April Is Financial Literacy Month

NEW HAVEN - The 50+ Transition Center, located in the New Haven Free Public Library, will be tackling the challenges of planning for retirement during Financial Literacy Month in April.

The 50+ Transition Center received a competitive national grant that has allowed them to facilitate free financial education for the baby boomer community in New Haven and surrounding areas. The most successful education initiatives have been their comprehensive speaker series. Their upcoming event, Preparing for Retirement: Can You Catch Up? will be held on Thursday, April 28 from 6:00-7:30 and will feature Professor Mary Miller from the University of New Haven. She will be speaking on ways to prepare for retirement at any age.

Kate Cosgrove, 50+ Transition Center and Volunteer Coordinator says, "Preparing for Retirement: Can You Catch Up? and Managing Investment Risk are essential to todays fifty plus as they contemplate retirement or address a layoff and perhaps need to re-career." These are free programs that are solely intended to be a resource for the baby boomer community, no products or services are allowed to be sold or promoted. 

The AARP offers several common mistakes to avoid when planning for retirement saying, "An increasing number of people are entering retirement age with no pension, inadequate savings, a big mortgage (sometimes two), an average of about six credit cards and debt on one or more car." Instead of enjoying their lives, the AARP says, they "find themselves beholden to their jobs and struggling to make ends meet." 

The 50+ Transition Center was awarded a grant from FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), last year. They were one of only twelve recipients nationwide. FINRA provides underserved Americans with the skills and tools necessary for financial success throughout their lives. Their research contributes to foundation-funded learning materials, research findings and tools for libraries and other agencies. 

When announcing the recipients of this prestigious grant, John Gannon, president of the FINRA Foundation said, "Public libraries are ideally positioned to serve the financial information needs of their communities, and to do so without a sales pitch of hidden agenda."

The first program at the 50+ Transition Center was in 2004 at the New Haven Free Public Library. A constant project in the process, they have continually partnered with various agencies and organizations to expand their programs and continue to bring in influential and meaningful speakers and resources for the fifty plus community.  The 50+ Transition Center is a place for community members to turn to for information and reliable information to help make the more educated financial decisions. 

You can find out more information about the 50+ Transition Center, their upcoming events and Financial Literacy Month on their website www.newhavenlibrary50plus.com or their Facebook page. Join them in person on April 28th to learn more about better preparing for retirement and making smart financial decisions. 

Editor's Note: All information in this post was contributed.