Diversions August 14, 2014

Road Trips Aplenty by Labor Day

Armed with GPS, favorite music and companions, Americans are ready to hit the road by Labor Day, a survey finds. 
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Almost half (40%) of drivers “definitely plan” to take a road trip by Labor Day and another 34% are considering it, according to a recent survey of 1,000 Americans by car shopping site Edmunds.com. They also say they’ll take selfies, lay off the cell phones and play country classics in the car.

The August survey also found that 80% of drivers had road trips in mind when they shopped for their vehicle, with cargo space being the primary desired feature (22%).

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It probably won’t be a short jaunt for most. More than 92% of drivers are willing to drive up to 500 miles for a vacation. Almost half (49%) would drive cross country.

Some of these trips will be family affairs, and the age-old sayings are still going strong. Idle threat or trip-ruiner? Of respondents with children, nearly half (45%) say they will threaten to turn the car around at least once on a road trip.

Among other findings:

  • Thirty-four percent of road trippers will take up to10 selfies on their trip;
  • Must-haves for road trips are: global positioning systems according to 27%, music (24%) and companions of survey respondents (25%);
  • Nearly 90% of respondents can go more than an hour without checking their cell phones while on a road trip; and
  • When it comes to music to drive by, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” beat out music by Katy Perry and Taylor Swift for the top spot.

 

Products August 13, 2014

WMSI Introduces Readiness Modeling Tools

Four new tablet-friendly retirement readiness modeling tools from Wealth Management Systems Inc. (WMSI) help users set and track retirement savings goals based on projected income needs.
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The modeling tools also help retirement plan participants project how much wealth they may accumulate during their working lifetime, based on current savings strategies and market conditions. Advisers can work with the tools to provide clients with recommendations for closing any potential shortfalls, WMSI says. The suite of tools includes the Retirement Planner Tool, the Retirement Plan Contribution Tool, the Social Security Illustrator Tool and the Distribution Planner Tool.

The firm cites industry research showing only about half of people saving for retirement today have actually assessed how much savings they will need to support their desired retirement lifestyle. These tools are designed to address this gap and empower users to define their own retirement income needs interactively.

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All tools are visually oriented and incorporate dynamic modeling features so users can change their inputs and immediately see the impact on their longer-term retirement income projections. WMSI says these modeling features are an effective way to educate and translate key retirement saving and investing concepts into reality for users who learn better by doing.

“The ability to change assumptions on the fly and immediately see their impact graphically has been received very favorably – especially by advisers,” comments John Geli, CEO of Wealth Management Systems Inc. The tools are designed to work in unison, he adds, and can help users zero in on different facets of their retirement savings strategy.

Key features of the tools include the following:

  • Retirement Planner Tool – Helps users determine how much retirement income they will need to maintain their desired lifestyle in retirement and then evaluates this income need relative to the amount of savings they will accumulate based on their current savings strategy. Any potential savings gap or shortfalls are identified along with suggestions and recommendations for closing any gaps.
  • Retirement Plan Contribution Tool – Allows users to zero in on their savings contributions by modeling the impact various contribution rates can have on their paycheck and long term retirement income. Can also be customized to more accurately model employer matching contributions.
  • Social Security Illustrator Tool – Estimates a user’s Social Security benefits based upon their personal earnings history and illustrates how the age at which a user claims their benefits will impact their total retirement income picture.
  • Retirement Distribution Planner – Designed for retirees or those near retirement, this tool enables users to calculate and balance the level of income they require in retirement with the length of time their savings can be sustained.

WMSI says each tool also has a save-and-retrieve feature that makes it easy to quickly generate customized output reports using personalized data to share with spouses and family members, and to support advisers in preparing for client meetings.

More information is available at www.wealthmsi.com.

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