Ride the stock market tide to a personal finance package ...

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By Flickr user Lyfetime

With the stock market posting its best first-quarter gain in more than a decade, many of the 100 million or so households that didn?t win the Mega Millions jackpot last week may be getting up the nerve to take a fresh look at their retirement account statements.

And people without much to spare for long-term savings might be wondering how on earth they?re going to make ends meet in their Social Security years; according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey, 60 percent of workers report assets (minus a primary residence) of less than $25,000.

The time is probably ripe for a personal finance piece aimed at savers and investors.? As I always say, you can find an angle on this type of story even if you?re not a full-time money writer.? There?s technology (apps, online DIY investing) or real estate (what to do if your house is no longer your retirement nest egg?) or health care (insurance, flexible spending accounts, planning to supplement Medicare, long-term care policies), workplace (disability or medical retirements) ? the list goes on.

Mostly, though, you?ll probably want to construct a primer for those whose memory of stock market momentum has dimmed in the past five years.? As share values waxed and waned, and as various sectors?cycled through hardship and recovery, neglected?401(k)s and other portfolios probably went sadly out of whack; rebalancing asset allocation to reflect not only current exposure to various business sectors but also to perhaps a less aggressive mix of stocks, cash and fixed income is probably?Job One for most middle-income retirement investors.? You might want to solicit actual readers?to submit to a check-up with financial advisers willing to do a quick pro-bono review; if you do this?I?d stick with Certified Financial?Planner Professionals, whom you can find via a?ZIP?code search at www.cfp.net.?? Many other credentialed advisers are reputable, but I?ve always?felt most comfortable with the CFP.

Uncertainty about health care coverage, as the Supreme Court weighs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, makes it even tougher for people to gauge what they?ll need in old age; you might ask planners to run a few different scenarios depending on whether preventative care continues to be covered, or for folks with pre-existing conditions.

Another angle to pursue locally: What help is there for low-net-worth or low-income folks trying to construct a prudent savings plan?? Most fee-only advisers?are cost-effective only for those with substantial savings already.? New investors or those recovering from financial stumbles?need a lower-cost alternative; check with credit unions and professional groups that represent advisers and CPAs for any free,? unbiased financial planning seminars open to?this demographic.???Local agencies that are members of the Jumpstart Coalition may know of resources, too, as might church jobs/debt ministries and agencies that advocate for senior citizens.

A rising tide generally floats in some dubious characters; I notice in my junk mail that come-ons for ?free luncheon? that comes tied to?a financial ?seminar? are back in business; be sure to speak with regulators about what scams are popping up in your region.? And even reasonably honest practitioners can give investors a bum steer; check out this new Smart Money story, ?Financial advisers flunk undercover sting,? about a new study that sent 300 actors to financial firms with dummy portfolios ? and found that the ?investors? were being pushed into products that profited the advisor more than the client.

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