Retirement Realities to Face Big Changes

NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As the economy remains unsteady, it is more important than ever to have the right strategies in place to establish a sound financial future. To guide Americans through the retirement planning process, Bankrate.com presents its 2011 Retirement Realities Series.  The series will offer new tips, tools, and resources each month to help consumers each step of the way. The Retirement Realities table of contents can be viewed here: http://bankrate.com/finance/retirement/retirement-realities-table-of-contents.aspx.

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Here's a peek at the 2011 Retirement Realities Series:

• Face reality: Find out how the baby boomer generation can navigate through the big changes in their rapidly approaching retirement future and learn to thrive during their golden years;
• When to tap retirement income: Seniors can learn to maximize how much they'll get from investments, retirement accounts and Social Security benefits after they stop working;
• No more excuses: Find out the top excuses Americans use to postpone saving for retirement, including paying for kid's college tuition and relying on Social Security;
• Role reversal: Learn why reverse mortgages are now more affordable than ever and how this new option may help seniors.  

"Building a robust retirement nest egg is a subject of vital interest to millions of Americans, not just the baby boomers approaching retirement," says Julie Bandy, Editor in Chief at Bankrate.com. "Bankrate's Retirement Realties series provides important information that all consumers need for planning and seeding their 401(k)s, Roth IRAs and other retirement accounts, as well as tips for turning their retirement dreams into reality."

To kick off Bankrate's 2011 Retirement Reality Series, the company is hosting a live chat at 2 pm today, hosted by Bankrate.com experts, Don Taylor, Ph.D. and Kay Bell.  To participate in today's chat, go to:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/retirement/live-chat/retirement-reality-kickoff-live-chat.aspx

About Bankrate, Inc.

The Bankrate network of companies includes Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Mortgage-calc.com, Nationwide Card Services, Fee Disclosure, InsureMe CreditCardGuide.com and Bankaholic. Each of these businesses helps consumers to make informed decisions about their personal finance matters. The company's flagship brand, Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance. Bankrate.com is the leading aggregator of rates and other information on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. In 2008, Bankrate.com had nearly 72 million unique visitors. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: AOL), The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 500 newspapers. Bankrate, Inc. was acquired by Apax Partners, one of the world's leading private equity investment group, in September 2009. Apax operates across the United States, Europe and Asia and has more than 30 years of investing experience. For more information on Apax, visit: www.Apax.com.

Bankrate Senior Financial Analyst Greg McBride, CFA is available to discuss Bankrate's Retirement Reality Series.  If you'd like to speak with him or any of our other experts, please let me know or for more information please contact:

NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release is available for print or broadcast with attribution to Bankrate.com

SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.