Writing personal finance column after taking buyout

Martha Hamilton is now writing a personal finance column called “Financial Futures” for the Washington Post. The column began appearing in the paper’s Sunday edition. Hamilton was previously the paper’s finance editor before taking a buyout in July. Before moving to the finance beat, she covered energy in the late 1990s. Hamilton originally joined the Post in 1972.

In her first column on Sunday, Hamilton wrote, “The truth is, despite 27 years as a business writer and editor, I don’t know whether I have enough money or whether I’m doing the right things with my savings.

“That makes me nervous — not just for myself but also about whether I might be just one among millions of potential individual financial disasters that could add up to a national crisis.

“Maybe I should have been paying closer attention. I did invest in an IRA decades ago, but having done so, I paid little heed thereafter. When I came to work at The Washington Post, it didn’t occur to me to ask if the job came with a pension. I’d never held a job for more than a year, and it didn’t seem relevant.”

Later, she added, “A buyout offer from The Post this spring forced me to focus. I had 45 days to think things over — 45 days to make decisions that I would have to live with for decades to come. I took the buyout, but only because I could start writing this column under contract. I’m hoping to learn on the job and to help readers get a jump-start on their financial futures.”

Read more here. She’ll be online Tuesday to discuss her new column, which focuses on making decisions about retirement.