Retirement partnerships, usually called investment clubs, are a group of people who pool their money to buy stocks.  These groups meet on a regular basis, either in person or online.  During these regular meetings, the members of the club socialize, study stocks and learn about investing and personal finance.  In Gerlach and McQuade's book,Investment Clubs for Dummies, they put it this way:

There are many benefits to belonging to a retirement partnership.  These benefits include:

• Only a small monetary contribution is required each month ($20 to $100).
• The pooling of money allows the partnership to make investments you probably could not afford on your own (because of the commission costs as a percentage of investment).
• Retirement partnerships tend to outperform the market as a whole. This according to the annual surveys conducted by the NAIC/BetterInvesting.
• Diversity of financial educations.  Where one member is weak another may be strong and you can learn as a group.
• A group perspective can help prevent rushing into a bad investment.
• Development of new friendships.

Retirement partnerships can be very successful.  The Mutual Investment Club of Detroit was founded in 1941 and currently has portfolio in excess of $6 million (which excludes more than $4 million in member withdrawals over the years).  How did they do this? They have regularly invested in high quality growth stocks.  By staying invested year after year, the club has taken advantage of compounded growth. Your group can be successful too.  All you need is determination, patience and discipline. 

The ten steps to start your own retirement partnership include:

1. Hold an initial meeting - see if anyone is interested.
2. Find members - family, friends, and co-workers are great places to start.
3. Elect officers.
4. Create a partnership agreement.
5. Write operating procedures.
6. Register your partnership - complete IRS Form SS-4 and contact your local county clerk's office.
7. Open bank and/or brokerage accounts.
8. Join BetterInvesting.
9. Start regular meetings and educational programs - most partnerships meet monthly.
10. Use BetterInvesting resources - BetterInvesting Regional Chapter exist in all 50 states.  These regional chapters provide investment education.

Whether or not you decide to form your own retirement partnership, you need to learn about investing and personal finance. A 2001 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), American Savings Education Council (ASEC) and Mathew Greenwald & Associates found that the largest source of retirement income for current retirees are as follows:

The fate of Social Security still remains to be seen.  Americans are living fourteen years longer than when Social Security was created, and life expectancies are on the rise.  This puts a tremendous strain on the system. The second largest source of retirement income for current retirees is employer sponsored plans. The sad fact is that no pension plan is completely secure. 

The key to survival, whether your pension fund defaults or Social Security fails, is to educate yourself about finance and investing.  Consider a FREE subscription to Retirement Intelligence Information Services, which is a bi-weekly newsletter provided by www.retirementcalc.com. The newsletter mission is to help you, the individual investor, become informed and empowered to take over control of your investments.  In addition, the Retirement Calculator 2.0 is included at no additional cost for all Retirement Intelligence Information Services newsletter subscribers.  This software normally costs $24.95. The bottom line - do not rely on a company or the government to provide your retirement - you must take an active role in securing your own retirement. It all starts with your financial education - whether it takes the form of a retirement partnership or self-education.

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