It’s a great retirement calculator that has many uses. We’ve been doing some work with retirees lately and it is truly sad to see how many people are not financially prepared. They’ve retired, and now many are running out of money because expenses have been higher than they expected - property taxes, fuel, and food being some of the worst culprits. Their choices are not pretty. Often it means selling a home and moving to a new town, a reverse mortgage, going back to work, or poverty. So we recommend this tool as the first step in figuring out if you can afford to retire. The second step is to calculate your expenses - with a generous escalator for the unknown. Check it out.

PS - when we ran the calculator we were amazed at the difference in the monthly check if we wait until we are 70, instead of taking social security at 62. The age 70 monthly payout would be more than $1200 higher than the age 62.

A more difficult problem emerges when we try to seek out the best active adult communities. Many people want to live in these self-contained worlds (and yes, many won’t go near them too!). But when we get excited about an active adult community that sounds just great - the other shoe drops when we find out where it is. Yep, 9 times out of 10 it is in some little town that no one has ever heard of, way out in the boondocks. This certainly makes some sense for the developers, because a far out location is where the cheap and available land for development is located. It’s not easy to find enough land for a reasonably-sized development and its amenities close to town - or is it?

The idea of living in a development out in the sticks turns a lot of people off. Surrounded by people just like yourself in a adult version of summer camp, the real world can be a significant drive away.

Elsewhere we read about aging in place. This is by far what most older people want to do - stay in their own cherished homes in their familiar old neighborhoods. A boondocks-type problem occurs for these people too, especially the ones who already live in suburbia. These aging seniors are trapped in the ‘burbs, where there are usually no sidewalks, close-by stores, or doctors - and key resources are a harrowing drive away. The result: loneliness and isolation will be a big and growing problem for many who decide to age in place.

Everyone has to find the kind of retirement lifestyle that’s right for them. For some folks, an active adult community like a Sun City is perfect. Everything they want to do is right there, and there is no need to venture outside. But for many others, that seems like an empty life. If you are one of the latter, we recommend looking at a college town retirement, a city, or a small retirement town with plenty of infrastructure. Our opinion is that smart developers will look to buy or build active adult properties in or immediately adjacent to these types of communities. That way baby boomers can have it both ways, living in an interesting, stimulating community with plenty to do. Walking or biking to activities and to see interesting people instead of driving. For developers, the community scale might have to be smaller, or they might have to build in more transportation resources. But our bet is that these type of accessible communities will have more market appeal as baby boomers start to make their retirement location decisions.
Link: Directory of Active Adult Communities

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

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

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

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“

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.

The common thread in their adventures is the effect dropping real estate prices have in their view of the market. According to Case-Schiller data, prices in 20 of the top U.S. markets were off 15% in April vs. the year ago April. Prices in the first quarter of 2008 were off 14% vs. the same quarter of 2007. Fueled by foreclosures, prices in Miami, Phoenix, and Las Vegas dropped over 25% in April vs. year ago. Prices in these markets have now been diving steadily for over 2 years.

One reason for buyers to finally emerge from their bunkers is that, given the relentless price drops, there are now properties coming on the market at what look like reasonable prices. And when a serious buyer senses a bargain and a seller who is open to negotiation, sales start happening.

A good thing about the U.S. economy is that all markets in the U.S. do not behave the same. Some cities, notably Charlotte, did not see the big price run-ups as other areas, and as a result are not experiencing significant declines. Even in Florida, which has not been experiencing as much retiree immigration as it used to, there are real differences. Northern and middle Florida saw less excess, so these markets have been much more stable than much of South Florida. In Miami and Fort Myers there was too much building and too much speculation - in these areas inventories are too high and prices continue to fall. The disparity in markets is another factor that makes it hard to know if prices have reached a bottom in the markets you are interested in.

The main retiree interviewed in the Times story, Franke Watson, recently purchased a home in Prescott, AZ. The house was listed originally for sale at $430,000. When Mr. Watson saw it the price had been lowered to $349,000. He offered $300,000, and he and the owner eventually agreed upon $309,000 - a 28% discount from the original listing price.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune had a recent article, “Have Home Prices Hit Bottom?“, with one of the more interesting ways of looking at home prices. Their analysis assumes that the average annual increase in home prices has traditionally been around 6-7% a year. Obviously in 2005 and 2006 the hottest real estate markets in the U.S. got seriously out of hand. In Sarasota, home prices increased 32% in 2005 alone! Since then prices are down in the hot areas. The article points out that if you assume a 6-7% annual price increase from 1999 on, the current prices are, after the correction, pretty close to where they should be.

The biggest problem facing many retirees right now is the inability to sell their current home. They do have an advantage over most other real estate buyers, though, and that is that they generally have plenty of equity. According to the Times article, many of those folks are taking the plunge, or at least thinking about taking a big step. Their rationale seems to be their estimate that their house will eventually sell, so why not take advantage of the current bargains to be had now.

As a welcome to the site visitors can download a useful free eBook, “The Practical Guide to Selecting Eldercare Facilities“. This new eldercare resource features a variety of helps for children of elders, as well as seniors who are looking for the best eldercare resources.

The Eldercare Advice section provides practical articles on how to select a quality facility, as well as how to engage the elder in the process. The Eldercare Forums let site users pose questions and ask for advice from their peers who are going through similar experiences. And of course one of the main purposes is to provide a database of the best eldercare and retirement facilities, so that visitors can identify places in their towns and states that can provide the right eldercare for their loved ones.

To encourage the widest possible list of resources for site visitors, owners of eldercare facilities are encouraged to list their properties on the site (there is no charge for a basic listing).

Here are U.S. News’ brainiest places to retire:

* Ann Arbor, MI
* Berkeley, CA
* Boulder, CO
* Brookline, MA
* Chapel Hill, N.C.
* Hoboken, N.J. (suburb of New York)
* Lake Oswego, OR (suburb of Portland)
* Reston, VA (near Washington)
* Upper St. Clair, PA (suburb of Pittsburgh)
* West Lafayette, IN (Purdue University)

Most of these towns are college towns. Others have colleges nearby, or have many highly educated people who live in town (hence Upper St. Clair, Pa., which has 29 colleges nearby, including Carnegie-Mellon University and Washington & Jefferson College). Others, like Hoboken, Brookline, or Lake Oswego are near major cities like New York, Boston, or Portland.

Note: If the city is shown as a link it goes to the Topretirements review of that town.