham who has spent more than 50 years preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.
If you are looking for a safe and reliable place to contribute to Haitian earthquake relief you owe it to yourself to make sure your money is used for the relief efforts for which it was intended.  Samaritan’s Purse is not the only reliable place for people to make donations.  It is simply one that has proven reliable and one that we trust.
The beautiful people of Haiti need prayer.  While the total number of deaths will never be officially known, many feel that it has passed the 100,000 mark.  Pray for the children who now have no parents.  Pray for the parents who have lost their children.  Pray for both men and women who have lost their spouses.  Pray for the thousands upon thousands of relief workers who are helping with the rescue efforts, ministry, medical treatments, encouragement, cleanup, and eventual rebuilding efforts.  Haiti has a long-term recovery and rebuilding effort that will take years to accomplish.  There are no band aid solutions.  They will need people to pray for them for months and years ahead.
May God bless you for caring and for doing something!

 

 

Port Au Prince, Haiti just witnessed one of the strongest earthquakes to strike any Caribbean nation in more than 200 years.  Occurring at about 5PM, the 7.0 magnitude quake killed or trapped untold numbers of people in tons of rubble as thousands of buildings and tens of thousands of houses came tumbling down.

As the sun rises on January 13, 2010 a better assessment of the extensive damage will become more apparent.  The United States, Mexico, and France are among the early nations to respond with personnel, food, and medicine.  Dr. Louis-Gerard Gilles, a former Haitian senator said that “Haiti needs to pray.  We all need to pray together.”

There are several things that you can do to help the people of Haiti as they deal with this terribly tragic situation.

 
First, pray for the people of the stricken nation.

 
Second, gather some of your friends together to pray and discuss options for helping the people of Haiti.

Third, talk with your pastor about having your church send relief.

 
Fourth, seek out other reputable and honest organizations that guarantee contributions will be used to help in earthquake relief. 

One absolutely safe organization you can donate through and be quaranteed that your money will be used for the purpose you intended can be found at www.samaritanspurse.org Go to this site and check it out, it is a Christian relief organization founded and operated by Franklin Graham, son of the famed evangelist, the Rev. Billy Graham.

Finally, some will be able to journey to Haiti to assist with relief and reconstruction.  Check with your church or denomination for mission or relief possibilities.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."  
I Corinthians 13:13

Rick spent a lifetime working various jobs.  He always looked forward to a comfortable retirement.  As the years clicked by like minutes clicking off a digital clock; Rick awoke and realized that he had only a few years left until he turned 65.  There was one major problem...he hadn't made any contributions toward his retirement.  He talked to a financial advisor and learned that his only options were to live off Social Security and any funds he might possibly save over the next four to five years.  The painful knot he experienced in the pit of his stomach was the realization that he had had one chance to prepare for retirement and had blown it.  He was sick!  He was disappointed in himself.  However, he did have five years left and he planned to sock as much money away as possible.  He came to the realization that retirement is a lot like a checking account.  If he planned on withdrawing funds from his bank, he must first deposit money into his bank account.

Are you preparing for retirement by setting aside a a significant amount of money every month?  Your retirement can be an experience you enjoy or an experience that will bring financial hardship.  Make plans and adjust your monthly budget to be able to make significant contributions to your future.