The Best Paid Online Survey Websites

We all have a bit of time to kill every now and then, particularly over holiday breaks and in the evenings. Make sure you're turning it into cash!

Close the YouTube cat videos down. Instead spend your spare time earning £100s a year filling out online surveys or testing products.

There are a growing number of research companies out there offering rewards for your opinions, however they're not always as legit as they make out.

With this in mind, we've created a run-down of the trusted survey sites, personally tested by ourselves. We reveal how much you can realistically make from each site and share some helpful tips to maximise your profit.

Legit online survey websites

Each site has a limited number of online surveys each month for each person. If you want to earn serious rewards it's worth signing up to as many surveys for cash as possible.

Swagbucks

Very popular with students, thanks to a wide variety of ways to earn rewards. Exclusive signup bonus!

Who are they? Swagbucks are a reliable survey site who also offer rewards for playing games and watching videos.

Rewards: Cash, vouchers and prize draws.

Amount per survey: 70 points called SB (40p).

Min. reward threshold: 1 SB.

Our review: We love Swagbucks, and we hear positive reviews from our readers about them too. We've found that completing surveys and polls every day provides the best return for your time, however you can also complete a much wider range of offers to bump up your earnings.

Surveys take around 10 minutes to complete, meaning you can earn around £2.40 an hour. Swagbucks also offers users the ability to complete surveys from multiple providers and give consolation points when you don't qualify for a survey. Read our full Swagbucks review.

Toluna

Test, keep products and earn vouchers.

Who are they? A trusted opinion website working on behalf of leading companies. They want to know what you think about certain products, services and issues. In return, you get rewarded!

Rewards: Free products, Amazon vouchers and prize draws.

Amount per survey: 3,000 – 6,000 points (80,000 points gets you a £15 voucher).

Min. reward threshold: 500 for prizes, 80,000 for vouchers.

Our review: You won't be sent products to test all the time, but we have received a couple over the space of a few months. So it's worth signing up just to get freebies 

You can also answer surveys on the site to earn yourself points which equal vouchers. Each survey takes around 15 minutes to complete, so it'll take around 4 hours overall to earn a voucher.

MySurvey

Make £3-5 per hour.

Who are they? A popular consumer panel who are always looking for new members to participate in market research studies for rewards.

Rewards: PayPal payments, Amazon and high-street vouchers.

Amount per survey: Around 100 points.

Min. reward threshold: 345 points (£3).

Our review: Another one worth signing up for. We got lots of surveys sent from these guys, and they tend to match your profile and interests as a consumer.

The average survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and gives you 100 points. So you could earn around £3-£5/hour.

YouGov

Earn 50p per survey.

Who are they? This is a little different to others, focusing more on social issues and general interest topics. YouGov polls include topics such as politics, public affairs and commercial products. Great if you have big opinions!

Rewards: Cash and prize draws.

Amount per survey: 50p – £3.

Min. reward threshold: £50.

Our review: YouGov is one of the more interesting sites to sign up to because of the kinds of surveys they conduct. Most are on current issues that are in the news and they encourage you to express your views.

Surveys can take up to 30 minutes but are not always that frequent. We received one or two a fortnight, so it can take a few months to hit the threshold. However, you get £1 just for joining and if you get your friends to sign up too you can quickly get lots more points and cash!

Panel Opinion

Low payout threshold.

Who are they? Panel Opinion are one of the most popular survey sites.

Rewards: Cash.

Amount per survey: 50p – £4.

Min. reward threshold: £10.

Our review: The surveys usually take around 10-15 minutes to complete and you can even make up to £4 for a single survey sometimes.

They pay out in cash and have a low payout threshold of just £10.

Ipsos i-Say

Make £10+ a month.

Who are they? One of the largest (and best paying) survey-based market research companies around, working with trusted brands and research companies worldwide.

Rewards: High-street and Amazon Vouchers, plus prize draws for all members.

