North Collier firefighter beats cancer, educates others on safetyMan arrested in connection to brother’s death in Cape Coral
North Collier firefighter beats cancer, educates others on safety He’s a father, son, friend and mentor, but for the last four years, he’s been in a battle for his life.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection to brother’s death in Cape Coral A man wanted for questioning in the death of his brother at his Cape Coral home has been arrested in Pennsylvania.
Candidates challenge Punta Gorda incumbents over land, building regulations A growing grassroots movement has united residents seeking to stem high density and restrict building heights, and three are challenging Punta Gorda City Council members who are up for reelection this year.
Hurricane season is one month away The outlook for the 2024 Hurricane Season is for it be active, potentially even hyperactive.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead after crash on SR 31 and Busbee Rd. in North Fort Myers At around noon Wednesday, the Florida Highway Patrol said a PT Cruiser and a car hauler collided on State Road 31 and Busbee Road, near the Lee/Charlotte County line.
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting Lee County child A Florida man will spend the next 25 years in prison for molesting a child in Lee County.
LEHIGH ACRES Man accused of using stolen credit card from car burglary at Lehigh Acres CVS Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a man who allegedly used a stolen credit card at the CVS in Lehigh Acres.
ARCADIA Family of flea market murder victim struggles to find closure The family of a woman who was murdered at an Arcadia flea market continues to seek justice as the accused killer awaits trial.
NAPLES Naples man accused of possessing child porn After an investigation, a Naples man has been arrested after allegedly having child pornography in his home.
CAPE CORAL Arrest report for volunteer softball coach accused of inappropriate behavior released New details have been released about the arrest of a Cape Coral volunteer softball coach accused of sending nude photos and touching a 17-year-old student.
The Weather Authority Isolated storms pop up this afternoon and evening Afternoon of isolated storms in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach to test hurricane emergency messaging alert The Town of Fort Myers Beach is set to test its CodeRED alert system as hurricane season begins in 31 days.
FORT MYERS Students make goodie bags for kids fighting Cancer A special delivery, straight from the heart, to Galisano’s Children’s Hospital. Three 8th graders from Lexington Middle School delivered 100 goodie bags to bring smiles to kids fighting cancer.
TICE Deputies respond to shots fired at park in Tice Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and K-9s were seen investigating at Schindler Hall Community Park on Palm Beach Boulevard in Tice.
CAPE CORAL Lee County superintendent candidates face off in debate These three people, Denise Carlin, Morgan Wright and Sheridan Chester, are making it clear that they want the job.
North Collier firefighter beats cancer, educates others on safety He’s a father, son, friend and mentor, but for the last four years, he’s been in a battle for his life.
CAPE CORAL Man arrested in connection to brother’s death in Cape Coral A man wanted for questioning in the death of his brother at his Cape Coral home has been arrested in Pennsylvania.
Candidates challenge Punta Gorda incumbents over land, building regulations A growing grassroots movement has united residents seeking to stem high density and restrict building heights, and three are challenging Punta Gorda City Council members who are up for reelection this year.
Hurricane season is one month away The outlook for the 2024 Hurricane Season is for it be active, potentially even hyperactive.
NORTH FORT MYERS 1 dead after crash on SR 31 and Busbee Rd. in North Fort Myers At around noon Wednesday, the Florida Highway Patrol said a PT Cruiser and a car hauler collided on State Road 31 and Busbee Road, near the Lee/Charlotte County line.
Man sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting Lee County child A Florida man will spend the next 25 years in prison for molesting a child in Lee County.
LEHIGH ACRES Man accused of using stolen credit card from car burglary at Lehigh Acres CVS Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a man who allegedly used a stolen credit card at the CVS in Lehigh Acres.
ARCADIA Family of flea market murder victim struggles to find closure The family of a woman who was murdered at an Arcadia flea market continues to seek justice as the accused killer awaits trial.
NAPLES Naples man accused of possessing child porn After an investigation, a Naples man has been arrested after allegedly having child pornography in his home.
CAPE CORAL Arrest report for volunteer softball coach accused of inappropriate behavior released New details have been released about the arrest of a Cape Coral volunteer softball coach accused of sending nude photos and touching a 17-year-old student.
The Weather Authority Isolated storms pop up this afternoon and evening Afternoon of isolated storms in Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Fort Myers Beach to test hurricane emergency messaging alert The Town of Fort Myers Beach is set to test its CodeRED alert system as hurricane season begins in 31 days.
