I just noticed this group...lots of good info here..Now my question:

[likesmountains 52]

I am 55, my only debt is my mortgage which will be paid off in about 8 years..I do not have much in retirement but I do have Social Security (don't laugh) and a retirement from work which will help..Now I have about $500 or $600 a month that I can either invest, add to my IRA, or pay toward my mortgage..what would you all suggest? Thanks, I can't wait to see the ideas!

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. Adding to your IRA would be investing!

If you do not currently participate in a plan at your work, you can contribute up to $5,000/year to your IRA and deduct the contributions from your income tax; $4,000 plus a $1000 "Catch-up" contribution because you are older then 50. In 2008 it goes up to $6,000. If you are a participant in your company plan (Simple IRA, 401(K), 403(B), etc.) then there is no deduction allowed for traditional IRA contributions. In this case, a Roth IRA might make more sense. ( http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rothira.asp )Using an IRA is important because of the tax deferral. Not having to pay taxes on your gains helps the savings add up faster. $6,000 added annually to an IRA invested in such a way that it had an average return of 8% (Which is easy to do with a conservative allocation) would grow to just under $94,000 in ten years.

Here is a great website with all sorts of financial calculators:
www.fincalc.com

When the page opens, click on "ConsumerCalcs" on the left under "Content".

When that page opens, scroll about halfway down and you will see on the right a "Home & Mortgage" section. There is a calculator there that can help you determine the tax ramifications of your mortgage and therefore whether or not it is smarter to pay it off sooner or continue with the payment schedule.

FinCalc also has many other useful financial calculators. I highly recommend the site as well as www.investopedia.com as a great resource for understanding investing terminology.

Best of luck!

[likesmountains 52]

2. Wow, thanks for the info..my job retirement is entirely funded by the corporation..

they put in a % of my annual earnings..but I can't make any contribution to the fund..I have been told it's b/c I work for a non-profit company..I'll check out the Roth IRA.
As an aside, the only financial input I ever get is Suze Orman's show..do you think she is a good source? She seems to make sense, but again...finance is not my forte.

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. I honestly have not ever watched Orman's show from start to finish...

but what i know of her, i would say she is as good if not better than most in the various media offering advice. Her advice, like any given on a broadcast,(and on the internet, for that matter) should be taken with a grain of salt.

As far as a Roth is concerned, they have several advantages including not requiring mandatory distributions like a traditional IRA (You must begin taking a minimum withdrawal after 70 1/2 years of age) plus you can continue to contribute to a Roth as long as you like, so long as you have earned income. The withdrawals from a Roth are tax free as well because the funds you contribute to the account is "after tax" money. You can open one at any brokerage firm, both on-line or on the street as well as directly with most Mutual Fund companies.

I hope i was of some help.

[likesmountains 52]

5. thank you..I'll be looking for a brokerage firm this week..

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. Here's some questions & a site that you might want to check:

http://www.sec.gov/investor/brokers.htm

[likesmountains 52]

8. Thanks for the great link!

[Auggie]

9. I was going to suggest a ROTH too

Don't buy any funds with sales loads! And check what the annual fees are.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

3. First, don't take any advice off the internet.

And now I'll give you advice: :rofl:

How long until you retire? Are you going out at 62 or 65 or older? I think that needs to be taken into account too.

Orman is okay, but a bit simplistic for my taste. She focuses more on saving & getting debt under control - both are excellent things, but you seem to have that taken care of already. You're pretty debt free & have quite a monthly chunk to set aside. The only problem that I can see is that you're starting a bit late, but you do have a company pension which is better than buckets of other people. :thumbsup:

Here's an investment author that I particularly like, John Bogle. I'll give a link to Amazon, but all of his books should be available at the library.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/002-7892376-5280039?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=John%20Bogle

[likesmountains 52]

6. Thank you, those books look great and I'll check my local library...