Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/346859
18 UCW JULY 16-22, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM If you think back to your math classes in high school or college, you may remember that many of the problems involved the use of variables. Changing these variables around in any fashion would change the outcome of the problem. Similar situations occur in life all the time. To illustrate: If you look at the need to manage your retirement income so that you can't outlive it as a "problem" to be solved, you will need to adjust some variables to arrive at the solution you seek. That's why it's so important you be aware of the key variables involved in your retirement income planning. What are some of these variables? Consider the following: • Your investment mix — You might think that once you reach retirement, you can invest solely in income-producing vehicles, but you can't forget about inflation. Even a low rate of inflation, such as we've had for a number of years, can seriously erode your purchasing power over time — which is why you need to consider owning at least some investments that provide growth potential. Of course, you can change your investment mix at any time: For example, you might want to shift to a greater percentage of income-oriented investments as you move deeper into retirement. • Your withdrawal rate — You'll need to calculate how much you can afford to withdraw from your investment portfolio each year without depleting it prematurely. Your annual withdrawal rate will depend on a few different factors — such as your projected longevity, your investment mix and your other sources of income — but you'll want to be careful not to take out too much too soon. As was the case with your investment mix, you have the flexibility to adjust your withdrawal rate during your retirement years. • Your Social Security — You can start collecting Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but your benefits will be permanently reduced by up to 30% unless you wait until your Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is likely 66 or 67. However, your monthly checks can increase if you delay taking your benefits beyond your Full Retirement Age, up to age 70. If you come from a particularly long- living family, and you have sufficient income apart from Social Security, you might want to delay your payments to get the larger benefit amount. Once again, you have a choice to make. • Your earned income — Just because you've retired from one career, it doesn't mean you'll never again earn some income. Many retirees take part-time jobs, do some consulting or even open a small business. Whether you feel that you need to work, or you just want to work, the money you earn from employment can be an important component of your overall retirement income. As you can see, all these variables involve choices on your part. And how you choose to exercise each variable will affect all the other variables. Consequently, as you manage and monitor your retirement income, you'll need to make many important decisions. Still, this doesn't have to be a scary prospect — because the very fact that you have choices means you also have a great deal of control over your situation. So, study your choices carefully, as you work toward achieving the income you need to enjoy the retirement you want. Smart Use of Variables Can Lead to Right Answers for Retirement by STEVE McDAVID STEVE McDAVID, Financial Advisor at Edward Jones, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. It is important you be aware of the key variables involved in your retirement income planning. A love for music can start at a very early age. Babies begin to dance from the time they learn to stand. Music is universal and a necessity in the human experience. The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra (FSO) knows this. As an organization the members strive not only to entertain with their artistic excellence, but also to educate the community. Another focus of the orchestra is on the youth of the community, and thanks to support from the Community Grant program of the Cumberland County Foundation they can expand their work in several ways, including the creation of a Youth Music Institute. Many musicians start young and having a great teacher early can inspire a life long passion. For years the FSO has worked with high school students in the Fayetteville and Cumberland County area. "We send a string quartet into the high school orchestra program and then follow up with visits by a violinist and a cellist. The students learn about performing in small ensembles and also learn performance techniques," said Christine Kastner the President and CEO of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra. Previously it was mostly limited to musicians from the FSO mentoring budding musicians at certain high schools. Now this program will be expanded to all public high schools in Cumberland County. Students all over the county will now have the opportunity to be inspired and guided by passionate and creative musicians who are widely recognized for their excellence. As part of the expansion there will also be increased educational opportunities for young musicians that are not affiliated with schools. Rather than spending the summer in front of the T.V. or computer young musicians can learn and grow with skilled masters of their instrument. FSO is offering summer camps in strings and brass instruments that are open to all students in the region. "Our camps are taught by professional musicians with advanced degrees in music performance so they will focus on techniques which will improve the students performance levels. Also we focus on small student teacher ratios so the students receive very individualized instruction. Our string camp has no more than 4 students (a quartet) per instructor," says Kastner. Additionally these programs are the first Summer Camps in this region to provide such advanced musical education. During the year there will also be a strings mentoring program and youth orchestra. Music should be part of every day life, and while high school band and orchestra are invaluable they alone may not provide enough musical stimulation for young blossoming musicians. Additionally, according to Kastner there are also studies to support that a "deep arts involvement" fosters rain development and increases the chanced of students graduating high school and attending college. All of these expansions are under the umbrella of the newly created Youth Music Institute. This arm of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra will be housed at Fayetteville Academy and will be lead by a newly hired Music Director. Beth Keeny, a Board Member and Chair of CCF's Community Impact Committee expresses her excitement and support for the expansion by saying," The Cumberland Community Foundation is proud to support the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra's endeavors to start a youth orchestra. When the arts thrive, communities thrive, and the opportunity for young musicians to play alongside, and receive mentorship from, professional musicians allows the entire arts community to grow." Local Symphony Creates Youth Music Institute by ERINN CRIDER ERINN CRIDER, Staff Writer, COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910.484.6200. The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra reaches out to local youth.