Amount per survey: ~£1.

Min. reward threshold: £10.

Our review: A well-trusted panel. They send you surveys every week to answer by email. The reward threshold is relatively low, and most people will be able to cash out in under 10 surveys.

Survey Bods

£3 upon sign up and profile completion.

Who are they? SurveyBods work with top companies that want your opinion.

Rewards: Cash, Amazon vouchers and prize draws.

Amount per survey: 50p – £3

Min. reward threshold: £15

Our review: The surveys usually take around 10 minutes and are pretty easy to complete. You have to be as honest as possible as they have a “strike system”. 3 bad surveys and you're out (we like to see it as a challenge).

They're a well trusted site that work with top brands and well worth joining through our link for a £3 cash bonus when signing up. Make sure you complete your profile too. Plus their site is a lot more snazzy than a lot of the others…

Hiving

Good referral scheme.

Who are they? They run surveys on behalf of leading brands.

Rewards: Cash.

Amount per survey: ~50p

Min. reward threshold: £4

Our review: Hiving reward you around 50 points per minute when completing surveys and you can withdraw as soon as you reach 4000 points (£4).

They also reward users for referring friends and give you points even if you are declined for a survey.

PopulusLive

Earn £1 for every 5 mins.

Who are they? They are a big UK survey site who provide stats to the press and current affairs programmes.

Rewards: Cash.

Amount per survey: ~£2.

Min. reward threshold: 50 points (£50).

Our review: PopulusLive are a favourite among the survey taking community because of their decent payout. It can take some time to reach the threshold and surveys run out quickly once they have enough respondents.

It's essential that you fill in your profile fully to get the maximum number of surveys. You also have to be very careful with your answers as they have quality checks in place to make sure you aren't cheating or rushing through.

Global Test Market

Earn £100 per year.

Who are they? This is a well know US survey site but they pay out cheques in £s.

Rewards: Cash, vouchers and prize draws.

Amount per survey: ~£1.20.

Min. reward threshold: 1000 points ($50/£32).

Our review: Surveys take around 15 minutes each so you could be earning £4.80 an hour. Be aware that cheques do take a while to arrive in the post, and we'd recommend not wasting your time with the ‘prize draw' surveys (unless you're feeling very lucky).

The OpinionPanel Community

Members get £10 just for signing up.

Who are they? They are the UK’s largest research panel for students & grads or anyone aged 16-25. They offer interesting surveys and online focus groups for big brands and universities, with their research often reaching the media spotlight!

Rewards: Amazon and high-street (eg Topshop, Topman, River Island) vouchers.

Amount per survey: 50p-£4 per survey, £30 – £50 for online focus groups.

Min. reward threshold: £25

Our review: The OpinionPanel Community are a trusted site and their surveys take around 10 minutes to complete. The majority of surveys tend to pay out around £1-2.

There is also mobile compatibility so you can complete surveys on the go.

PanelBase

Earn £3 just for signing up!

Who are they? PanelBase aren't your average survey site. They don't inundate you with surveys, but the ones they do send are very well paid and relevant to you!

Rewards: Cash, vouchers and prize draws.

Amount per survey: 50p – £10 (avg. ~£1.50).

Min. reward threshold: £10.

Our review: £3 just for signing up to a site is a bit of a no-brainer… The surveys pay out higher than the industry average too which gives you the opportunity to earn some good dough!

However they do select their survey respondents very carefully so you may be sent slightly less opportunities than other sites. Just make sure you fully complete your profile to give yourself the best chance.

Opinion Outpost

One of the lowest payout thresholds.

Who are they? Opinion Outpost have shot up in popularity due to fast payouts and fun surveys.

Rewards: Cash and Amazon Vouchers.

Amount per survey: 50p

Min. reward threshold: £2.50

Our review: You only need to complete 5 surveys to be due a payout and they take around 10-15 minutes each.

Valued Opinions

£10 voucher per hour.

