Vantria | Life Stages

Your financial needs change throughout your life. The experts brought to you by Vantria Federal Credit Union can select from a broad array of options to meet your particular needs at any stage of your life. In creating a personalized solution, they'll help you answer some important questions before executing a strategy:

1. How am I doing?
2. What should I do?
3. How can you help me do it?

Below are some things to consider for each stage of life.

Your emphasis is getting started in your career. Unless you're fortunate enough to have inherited a pile of money, your career is going to be your greatest source of wealth. Invest in all the training and skills you can at this time.

Try to put away money now. If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, get in it. Ten percent of your salary is good, but a lot of 20-somethings can't afford it. Start with at least $25 a paycheck. Since you're contribution is withheld on a pre-tax basis, more than likely you won't even miss it from your paycheck. If you don't have a 401(k), put that money into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or, if your tax bracket is low (15 percent), consider a Roth IRA.

Services to consider: Financial Management, Retirement, Investments, Tax Planning, Insurance

If you didn't start regular savings in your 20s, set aside between 10 and 15 percent now and keep saving. Time remains on your side. Inflation, however, does not. Invest primarily is growth stocks or mutual funds that primarily hold growth stocks. It probably wouldn't hurt, either, to have at least a month's salary tucked away in money market funds in case of emergency.

At 30, tax deferral is a key issue, so consider contributing the maximum to your qualified plans. You want growth, so you should probably be 80 to 90 percent invested in equities. Don't panic when the stock market gets bumpy. It will, but you have time, and history has shown that it will recover.

Services to consider: Financial Management, Retirement, Investments, Tax Planning, Insurance, College Funding

If you haven't started putting away money for retirement by 40, you'd better get it in gear. Save 20 percent of your income. Put it in a 401(k) or some other qualified plan if you have one.

If you change jobs, resist the temptation to cash in your retirement funds. Besides taking a bath on taxes, it's disastrous for your long-term financial goals. Try not to touch the money. Roll it over into another tax-deferred plan at your new employer if possible, or into an IRA. If not, consider investments that produce long-term gain as opposed to present income.

By now, you should begin to see the benefits of tax-deferred growth in your qualified plans. Pour in as much as you can reasonably afford, especially if you can do it relatively painlessly via payroll deductions. It's too soon to get really conservative, but don't hesitate to drop your risk exposure down a bit.

Services to consider: Financial Management, Retirement, Investments, Tax Planning, Insurance, College Funding, Estate Planning

If you're lucky, you're hitting your stride in terms of your top income-earning years. If you've hit the daily double, you're also done with college tuition and maybe nearing the end of that mortgage. If so, there's money you should put into savings, as much as 25 percent of your salary, if you can swing it.

It's time to get professional financial advice, and not just with your money. How old are your parents? What are your children's incomes like? How's your health? Where do you want to be in 10 or 15 years?

You may have reached the caps in your qualified plans. Insurance products and other tax-deferred investments start to make sense. They don't always provide a deduction on current income taxes, but tax-deferred growth is what you want if you're in a higher tax bracket at this point.

Diversify. At this age, you should stay away from high fliers, but you should still have about 50 percent of your investments in growth assets.

Services to consider: Financial Management, Retirement, Investments, Tax Planning, Insurance, College Funding, Estate Planning

At 60, you absolutely need professionals. You need estate planning and tax planning. How you withdraw that money may be the trickiest tax decision of your life. You need to examine your cash flow to put yourself at ease you have enough money on which to retire comfortably. Don't think that all you need is current income. Even a little inflation can eat you up if you're entirely invested in fixed-income securities.

Services to consider: Financial Management, Investments, Tax Planning, Insurance, Estate Planning

Consider developing an estate plan to preserve your wealth for your heirs. Without an estate plan in place, federal and state laws dictate how property, personal items and assets are divided, with no regard to the individual's wishes. Conflicts due to family issues and legal problems often result, tying up the estate and slowing down the distribution of assets. Additional administrative services and taxes, which must be deducted from the estate, can also reduce its overall value.

Services to consider: Financial Management, Investments, Tax Planning, Insurance, Estate Planning