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Smart portfolio moves for your retirement years
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For most of your working years, your investment strategies, by and large, will probably revolve around achieving sufficient growth to help you meet your long-term goals, such as college for your kids and a comfortable retirement. But once you are retired, you can’t just sit back and put your investment portfolio on "autopilot."

What types of portfolio moves should you make as a retiree? Here are a few possibilities:

Generate Your Own Paycheck. When you’re retired, you can collect Social Security and receive distributions from your 401(k) and IRA. But you’ll also probably need to generate some income from your investment portfolio. Consequently, you’ll need to own the appropriate mix of investments, including stocks that have the potential to pay dividends, bonds and Certificates of Deposit (CDs).

Protect against inflation. Even if you do need some of your investments to provide you with an income stream, you can’t ignore the need for growth - because you’ll have to contend with inflation. Consider this: Everything you buy today will cost about twice as much in 25 years, assuming a 3 percent annual inflation rate. In other words, if you need $75,000 a year to retire comfortably now, you’ll need about $150,000 per year in 25 years to maintain your standard of living. And with advances in medical treatments leading to longer life spans, it’s entirely possible that you could spend 25 years - or more - in retirement.

To fight inflation, then, you will need at least some exposure to stocks, which offer the potential to provide returns greater than the inflation rate. While it’s true that by investing in stocks, you can lose some, or all, of your principal, you may be able to reduce your risk level by buying quality stocks and holding them for the long term. You can also help protect yourself against inflation through other investments. Your financial advisor can help you choose the investments that are appropriate for your needs.

Leave a legacy. As you may know, the estate tax laws are in flux. In 2008, the estate tax exemption amount - the amount you can pass to your heirs, free of estate taxes - is $2 million. This figure rises to $3.5 million in 2009. Then, in 2010, the estate tax disappears -for one year only. And unless Congress changes the laws before then, in 2011 the exemption amount will revert to $1 million, with a maximum estate tax rate of 55 percent.

 

How could you help your family cope with a potential estate tax burden? You could make some "tactical" moves, such as rolling over your 401(k) to an IRA, which, when passed on to your heirs, could be "stretched" for years to reduce the tax bite. You could also reduce the size of your taxable estate by making gifts to family members and charitable organizations. Before making either of these moves, though, consult with your tax and legal advisors.

 

Clearly, there are many portfolio considerations for retirees. So, when you’re nearing retirement, start planning ahead. By making the right moves, you can make your "golden years" considerably brighter.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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