Who are they? Valued Opinions are part of a larger market research group. They send out online surveys to members whose profiles match broad demographics and requirements.

Rewards: Vouchers (inc. Amazon, M&S, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis).

Amount per survey: £1 – £5.

Min. reward threshold: £10.

Our review: First off, signing up with Valued Opinions automatically enters you into a prize draw for an iPad. From there, they use your profile to send you relevant surveys to complete.

The surveys are usually quite interesting, and can take anything from 10-30 minutes each, so within just one hour you could bag yourself a £10 voucher.

Branded Surveys

Online community with frequent global market research surveys

Who are they? Previously known as Mintvine, Branded Surveys are popular due to providing a high volume of surveys.

Rewards: Cash or gift cards.

Amount per survey: Varies.

Min. reward threshold: $10.

Our review: One of our personal favourites. Great new website, easy to use and fast paying.

You can also earn ongoing points for referring friends, where you get a percentage of everything they earn.

MindMover

Interesting surveys on consumer products

Who are they? Mindmover allow you to share your opinions on everything from food to public transport.

Rewards: Cash.

Amount per survey: 50p – £1.50.

Min. reward threshold: £20.

Our review: MindMover is a decent option but it can take a while to build up the points as surveys are sometime few and far between.

It takes around 15 minutes to complete each survey.

iPoll

Mobile compatibility & multiple payout opportunities.

Who are they? iPoll used to be called Survey Heads and are a US based company.

Rewards: Cash, vouchers & magazine subscriptions.

Amount per survey: 40p – £1.70

Min. reward threshold: £20

Our review: It will take you around 15 minutes to complete a survey but the range of rewards are decent.

The only downside is that the amount of surveys tends to be quite low.

Pinecone Research

£3 per survey, invite only.

Who are they? Pinecone are an exclusive survey and product testing company who are invite only.

Rewards: £3 per completed survey, free products to test and keep.

Amount per survey: £3.

Min. reward threshold: £3.

Our review: Pinecone is the Holy Grail of survey sites and invites are rare so it's well worth signing up while we have some invites on offer. The payout is huge and surveys don't take too long to complete. You sometimes get sent products to test and keep too!

Note: There's no guarantee that they will be open to new registrations at any one time, but we try to arrange a limited number for our readers each month. Check the link below. If we don't, join our newsletter for updates.

New Vista Live

Earn £100 per year.

Who are they? A leading marketing research company who have chosen to conduct surveys online rather than traditional cold-calling and so on.

Rewards: Cash and prize draws.

Amount per survey: Around £1 a survey.

Min. reward threshold: £50.

Our review: NewVista offers users cash for completing surveys where 1 point = £1. For some, it can take a while to reach the £50 threshold but the surveys usually take just 15 minutes (so ~£4/hour) and they pay well.

Make sure you answer questions honestly as NewVista are known for chucking in a few red herrings to make sure you're actually thinking rather than speeding through.

Tips for maximising your online survey profit

Rather than just leaving you with a list of online survey sites we wanted to make sure that you get the most out of all of them.

Here's a few ways to make sure you get the maximum rewards or profit from each site.

Sign up to them all

It's a good idea to sign up to as many as possible. This means that you will always have surveys to answer instead of waiting for one or two to come along every month.

There is no harm in signing up to loads and you can always unsubscribe if you don't like the service that one of them is providing.

Set up an alias email

You don't have to do this but we would recommend setting up a separate email for all of your survey site accounts. That way you can log in each day and easily see the surveys on offer (without it clogging up your personal inbox).

You should also check your emails regularly as some surveys are only open for a day (sometimes less).

Be honest

Try and be honest when filling in these online paid surveys as sometimes you can be penalised for contradicting yourself or giving inadequate responses. Also, don't try to second guess the system by saying that you are a wealthy businessman or woman to get more surveys. It won't work!

