Alessandra Malito

Dear MarketWatch, I am 40 years old, married, with two school-age kids. We have $500,000 in a 6-month CD earning 5%, which is approximately $2,000 per month.

“What is the maximum should I safely spend assuming I live into my 80s?”

“I will need about $80,000 to $90,000 a year to live on to be very comfortable.”

Dear MarketWatch, I am a 53-year-old guy, recently divorced. I have no debt. However, I will need to buy my brother out of a family residence within five years.

‘We probably just have enough for my only daughter’s college expenses in a college fund’

You may be investing for retirement all wrong, one financial planner says.

“I am not financially savvy at all.”

Dear MarketWatch, I have a retirement question, but first some background. I am a female, age 50, employed at the same job for 25 years.

The trick: Starting early and contributing “consistently”

“They put all our money in mutual funds and the only person making money was our broker.”