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You’ve been diligently building your retirement nest egg and you feel like your plan to retire in five more years is right on track.  Nothing left to do but stay the course.  Right?  Not so fast.  There are still several items to consider at this stage of your financial life cycle. To help eliminate the guess work, we’ve provided a list of items that you should begin to address to help further prepare you for retirement.

Here are six basic guidelines to keep in mind when developing your personal retirement strategy. Guideline #1: Pay Yourself First. Establish a dollar amount you can save comfortably every month. Always remember, you are entitled to keep a portion of what you earn.

A home appraisal is an impartial evaluation of a home’s value performed by a professional appraiser. It is determined by looking at the vital statistics of your home, which include: – Square footage of the home – Number of bedrooms – Number of bathrooms – Condition of the home – Home improvements – Sale price…

Here are the key considerations for developing your retirement planning strategy: Retirement Benefits. Will your company still provide you (and your family) with health benefits when you retire? Or will you have to supplement your medical insurance needs when you're over 65? Could inadequate medical coverage wipe out your life savings in the event of health problems?

Here is an example of the benefit of saving on a pre-tax basis. Suppose your gross pay (before taxes) is $1,000 per week. You decide you want to save $50 per week, and you’re in a 25% federal tax bracket. If the $50 comes out of your paycheck after taxes have been taken out, you’ll…

Aaron L. Groff, Jr., Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Ephrata National Bank, was recently recognized for serving more than 50-years in the banking industry at the Pennsylvania Bankers Association (PA Bankers) Annual Meeting in Marco Island, Florida on May 11.

Many people make mistakes in their retirement planning because they believe in one or more myths about retirement.