Watch out for scams and fake sites

A number of sites (we won't call anyone out) advertise dodgy survey sites to students so make sure you avoid them. The ones to watch out for are generally the ones that sound too good to be true!

It's also worth noting that you aren't guaranteed to receive products from the product testing site as users are chosen at random so if anyone promises this you should be very wary.

Put it this way, there are 1000s of users on each survey site, do you really think that they can afford to send out 1000s of free PlayStations for people to test?

Cash in when you reach the limit

Unless you are looking to build up a big amount and aiming for one of the top rewards for which you have time for, then it's best to cash in early with these paid survey sites.

Also be aware that some sites will have restrictions on when you can spend the points and how long they are valid for.

Don't ever pay to join

All of the paid survey sites listed above are free to apply for and use. You shouldn't get sucked into paying for a subscription to any online survey websites, whatever they promise you.

The sites listed on this page have been tried and tested and are genuine. If you are already a member of any of these survey sites or any that aren't listed then please do let us know what you think of them!

Source: https://www.savethestudent.org/make-money/best-paid-online-survey-sites.html

Blogging Your Way to Wealth and Fame

Blogging your way to wealth and fame will not happen in an instant. Because it requires the most important ingredient of success and it is called time. It is time that will take you all the way to blogging wealth and fame. Along with direction and compelling unique content without which there can be no success. Blogging your way to wealth and fame starts with your profitable niche. And then the target keywords related to that niche.

This is the most important part of blogging which is why it is also referred to as direction. Without direction you will receive visitors that are not even remotely interested in your content. And that will skyrocket your blog bounce rate. Which is an indication to search engines that audiences do not enjoy your blog.

What is your Profitable Niche?

Your profitable niche is the secret when blogging your way to wealth and fame. It is that one thing you love doing most. If you love that activity enough then you will also have quite some knowledge on the subject. Which is why many a hobby have turned surprisingly profitable. Online success is only imminent when you love what you do. Because when you truly love what you do, then it will be impossible to give up.

What are Target Keywords?

Target keywords are the single words that describe your profitable niche best. And with the Google keyword planner you must research keywords with a high search volume and low competition. Choose the one keyword with the highest search volume and lowest competition. Then make that one keyword the first word of your blog title. Also try to include that single more important keyword within your blog domain name.

Domain and Blog Title?

With the above mentioned target keyword research and your profitable niche. Choose a domain that is not too long and also easily remembered. As should your blog title be. The title however must demonstrate direct relevance to what your blog is about. The blog title must not exceed 60 characters while also counting spaces.

Where must I place the Target Keywords?

Your primary target keyword must be present in your blog domain. And also as the first word of the blog title. But that is just the one primary keyword you want your blog to rank for. You should have several target keywords. You can place more than one target keyword in the blog title providing it is within context. Your blog title is also known as the h1 header.

And like a chain reaction the blog title should be the first words starting the blog meta description. See how that primary target keyword remain a constant, as the first word? But why is that?

Because that is how you tell search engine spiders or crawlers exactly what your blog is about. And in doing that you simplify the indexing technicalities and ultimately boost the blog ranking capability.

There is also the h2 header or also known as the blog post title. So the keywords you wish to target with the content must be present in the blog post title. But with the blog post you also want to pay attention to things like writing. The presence of transition words and preferable absence of passive voice writing.

Furthermore there are image alt tags like with featured images. And these alt tags must also contain the keywords. This way even your features images can be indexed and serve as an internal link. Professional SEO requires a lot of attention. Which is why the majority of professional blogging rock stars (so to speak) all use the Yoast SEO plugin (over 7 million users).

How many words must a Blog Post and Page Contain?

Providing the content is populated with the target keywords and search phrases. It is recommended that content be no less than 1000 - 2000 words. And this goes for both blog pages and posts.

But how often should you come up with this much Compelling Useful Content?

