As the holiday festivities roll around, many of us are thinking about the new upcoming year. What steps can we take to start off with a clean slate in the new year?
The top priority is getting our financial house in order, but what can we do to accomplish that?
What can help is having a year-end financial review and creating a well-balanced plan for the future, preferably with a financial professional. Not only will it help you start off strong, but it also will bring clarity and precision to your financial outlook.
Of course, this proactive approach doesn’t bring just short-term benefit. A year-end review and wrap-up of remaining plans can help you prepare well for long-term retirement goals and overall financial security.
Read on for some quick tips to consider during your annual review and planning process. Read More
It sure can feel good to be in the homestretch toward retirement. But retired life is a different ballgame than the years we spent working and accumulating wealth. People are living longer, and this increases the risk of outliving our money – not to mention other challenges that can put our goals at jeopardy.
While there’s no such thing as a fail-safe strategy, it definitely helps to have a retirement financial plan for ever-evolving economic conditions. Knowing what to do to plan is certainly part of that. But it’s just as important to understand what not to do. Otherwise inferior decisions could negatively affect your retirement lifestyle for many years to come.
Here are five potential missteps you should strive to avoid as you look ahead to retirement. Read More
Good news! Next year, Social Security beneficiaries will get their biggest raise since 2012. The Social Security Administration reports that monthly benefits will receive a 2% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in 2018.
For the average retiree, the increase amounts to around $27 extra a month. For the year, it adds up to an extra $324 in benefit payments. Social Security beneficiaries will see increased payments in January 2018, while increased payments for SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 29, 2017.
While this is welcome news, another development may offset the increased benefits for retirees. Many retirees actually may see little or no increase in payments. Most beneficiaries have Medicare Part B premiums taken from their Social Security. For those who have benefited from the “hold harmless” provision of Medicare law in recent years, Medicare may eat into some or all of the raise.
Let’s get more into the details of this now. Read More
For people in their fifties, it’s never too early to think about a retirement financial plan. Even if you are starting a bit late in the game, now is an excellent time to catch up on planning.
However, so many investment, fixed-income, and insurance products are on the market. Like other investors, you may find it challenging to create strategies that meet your needs for safety and income.
Of the many options, annuities may be on your radar, but you may have heard bad things about them too. How can you judge if they are right for your financial situation?
To get started, learn about some scenarios where annuities can help people achieve their retirement money goals. Here are some things to consider when you are thinking of buying an annuity. Read More
Life insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You have many options to cover your needs, including the ability to purchase additional benefits on a basic life policy. These additional policy benefits are called life insurance riders.
Some riders are automatically included in a policy at no extra cost. Other riders will require additional premium cost. Life insurance rider benefits are available for many needs, from terminal illness and long-term care costs to term insurance coverage of children or of a spouse. With that said, you must meet the conditions outlined in the rider to enjoy its particular benefit.
In some policies, you may blend different riders together, at additional cost. The riders you choose, whether included in the policy or purchased at additional cost, may be used for current or future insurance needs.
Since many life insurance riders mean additional premium to be paid, it’s prudent to be sure you don’t get too much insurance. Knowing the basics of different riders and what they offer is a good starting point. Let’s go more into that now. Read More
After many working years, most people would probably see retirement as a positive thing. Yet while it’s true for many Americans, a recent survey by Nationwide shows greater-than-expected retirement dissatisfaction. Nearly 3 in 10 recent retirees (28%) said that their lives are in worse in retirement than before. Moreover, just 2 in 10 future retirees expect that life will be better in retirement.
What was the reason for the retirement humbug? Financial issues, mostly. Among the 28% of unhappy retirees, 78% pointed to income as a reason while 76% blamed the cost of living.
The Nationwide Retirement Institute also noted other findings that are instructive for income and retirement planning. Let’s dive into some more of those takeaways now. Read More
Retirement planning is an essential step in financial life. Part of the transition is to ensure that your money is safe and you have income available for the rest of your life. For risk-conscious and lifestyle-minded investors, one instrument to consider for a retirement portfolio is an annuity.
Apart from principal protection, low risk, and tax-deferred growth, annuities can generate a guaranteed lifetime income. This income benefit can help ensure that the contract owner has a constant, dependable cash-flow throughout retirement.
However, there are many aspects of an annuity that people should understand before making a purchase, such as fees and conditions. One of the important conditions set out by annuities are surrender charges.
Let’s take a closer look at what a surrender charge involves. Read More
Achieving financial security isn’t an easy task. The dynamics of retirement income planning have evolved. It used to be that retired households could rely upon Social Security and personal pensions for the income they needed.
But that has changed. Now Americans shoulder more individual responsibility for their future income security. Also, life expectancies are on the rise. The challenge becomes ensuring our money will last for a retirement lifetime.
As you create your own retirement income plan – or consider potential changes to your current plan – here are six risks to retirement income to consider. Keep these potential pitfalls in mind as you formulate your own strategy. Read More
Year after year, many Americans are finding it harder to provide for their spouses during retirement. Guaranteed pension payments have been disappearing as more companies move toward 401(k)s and other savings plans. And with the end of file-and-suspend in Social Security, numerous couples now can’t use the higher earner’s wage record for greater benefit payouts.
This brings up the question of survivorship: How can retirees ensure their spouses receive sufficient income for current and future needs? Many couples have turned to joint life annuities as a long-term solution.
However, that doesn’t mean that a joint life annuity is right for everyone. In some cases, having separate annuities can be more prudent. Or it may be appropriate to seek retirement income strategies with other means. But no matter what, whether someone should choose a joint life annuity or a few single life annuities will vary on an individual basis. It depends on the potential buyer’s needs, goals, and situation, among other factors.
If you are considering a joint or single annuity, here are some pointers to help you think about your options. Read More
According to MagnifyMoney, people are carrying more than goal checklists into retirement. A recent analysis by them looked at data from the University of Michigan Retirement Research Center (MRRC) Health and Retirement Study. Their results found that more Americans are shouldering debt in their 50s and over.
It’s a serious finding, given that Americans have named mortgages and other debts among their top five money concerns. In the study, MRRC researchers survey over 20,000 Americans aged 50+ on many topics of financial well-being. This publication showed survey results from 2014.
MagnifyMoney found a number of debt trends that could undermine, or even cripple, the retirement goals of numerous Americans. Let’s look at how debt is affecting older Americans and their post-work lives. Read More
