Cover for Retirement in Stages

While summer vacations and national holidays typically provide a break for everyone who would be considered a member of the working public, there is one big break ahead that’s a priority on most everyone’s calendar — retirement. 

And while it may be closer for some than it is for others, everyone needs to make sure they are financially prepared when the time comes to take a permanent leave from the ranks of the employed.  Personal circumstances make planning for retirement different for each individual, but there are several considerations that apply if you break it down by the amount of time you have left until you retire.

If you have at least 10 years to go until you plan on retiring, you still have the advantage of time on your side.  One of the most basic principles of investing is putting your money into different investment vehicles and then leaving it there so you can reap the benefits of long-term returns. With more than 10 years to invest, you might be able to afford to take on a little bit more risk with your investments.  While equities – such as stocks – have an inherent risk of losing money, they also have a history of providing significant returns over a long period of time.  Just keep in mind that past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Probably the biggest advantage of getting an early start is the benefit of compounding earnings.  Based on the investments in your retirement portfolio, the money you put in has the potential to earn more money for you – whether through interest payments, dividends, or other means of growth.  In many cases, those earnings can be reinvested into your portfolio, further enhancing the total value of your savings and allowing your money the opportunity to “make money” for you.

If your retirement is less than 10 years away, then it’s time to start making subtle adjustments to your investment mix.  Hopefully, at this point you’re not just getting started, but rather taking a look at how your investments are allocated and making sure they appropriately match your risk tolerance, your investment objectives and your relatively short time horizon.  Because you have less time to work with, you still want to have some investments that offer growth, but you also want to begin looking at preservation of principal through fixed income alternatives such as bonds, which may provide a little more stability in your portfolio and help reduce your overall risk.

Pittsfield Celebrates Robert 'Bob' Presutti on Arbor Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Friday, April 26, 2024

Bob Presutti, right, is presented the Hebert Award in 2017 for his volunteer efforts at Springside Park. He died in 2023 at age 88.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A tree has been planted next to the Berkshire Athenaeum in honor of local "giant" Robert Presutti.

Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.

"Today is a day where we yes, celebrate trees, but today is also a day where here in the city we intentionally try to acknowledge the good work of folks in our community who spend their time and their efforts and their talents to make Pittsfield a more beautiful place," he said to a crowd of about 20 people.

"Today we are honoring a longtime community volunteer named Bob Presutti. I'm sure a lot of you here know Bob and know his contributions to the city, not only when it comes to trees and parks but also to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program."

The longtime volunteer passed away last year at the age of 88. He contributed more than 10,600 hours to RSVP and had great impacts on the Parks Department over the years from sharing his knowledge and talents to ensuring that workers were safe when working on trees.

"This morning I went through my emails to see how many emails Bob Presutti sent me since the year 2001 when I started with the city. Bob Presutti sent me 14,000 emails and nearly every single one of those was about trees," McGrath said, prompting laughter and smiles from attendees.

One thread struck him as particularly important because it showed Presutti's empathy when it comes to the safety of city workers while caring for trees.

"There were multiple emails from Bob about the need to get the Parks Department maintenance guys into a program learning about chainsaw safety and learning about ladder safety. He was really into making certain that our city workers were well cared for and had all of the instruction that they needed and in fact, he even offered his own time and services after he became certified to teach our city workers," McGrath said.