In my opinion. Take your time and work on a post or page so compelling and useful that it cannot be ignored. At least one high quality outstanding post per month. This will require a lot of research because compelling content is something that cannot be found elsewhere online. Offer a proven solution to a common identified need within your niche. And do this with every post and page. Because that is how you get recognised as a professional.

But how will I actually Make Money?

Simple. With a high quality blog you will receive a lot of targeted visitors and also gain subscribers for your email list. Having your own blog and email list is where you promote affiliate products. This is easily obtained by creating a free affiliate membership with ClickBank. Which is the one of the largest digital sales platform online with over 300k products to choose from.

But affiliate marketing and ClickBank is an entire discussion on its own. And a rather large discussion because there is a lot of misdirection on this method. Always remember, there is no such thing as instant fame and fortune. Success requires hard work be it online or otherwise.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Deon_Christie/2244072

How I Make Money As A Social Media Influencer

What Is Passive Income And Wealth Building?

Have you ever thought of keeping on 'earning money while doing nothing'? Isn't it a great idea? O yes, it is. All of us want to earn and keep on earning money in abundance without doing a job or work. Some people may feel this thing like a dream, not reality. But, it is quite possible. However, it needs a lot of intelligence, smart work, the right usage of time and energy, experience and knowledge, and a long journey, no doubt.

Today I'm going to talk about passive income and wealth building. There are two types of income: active, and passive. Active income needs you to keep on working constantly like a regular 9-5 job. If you are jobless or fired from the job, unluckily, you will stop getting paychecks. No work; no paycheck. It is that simple. On the other hand, passive income doesn't need you to go to office daily and work for 6-8 hours.

So, how is it possible to have money in abundance and coming continuously while staying at home and having fun? For this type of income, you need to build assets and wealth, like:

• Purchase a property, plaza/shop/mall etc. and rent it out. You will get a handsome amount of rent money every month.
• Set up a gym, beauty salon, wellness club etc. and hire a team of professionals to run it. Your team will work and earn for you.
• If you have writing talent and can write good books, you can earn money with this talent. Once you write a book, you will keep on earning the royalty as long as the book is on sale. Amazon online book store gives you an opportunity to publish your book there free of cost.

These are a few ideas for earning passive income. But the ideas of purchasing a property and setting up a gym/beauty salon/wellness club needs a great investment. And the idea of book writing requires a great writing talent. Investment and writing capability is not possessed by all of us. Therefore, all the three ideas are not possible for everyone. So, how can you earn passive income and build wealth?

One of the easiest and the most feasible ways of building wealth and assets, and creating a source of passive income is to join a Direct Sales and Network Marketing company.

First of all, let me give you the idea what Direct Sales and Network Marketing companies are:

A direct sales company sells its products through individual distributors. It has authorized shop/dealers to run the business. Its products are not available on retail stores and common shops. You won't see any type of advertisement of the company and products on media. If you want to have their product(s), you need to join them as distributor or purchase through any authorized distributor. That's why, it is called direct sales company.

You join such a company through a distributor who performs as a 'sponsor' for you. He/she introduces you to the system and products, and you join as his/her 'downline' or 'network'. An authorized distributor can spread his/her network to thousands of people by sponsoring them. When you join a company under one's sponsorship, you too become an authorized distributor. Then you also invite new people for purchasing company's products and join it also. The bigger the network grows; the more you and the company earn. If you have an initial network of three people, they will make their network of three persons each. That way, you all will grow. Each of the individual distributor will get his/her own profit as well as a fixed chunk of the sales done by the 'downline'. That's why, it is called a network marketing company. Generally, all the companies in this category work on both the models: direct sales and network marketing.

If you want to join such a company, first of all, do research about the Network Marketing companies in your state/country. Have answers of these questions first of all.

