Various Guides Help Plan Retirement, Financial Aid Families Can Apply Online For Some Scholarships

Anyone who has a 401(k) can get a better understanding of this complicated retirement savings plan by reading “A Commonsense Guide to Your 401(k)” (Bloomberg Personal Bookshelf, $19.95). The book discusses strategies for investing and outlines rules that apply to with drawing the money in retirement.

A good overview of retirement issues can be found in “Ernst & Young’s Retirement Planning Guide” (John Wiley & Sons Inc., $16.95).

Will your nest egg last long enough? Retirees can figure out if they’ll have enough money with a post-retirement calculator offered by American Century Investments. The mutual fund company also offers a booklet called “Taming Taxes in Retirement.” For the calculator and booklet phone: 1-800-345-2021 anytime.

INVESCO Funds Group offers a “retirement planning calculator” on its Web site, www.invesco.com. Click on “Calculate Your Retirement Choices.”

If you’re retired and trying to put your children through college, one way to learn about financial aid is through Sallie Mae’s Web site, www.salliemae.com.

The site offers a free Online Scholarship Service, a glossary of financial aid terms, a list of banks and credit unions offering low-cost student loans. Sallie Mae is the nation’s chief source of financing for higher education.

You also may speak with a financial aid expert about various college financing issues at 1-800-891-4599, 9-9 weekdays.

Useful Web sites for information on scholarships include fastWEB, which allows you to apply online for some scholarships. Address: www.fastweb.com.

A broader Web site is sponsored by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Address: www.finaid.org.

Find out how to maximize your eligibility for financial aid and other college financing strategies in “Paying for College Without Going Broke” (Random House/Princeton Review, $18).