Related Services - The following directories of companies and services offer a wide variety of financial programs to assist you with handling your debts. Consolidate your bills with a debt consolidation loan or use a debt management or credit counseling service for help with your credit card bills and other payments.

• Debt Consolidation Help - Learn more on how consolidating your credit card debts can work for you and potential pitfalls that you need to avoid. Also, review a list services that offer to help people lower their bills into fewer payments or even one payment.
• Credit and Debt Management - Do you feel that your credit card bills are stacking up with nowhere for you to turn? Your problem is not unique. Signing up with debt management firm may be the right solution to your debt problems. Review different firms offering these services to determine if this is the correct option for you.
• Personal Debt Consolidation Loans - Shopping for a personal loan online? Need to consolidate debt, but do not want to put up collateral (such as your home or car) as security? These loans are typically referred to as unsecured or signature loans, because only your signature may be required.

A Special Guide for Seniors and Families

Retirement Strategies for All Ages: A "To-Do" List

Your Early 60s (Late Career)

Ask the Social Security Administration, your accountant or your employer's personnel office to help you determine how much Social Security and pension income you'd get if you "retire early" – and how much you'd lose compared to holding off on retirement (see Helping Your Money Last...).

Discuss with a financial advisor when to withdraw money from your tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as employer-sponsored retirement plans and traditional IRAs. After age 59 ½, you can withdraw your money without penalty but subject to income taxes. Under IRS rules, you must withdraw a minimum amount from 401(k)s, traditional IRAs and certain other retirement savings plans by April 1 of the year after you reach age 70 ½ and each year after that. There is an exception to the rules for someone still working for the employer who sponsors the plan.

Consult with your legal or financial advisors about estate planning – organizing your financial affairs so that your money, property and other assets can go to your heirs with a minimum of costs, taxes and hassles.

You may need or want to buy health insurance or long-term care (including nursing home) insurance. Consider the need for disability (wage replacement) or life insurance coverage.

Reduce your consumer debt as much as possible and consider the pros and cons of paying off your mortgage early. But if you think you'll need to borrow money during retirement, determine whether you want to refinance your mortgage, take out a home-equity loan, apply for a credit card or otherwise take out a loan before you retire. You might have more options for getting a loan when you still have employment income. No matter what loans you have or how old you are, it's important to keep your debts manageable.

Consider reducing your stock ownership and increasing your conservative investments. Possible portfolio: 30 to 60 percent in stocks or stock mutual funds and most of the rest in CDs, bonds, bond funds or money market accounts.

FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.

Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.

To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Last updated on 11/14/2005

Make the correct decisions when shopping for banking, debt consolidation and related financial services. Educate yourself!

The Debt Consolidation Loan Directory has a growing library of free informative / educational financial resources for consumers shopping for many types of services related to the management of your money, such as consolidating credit card debts, fraud alerts and car insurance. There is no better way to make decisions regarding the management of your personal finances than to read and understand how they work. Please feel free to visit our consumer resource library for more information.

• Cell Phone Banking - New cell phones are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. This includes adding the capability of handling online banking through your phone. This FDIC article discusses some of the possibilities and precautions you should take when using your phone for banking purposes.
• How to Protect Yourself with FDIC Insurance - Read up on what qualifications are necessary and how to determine if your deposits are covered by FDIC insurance.
• Direct Deposit Safer than Checks? - The US Treasury Department reports that a majority of surveyed consumers mistakenly believe that paper checks are safer than direct deposit.
• Consider the Fees! - Learn what to look for and examine the details of each banking account offer for possible fees, such as: inactivity, minimum balance and ATM withdrawal fees.

DebtConsolidationLoan.com is a service of Infinamic, Inc. All debt consolidation loans and financial services information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Infinamic, Inc. is not responsible for the content and services, that may be provided to you, by following the links from this web site. Use this service at your own discretion.