• Which field you like the most and the feasible one for you? Like there are the fields of health, food, fashion accessories and cosmetics, electronics etc.
• How much time can you spare for it like a few hours daily or weekends only?
• What skills and right strategy do you need to achieve success in the respective field?
• What talent and characteristics you already possess and can polish to help you in the work, for example, do you have presentation and communication skills?
• What products you are excited about; you need and want to use yourself?
• Are the products beneficial and interesting enough to persuade common people to use them?
• How much time you need to start earning, a few months or more than a year for example?
• What is the company's compensation plan? How much can you earn on monthly basis?

Don't forget to check out the rules and regulations of the company you want to join. This is very much necessary for avoiding any misconduct and breach of rules.

21st century is called the century of Direct Sales and Network Marketing business. The beauty of this business is that it doesn't need a business administration degree, huge investment, and hiring an office building etc. It just needs determination, a burning desire for freedom of money and time, willingness to learn new things, and a strong will power to do anything to achieve success. Direct Sales and Network Marketing companies give you training which won't be free of cost. This training is going to let you know how to work as a distributor and develop a network.

Around the world, there are hundreds of Direct Sales and Network Marketing companies. Some are working on country level and some on international level also, allowing any person of any creed, color, religion, and nationality to join. This is declared a superb source of passive income and wealth building. A few of the initial years are tough but after that, you have to do nothing. Money will automatically come to you.

If you want to have a great source of passive income, join a Direct Sales and Network Marketing company in your area.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Rizwanaa_Shaikh/2482845

9 Ways to Generate Retirement Income

• 01

   Certificates of Deposit and Other Safe Investments

  
  
  

  

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  A CD is a Certificate of Deposit issued by a bank. They are usually FDIC insured and the longer the term of your CD, the higher the interest rate you'll receive. 

  Pros: Principal is safe.

  Cons: This strategy will generate little current income. Income varies with interest rates as CD’s mature and are renewed. Income may not keep pace with inflation. Depending on interest rates, it may require a large amount of capital to generate the amount of retirement income you need. Interest from CDs is 100 percent taxable unless you own the CD inside of an IRA or Roth IRA.

  When it comes to choosing between safer investment alternatives take the time to learn how they could be used for part of your portfolio rather than for all of your portfolio. In this way, you could use other parts to invest in things that are more likely to deliver higher income amounts.

• 02

   Laddered Bonds

  
  
  

  

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  A bond, like a CD, has a maturity date. You can buy bonds (or CDs) now so that they mature at various future points when you are most likely to need the income. There are many types of bonds so you can choose safe government issued bonds, or higher yielding corporate issued bonds.

  Pros: Bonds are likely to provide more income than a CD or other super safe option. You can match bond maturities with cash flow needs. If you're at a high tax rate you can use municipal bonds which are likely to deliver tax-free income to you.

  Cons: Income may not keep pace with inflation. Depending on interest rates, it may require a large amount of capital to generate the amount of retirement income you need. 

  Building a bond portfolio can be difficult to do on you own, so, it is important to understand how to invest in a bond ladder before buying bonds randomly.

• 03

   Stock Dividend Income

  
  
  

  

  •••

  
  

  Some stocks (called the Dividend Artistocrats) have a history of increasing dividends each year and some stock dividend mutual funds allow you to invest in a group of these stocks all at once.

  Pros: Historically, capital will grow, and companies gradually increase dividends, providing a means for your income to rise with inflation. In addition, many companies pay out qualified dividends which are taxed at a lower rate than interest income.

  Cons: Principal fluctuates in value with market moves. Companies may reduce or eliminate dividends during tough times.

  It pays to understand how the dividend yield on a stock works before you go searching for yield. 

• 04

   High Yield Investments

  
  
  

  

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  Some investments pay out super-sized yields; it may be in the form of private lending programs, closed-end funds, or master-limited partnerships. Be cautious—often higher yields come with higher risks.

  Pros: High amount of initial income generated.

  Cons: Principal will fluctuate in value. High yield investments may reduce or eliminate their distributions during tough times. Higher yield investments are usually riskier than lower yielding alternatives.

