Jill on Money: Annuities, retirement, allocation After all of the hoopla surrounding the Facebook IPO, it was great to get back to financial basics with "Jill on Money" listeners. We fielded a bunch of questions about annuities, starting with Jane, who is considering using a small portion of her $1 million portfolio to buy an annuity; Steve, who is stuck with three different annuities; and Shana, who is not sure whether or not she should put an inheritance into an existing annuity. Dave is getting ready to retire, so it's time to calculate whether his $1.1 million in retirement savings is sufficient to meet his income needs. When conducting retirement planning, I recommend a withdrawal rate of 4 percent of your nest egg. Many listeners know that they should diversify their 401 (k) plans, but are not sure how to do so. Mitch has 100 percent of his 401 (k) in company stock; Earl needs a strategy to put money back into stocks; and L. is wondering whether to roll over her ESOP and company stock intact or to liquidate the positions before rolling over. Both Cathy and Linda had questions about how to help their aging mothers manage their assets. At the other end of the spectrum, Don wants to make sure that his $800,000 estate is divided equally among his 7 children. Retirement Advice Can Be Hard to Hear (Negative Nelly) Immediate Annuity Calculator Retirement Calculator