Retirement Calculators Give the Magic Number

July 28 — Are you the type of person who has a certain “magic number” in mind? The magic number being the amount of savings you think you need to quit the working world and retire. It’s always been an interesting exercise, with the problem that all too often these numbers tend to be unscientific, often relying on shaky assumptions about spending and income.

Finding the magic number is an essential step in every baby boomer’s preparations for a worry-free retirement. Nowadays there are any number of retirement calculators available on the internet. These nifty web pages take the mystery out of the process. On most of them, just enter a few facts like your age, life expectancy, current income and assets - then presto - you get how much you need to save for the retirement income you specify.

At Topretirements.com we have looked at several of these calculators and continue to be impressed with their simplicity. Useful too, at least in terms of knowing in an instant whether you are going to have a retirement problem or not. Since only 50% of baby boomers aged 55+ have saved more than $50,000. it might be a good thing for more people to get the dose of reality that a retirement calculator can provide.

Most of the retirement calculators we list (see first section, Financial) are easy to use. Almost all are identical too, so once you’ve seen one, you seen almost all. The exception is FIRECalc. This one provides more options and sensitivity about different market conditions, giving a range of investment results under very different scenarios A more realistic approach, since who knows what types of returns will affect your portfolio. We recommend you take a look at FIRECalc

Will Green Communities Save the Housing Industry

July 22 — If there is one “cool” trend in home building today, it is going green. A number of factors have come together to make the green (environmentally sustainable) movement the potential saving grace of struggling home builders across the world. In fact, a McGraw-Hill Construction/National Association of Home Builders study predicts that “The market for green housing will grow to from as little as $12 billion this year to between $40B and $70B by 2012.”

Obviously the high price of oil is factor number 1. With oil prices skyrocketing, residential buildings, which account for 21% of U.S. energy consumption (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration), are an easy target for money-saving ideas. At the same time, environmental awareness and interest (thank you Al Gore) has never been higher. Taken together, it is no surprise that a recent Harris Interactive poll by Move, Inc. (operator of Realtor.com) showed potential homebuyers more interested in green features in homes than they were in luxury amenities. The survey found that almost half of (49 percent) said features such as solar panels or energy-saving appliances were “important,” compared to just 31 percent who rated luxury amenities important.

Investing a few extra hundred or even thousand dollars in energy conservation has a faster and faster payback as energy prices climb. Builders are taking notice, offering homes with enhanced conservation and even energy generating feaures. Meanwhile California became the first state in the U.S. to adopt a new building code that requires a number of energy-conserving building practices across that giant state. The code approved by the California Building Standards Commission mandated measures including recycling of construction waste, energy savings, potable water conservation, etc. Other communities such as Marin County, California and Aspen Colorado also have imposed green building code requirements. LEED’s Certification, which sets certain standards (Gold, Silver, Bronze) for energy conservation, etc. are also being developed and considered elsewhere.

More
Check out all the interesting “green” building articles in the July 2008 issue of Builderonline.com
Here’s a cool video on how one “Builder fights rising energy costs”
Looking for Green Communities

Texas Moves up - Florida Slips as Boomer Retirement Destination

July 15 - Retirees are coveted by states and towns because of their economic value. They buy homes, usually don’t need jobs, and bring with them pensions, social security checks, not to mention tax dollars. A report from the N.C. Center for Creative Retirement: Institute for the Future of Retirement at UNC Asheville finds that some states are doing better at attracting retirees, and they are not all the usual suspects.

The Center relied upon 2005 data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Surveys (ACS) to compile their findings. The biggest news reported is that Florida, although still receiving the biggest share of 60+ individuals, continues to lose market share to other states, particularly Texas. In 1980 Florida received over 26% of 60+ migrants, in 2005 the number was just under 17%. The Lone Star state is experiencing the fastest growth - while it was the #4 state for retirees in the 2000 census, it jumped to #2 in 2005. Arizona also slipped, dropping from #2 to #3.

The other way to look at this data is by net-migration (new residents - those who moved out). By this measure the 2005 rankings remained unchanged for the top 2 - Florida and Arizona - but there were significant changes elsewhere in the top 10. Texas (#3), Tennessee (#4), and Georgia (#5) jumped ahead in the rankings, displacing North Carolina (now #6), Nevada (no longer in top 10), and South Carolina (#7). Arkansas, Washington, and Oregon round out the rest of the top 10 states for net immigration.

Mailbox Economy
The IFR study also points out the value of the so-called “Mailbox Economy”, where new retirees bring in money from out of state in the form of pensions, social security, and investment income. While the big net immigration gaining states are the obvious winners, it is a sad picture for old northeastern states like Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, which have a net outflow of dollars - just when they could use a positive jolt to their economies.

