Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
June 25, 2026 -- You can probably guess the states that are the most expensive to retire. Yep - Hawaii, Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York are almost always atop those lists. But to find the states where your retirement savings go the furthest - that is not always that easy.
A recent study from GOBankingRates looked at the annual cost of living and annual expenditures after Social Security to come up with how much savings you need to retire in all 50 states. Some of the states on the list where savings go the furthest were surprising.
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Published on June 24, 2025
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
June 17, 2025 -- Many Americans are stumped when it comes to understanding important financial and retirement issues. Asked questions related to Social Security benefits, Medicare coverage, employment-based retirement savings, most respondents in a recent study bombed. On average, they only answered two of the six questions on these issues correctly.
We're including the quiz below so you can see how you would do!
The bad news comes in a new report from the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center at the George Washington University School of Business. There were six questions in the 2025 survey used to gauge basic retirement fluency. Those included knowledge promoting financial well-being in retirement. Each question covered a distinct subject: Social Security benefits, Medicare coverage of healthcare expenses, employment-based retirement savings, ensuring lifetime income, likelihood of needing long-term care at older ages, and life expectancy in retirement.
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Published on June 16, 2025
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
May 31, 2025 — It’s one of those questions that seems so obvious. Of course you ought to be happy – $6 Million dollars! But the answer is, many of us have a hard time with it. Maybe we are afraid you will spend it too fast. The bottom will…
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Published on May 31, 2025
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 23, 2025 – More than state income taxes, those levied on your property can be one of the most problematic for retirees. That’s because they carry no direct relation to one’s ability to pay – you might have a valuable home,but little savings and income. Property taxes still have…
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Published on April 23, 2025
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 10, 2025 — Many people in or near retirement got nervous last week as nearly every stock plummeted. Who knows where the market will ultimately go in the wake of Trump’s disrupting tariff moves, but the initial reaction was bad. The S&P 500 experienced a significant decline last week,…
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Published on April 6, 2025
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
March 21, 2025 — Finding a tax-friendly location to retire is very important for a significant percentage of retirees. High income individuals often find a state with no income or sales tax very attractive. But other taxes, like those on property or pension and Social Security, can be very important considerations, and should not be overlooked. LIkewise, if your retirement income is low, state income taxes will be a minor consideration.
Just because a state has no income tax doesn't mean that it might be the best one for your tax situation. Some states, for example, offer generous tax exemptions for military retirees or public servants, making them equally attractive. Others tax other kinds of income like pensions in very friendly ways. Some have generous deductions based on your age. Considerations like your desired lifestyle, where your family and friends live, or a climate where you can pursue your favorite activities, might be a lot more important to your retirement happiness than saving a few dollars on taxes. States like Texas tend to have high property taxes, which can neutralize its not having an income tax.
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Published on March 20, 2025
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Category: Active adult communities
March 10, 2025 — The 2021 Surfside Towers collapse near Miami killed 98 people and injured many more. The Florida legislature’s response was swift and strict. Now, as those laws go into effect, backlash from the hardships they created is leading to efforts to soften the regs.
Already burdened by exploding insurance premiums, condo owners now also face huge assessments to catch up on their new reserve requirements. Added to those woes, newly required building inspections have discovered costly building repairs that need to be made. All of these combined factors have led to special assessments and/or significant dues increases. The result is a spate of homeowners who are unable to pay. Many have no choice but sell and and then find a new, more affordable place to spend the remainder of their retirement years.
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Published on March 9, 2025
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
February 13, 2025 -- Good news is coming to 8 states this year when it comes to income taxes. It is part of a trend to lower taxes, make themselves more competitive, and enjoy the surpluses many of them experienced from the Covid years. Others, though, are concerned that the lower taxes will result in the cutting of public services. Seven of the 8 states that lowered their rates are controlled by Republicans.
Most of the reductions were relatively minor, usually less than a half a percentage point. Two of the states have moved to a flat tax instead of income brackets.
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Published on February 12, 2025
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Category: Active adult communities
January 10, 2025 -- In a sign of what is to come from Florida's strict new condo laws, an entire condo building in Fort Lauderdale is for sale. The condo owners can’t afford the millions it will cost to repair it.
Damage from saltwater to the building's foundation is only part of the problem faced by the condo owners. Residents at Springbrook Gardens in Fort Lauderdale were forced to evacuate last September after an engineer warned of an unsafe foundation. The roof also needs expensive work, and there have already been many special assessments. According to one owner, the condo is spending $1 million in engineer studies and to get the building up to code. Foundation restoration work is estimated to cost over $4 million. There are only 18 units in the 70 year old building, so even though there might be some loan assistance, the cost per unit would work out to be about $222,000, a pretty large number.
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Published on January 8, 2025
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
November 19, 2024 -- A number of people are in the fortunate position of having multiple accounts tohat could fund their retirements. They might have IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Roths, and/or non-retirement savings and investments. But which one(s) should they tap first when they need money for retirement. Note: We are in no way an investment or financial experts, we are just laying out the issues and providinginformation for you to consider in your planning.
Complications affecting which account to withdraw from first
Before you even get to withdrawal strategies, there are other financial considerations that might apply to your decision. Among others, those include: when to apply for Social Security benefits, Roth conversions, and the state of your finances. In general we believe that in most cases it pays to wait until age 70 to start collecting Social Security, assuming you have enough to live on until then, and you and your spouse have an average life expectancy. But we could write a whole article on whether it is better to delay when you take Social Security by using your savings and investments, or let that money ride, and collect early.
Roth conversions, which allow you to tap retirement money tax free, are another complex subject, but often a worthwhile idea for people with big balances in their regular IRA and 401(k) accounts. These conversions need to thought through carefully, as you will pay taxes on any converted funds as they go in (but if you have low income or big losses you might be able to offset that).
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Published on November 18, 2024
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