Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Nov. 11, 2016 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that 2017 premiums for the Medicare inpatient hospital (Part A) and physician and outpatient hospital services (Part B) programs will increase.
Because of the low Social Security COLA, (0.3 percent for 2017) a statutory “hold harmless” provision designed to protect seniors will largely prevent Part B premiums from increasing for about 70 percent of beneficiaries. Among this group, the average
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Published on November 11, 2016
Comments 4
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
October 18, 2016 — The Social Security Administration today announced a very modest Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2017 of 0.3%. There was no COLA in 2016, whereas the COLA in 2015 was 1.7%. The 2017 increase results in a whopping $4 a month based on the average SS…
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Published on October 18, 2016
Comments 2
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Updated Oct. 2023 - There is no shortage of articles on how to "maximize" your Social Security benefit, often from some of the top experts in the field. Some of them advocate taking the benefit early, but just as many advocate waiting. It's a complicated subject, but the best answer lies in understanding your personal situation.
This article provides 5 reasons why we think taking your Social Security retirement benefit is nowhere near as simple as you might think. We will also give
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Published on October 10, 2016
Comments 59
Category: Estate Planning
August 31, 2016 -- Consider this unpleasant scenario: You go to bed tonight and don't wake up. Instead, you go on to your greater reward, leaving a saddened spouse, family, and friends. They, on the other hand, are about to find out how well you prepared for this event. While not fun to think about, this is not an "if" it happens situation, it is only "when".
Not so long ago your heirs would face many unpleasant chores as a result of your untimely death, but at least the tasks were relatively straightforward. Assets could generally be traced by looking in file folders, safe deposit boxes, and various spots around the house. Statements would eventually come in the mail, alerting your survivors to the existence of various accounts. Now in the digital age, your executor or surviving spouse face the same tasks, only they tend to be much more difficult. That is mainly because so many of your assets and accounts only exist online. How will they find out what accounts
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Published on August 30, 2016
Comments 13
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
July 20, 2016 -- The decision on when to start taking your Social Security retirement benefits is a very personal matter. Our members report a wide range of answers - from "as soon as I can" to "waiting until the maximum age of 70". This article will give some highlights from a recent survey by Nationwide Insurance on how 50+ adults feel about those Social Security decisions, particularly after they have made them.
The Nationwide Retirement Institute Consumer Social Security PR Study polled 3 different groups: people who have been retired 10 years, those who have
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Published on July 19, 2016
Comments 43
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
July 20, 2016 -- The oldest baby boomers, those born in the first post WWII year, are turning 70 this year. To which the IRS is probably saying, "Happy Birthday Boomer", because the U.S. Treasury is about to get billions in tax presents. That's about to happen because Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your retirement funds are required in the year you turn 70 and 1/2. To do the math for you, if you were born in 1946 and your birthday is prior to July 1, you will be 70 and 1/2 in 2016.
If that describes your situation, you must start taking your annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your IRAs and 401(k)s. This year (the year you turn 70 and 1/2) you could wait until April 1, 2017 to take it, but if you do you will also have to take your 2017 RMD by December 31, 2017.
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Published on July 19, 2016
Comments 5
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
July 10, 2016 -- This is Part 2 of the results from last week's "How Much Do You Expect to Receive in Retirement" survey. In this installment we will report on the questions having to do with renting, financing, 55+ design features, and general comments about finding a place to retire. Here is where you can see the results from Part 1. Here is the link to the consolidated article of all results to the survey - Members Will Retire Out of State and More. The bottom of the article contains links to all 11 of our previous survey reports on a variety of topics.
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Published on July 9, 2016
Comments 0
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
June 23, 2016 -- The 2016 report of the independent Trustees of Social Security is out, and the news is nothing to be too happy about. Both Medicare and Social Security will soon be paying out more than they take in. The only small blessing for those currently receiving Social Security benefits is that it looks like there might be a small COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) of 0.2% headed their way in 2017. Here are some other takeaways from the report, which make it clear that action is needed to keep benefits at least at current levels:
- Trust Fund reserves in the Social Security program that pays benefits to retirees, spouses, and their survivors (OASI) are projected to become depleted in 2035 (unchanged from last year's report). At that time income
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Published on June 23, 2016
Comments 12
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
May 25, 2016 -- We've seen a flurry of studies articles over the past few months that suggest that empty nesters aren't doing a good enough job of saving. It seems like once the kids and the costs associated with them are gone, most people spend the extra money instead of save it. The overall findings are troubling, since so many people are expected to have a very hard time maintaining their pre-retirement lifestyles. We just hope you are among the folks who have saved enough!
Here are some of the articles and links:
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Published on May 24, 2016
Comments 43
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
February 16, 2016 -- Even if you are not retired yet you have probably received several statements from the Social Security Agency over the years. That is because the Agency mails Statements to workers at ages 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and older. They go out three months prior to their birthday (but not if they receive Social Security benefits or have a my Social Security account).
The statement contains an amazing amount of helpful information. Unfortunately, that info is often ignored or misunderstood. In fact one survey found
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Published on February 16, 2016
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