FORT MYERS Students make goodie bags for kids fighting Cancer A special delivery, straight from the heart, to Galisano’s Children’s Hospital. Three 8th graders from Lexington Middle School delivered 100 goodie bags to bring smiles to kids fighting cancer.
TICE Deputies respond to shots fired at park in Tice Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and K-9s were seen investigating at Schindler Hall Community Park on Palm Beach Boulevard in Tice.
CAPE CORAL Lee County superintendent candidates face off in debate These three people, Denise Carlin, Morgan Wright and Sheridan Chester, are making it clear that they want the job.
Photo via CBS MONEYWATCH Older workers and retirees might be nervous over what the volatile stock market of late means for their nest eggs. So here’s why now is the time to remain calm. All that’s happened so far is the market has roughly given back its year-to-date gains during 2018. If you’ve been invested in the stock market for the past several years, you’ve most likely enjoyed very good returns – much better returns than if you’d invested in bonds or other “safe” investments. Also understand that nobody can reliably predict when the market will crash or recover. The best you can do is to adopt strategies that help you ride out stock market crashes when they happen — without needing to know exactly when they’ll happen. To that end, here’s a two-step strategy that can protect your retirement from stock market crashes: Develop sources of monthly lifetime retirement income that don’t drop if the stock market crashes. Use these “retirement paychecks” to cover your basic living expenses, or at least come close. Basic living expenses include housing, utilities, food, medical insurance premiums, and income and property taxes. Invest the rest of your savings to generate “retirement bonuses” that have the potential for growth but might drop if the stock market crashes. Use these bonuses to pay for discretionary living expenses, such as travel, hobbies and spoiling your grandchildren. Hopefully you can reduce these expenses when the market crashes. Sources of “retirement paychecks” The best source of retirement paychecks is Social Security because it protects against three kinds of risk: stock market, inflation and longevity. It makes a lot of sense to maximize your Social Security benefits with a thoughtful delay strategy. Another good retirement paycheck is a monthly pension from a defined benefit plan (if you’re so lucky), whether that’s a traditional plan or a cash balance plan. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to take a lump sum payment, if you’re offered that choice. Why? It’s very hard to generate more lifetime retirement income by investing the lump sum, compared to simply electing the monthly pension. If you elect the lump sum and invest it, your money is now vulnerable to stock market crashes. If you need additional retirement paychecks to cover your basic living expenses, consider using a portion of your retirement savings to purchase a low-cost immediate fixed income annuity that you can buy from an insurance company through a competitive annuity bidding platform, such as Income Solutions. It’s like buying a personal pension. Sources of “retirement bonuses” Once you’ve covered your basic living expenses with a portfolio of retirement paychecks, you should feel confident that you can ride out a stock market crash. This can enable you to invest your remaining retirement savings significantly in the stock market, either in a low-cost target date fund, balanced fund, or stock index fund. You can use a systematic withdrawal strategy to calculate your annual retirement bonuses, or you can simply use the IRS required minimum distributionto determine your annual withdrawals. Another way to generate retirement income from your retirement savings is to use just the interest and dividends to pay for living expenses and keep your principal intact. The volatility in the amount of the investment cashflow is much less than the volatility in the value of the underlying investments. Hopefully this strategy will also enable you to ride out stock market crashes. A warning for older workers Are you within a few years of retirement and fully invested in a target date fund? If that’s the case, you may want to take steps to protect yourself if the market crashes before you retire. Your first priority is to prevent needing to start Social Security before the best date for you, due to a layoff or health shock. To meet this goal, consider building a “retirement transition bucket” with a portion of your retirement savings. Invest this bucket in funds that won’t drop if the market crashes, such as money market funds, short-term bond funds, or stable value funds. Your retirement transition bucket should probably equal a few years’ worth of the Social Security payments that you’ll be delaying. You might also want to add to your retirement transition bucket if you’d feel more comfortable with an extra cushion of money to cover your basic living expenses during the period covering a potential stock market crash and its aftermath. Once you do that, you can invest your remaining savings significantly in the stock market, confident that you’ll be able to ride out stock market crashes. For more details on some of the strategies described here, see this recent paper by the Stanford Center on Longevity, prepared in collaboration with the Society of Actuaries. Don’t worry – be happy! Take steps to protect against the inevitable stock market crashes that will happen during your lifetime. Then go enjoy your retirement.