Hot Counties
In another piece of research we also turned up the hottest counties for active adult communities. This data from the National Association of Home Buyers is a bit older (2005), but probably still generally relevant. The hottest 5 U.S. counties for buyers of active communities were:
- Sumter County, FL
- Nye County, NV
- Archuleta County, CO
- Washington County, UT
- Collier County, FL

Topretirement’s Dream Team - Top 10 Golf Towns

July 8 — For a lot of people the dream of retirement includes golf - and plenty of it. We recently saw a list of the top 10 golf communities from U.S. News, but frankly, it was less than satisfying. Nice list, no passion. That inspired us to a project we could really get our weight behind - the Topretirements.com list of top 10 golfing towns for retirees. Our criteria: the ready availability of great golf, relatively low cost, and other redeeming (non-golf) features, where possible.

Compiling a list like this by a self-described golf nut is a challenge - mostly about whom to exclude. So here goes:

1. Myrtle Beach, SC - How could this not be #1, with more than 115 golf courses of every type. You can play along the ocean, have a cup of chowder served to you on the tee, play in forests, along the intercoastal; heck, you can even play golf at night. Prices are surprisingly reasonable because of all the competition, and there are a ton of great active adult communities when you need to sleep.

2. Pinehurst, NC - Pinehurst Village itself is not the most inexpensive place to play, but for heaven’s sake, the place is a shrine to the sport! The statue on #2 of Payne Stewart will take your breath away. Surrounding towns are less expensive and offer all kinds of great golf.

3. Orlando, FL - Courses of every description saturate the Orlando area. It’s a bustling city with plenty to do (Disney, anyone?). Many big PGA tournaments are held in the area for off days.

4. Palm Springs, CA - The Coachella Valley spreads out before you. And much of that green down there comes from the dozens of great golf courses. After all, Bob Hope retired here for a reason - golf! Choose from many outstanding communities to fit every budget.

5. Fort Myers, FL - It isn’t a law that every active adult community in Fort Myers have a golf course, but it might as well be. This Lee County town is bursting with golf courses, including a pair of great municipal courses right in town - Eastwood is our personal favorite and a great test. No need to belong anywhere, there is always a deal somewhere.

6. The Villages, near Ocala FL. - This gigantic active community has more golf courses than you could even want - 33 golf courses and 8 country clubs, and a reasonable price too. Obviously the Sun City and Peachtree City communities are in the same league, so you could argue for their inclusion here too.

7. Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach, FL) - Amelia Island is probably the most upscale golf community on this list. It has 5 great golf courses on the Island (most of them with holes on the ocean!) plus it is just a super place to live. It’s perpetual summer camp for adults.

8. Bandon, OR - This charming small town above the Oregon coast has some of the best golf on the planet in Bandon Dunes, Bandon Pacific, and Bandon Trails. These classic links courses are reminiscent of Ireland and Scottish golf - they attract golfers from all over the world for their challenging holes overlooking the gigantic dunes and raging Pacific.

9. Hilton Head SC - Hilton Head is the home of another PGA tournament, the Heritage Classic. Don’t miss Sea Pines Plantation and the famous Harbor Town golf course. Surrounding towns like Bluffton have non-stop golfing opportunities too.

10. St. George UT - There are at least 8 golf courses in the St. George area, and more are on the way. The town has been the fastest growing community in the U.S., and much of that growth is among retirees looking for a good game of golf. You can climb in Mt. Zion National Park on your off days.

So, there’s our list. let us know what you think - who did we miss? To compare, here is the one from U.S. News & World Report:
* Auburn, Ala.
* Bonita Springs, Fla.
* Charlotte, N.C.
* Georgetown, Texas
* Lemont, Ill.
* Mount Pleasant, S.C.
* Portland, Ore.
* Rancho Mirage, Calif.
* St. George, Utah
* Sun City, Ariz.

For further reading:
Dream of Golf Course Living Turns into Nightmare
New eBook: “100 Best Retirement Towns“

Trouble in Paradise - Active Adult Communities Home Owners Associations

July 3 — Buying into a retirement or active adult community is a complex decision involving where you want to live, what lifestyle and activities you want, costs, and what kind of neighbors you want. Your new Home Owners Association (HOA), which typically runs most active adult communities and condo associations, is another issue requiring careful thought. Now HOA’s are in the news for another problem - caused by owner delinquencies and foreclosures.

Home Owners Associations typically set the rules for a community as well as pay the bills and hire the people that run the place. When the Association is well run and the community is strong, all is well. But when a community starts to see too many delinquencies on the fees it charges residents, and when too many owners are foreclosed upon, trouble hits. A new article in seeking alpha chronicles some of the problems Homeowners Associations are having across the country, as the remaining owners are hit with extra fees to make up for the people not paying their bills.

In Florida Gov. Crist just vetoed a bill offering new protections and rights to HOAs - the bill would have allowed them to lien and foreclose on properties in arrears. Apparently the law is needed (about 1.4 million Floridians live under HOA’s) but the governor was not happy with some terms in the bill.