  High yield investing can be very risky. Sometimes the extra risk puts more income into your account. 

• 05

   Systematic Withdrawals From a Balanced Portfolio

  
  
  

  

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  A balanced portfolio owns both stocks and bonds (usually in the form of mutual funds). Systematic withdrawals provide an automated way of selling a proportional amount of what is in the account each year so you can withdraw from the account to meet your retirement income needs. 

  Pros: If done right, this approach is likely to generate a reasonable amount of inflation-adjusted lifetime income. The stock portion provides long-term growth; the bond portion adds stability.

  Cons: Principal will fluctuate in value and you must be able to stick with your strategy during the down times. In addition, there may be years where you will need to reduce your withdrawals. 

  A balanced portfolio approach is relatively easy to follow and is flexible enough to withstand market volatility. Study the withdrawal rate rules you'll want to use to give this approach the greatest likelihood of success. 

• 06

   Immediate Annuities

  
  
  

  

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  Insurance companies issue contracts called annuities. With an immediate annuity in exchange for a lump sum deposit you receive income for life.

  Pros: Guaranteed lifetime income—even if you live past 100.

  Cons: Income will not keep pace with inflation unless you buy an inflation adjusted immediate annuity (which will have a much lower initial payout). If you want the highest payout you'll have no access to principal, nor will any remaining principal pass along to heirs.

  Immediate annuities can be a good way to secure life-long cash flow if you need the highest payout possible from your current principal. Learn the ins and outs immediate annuities before you buy.

• 07

   The Income for Life Model

  
  
  

  

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  This approach uses something called time segmentation to match up your investments with the point in time they will be needed. It provides a logical process for how much to put in safe investments and how much to put in growth-oriented investments.

  Pros: Easy to understand and has the potential to deliver great results.

  Cons: In its purest form, this strategy entails taking on investment risk, but it could be modified so that you would use guaranteed income products.

  I specialize in retirement income and this approach is my preferred approach for delivering retirement income—I use this type of model but fill in the pieces with a bond ladder and growth index funds. The pieces could be filled in with other options like CDs, index funds, annuities, etc. Check out the income for life strategy for a link to a movie where you can learn more.

• 08

   Variable Annuity With a Guaranteed Income Feature

  
  
  

  

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  A variable annuity is a contract issued by an insurance company—but inside the annuity they allow you to pick a portfolio of market-based investments. What the insurance company provides is a lifetime income benefit rider that insures if the investments don't perform well you'll still have retirement income.

  Pros: Guaranteed lifetime income that may keep pace with inflation if ​the market rises. Principal remains available to pass along to heirs.

  Cons: May have higher fees than other options—and the fees in some products can be so high that you are forced to rely on the guarantees as the investments are unlikely to be able to earn enough to overcome the costs.

  I'll be honest, this is my least preferable retirement income strategy. They are insurance—with these products you are insuring your future income—and that is often expensive. However, when used for a portion of your funds, and when taxes are factored in, these products owned by an IRA can fit into a retirement income plan.

• 09

   Holistic Retirement Asset Allocation Plan

  
  
  

  

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  When you look at all the options available, most of the time the best option is a plan that uses many of the choices discussed. The goal of a holistic retirement asset allocation plan is not to maximize return—it is to maximize lifetime income. That is a different goal than the traditional asset allocation investing mantra of maximizing return per unit of risk.

  Pros: A combination of several retirement income ideas named in this slide show is often what is needed to create the ideal income flow for your needs.

  Cons: Takes a lot of work to put it together right, but the hours of planning can be worth the effort for months and years to come!

  If you're near retirement, the most important thing you should know is that retirement investing needs to be done differently. You need income for life—not a hot stock tip.

  By now, you should be ready to use these techniques in a coordinated way. And always remember—planning is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Your unique circumstances and abilities need to be considered.
• BY DANA ANSPACH