Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Note: Be sure to take our new "What is Your Social Security IQ Quiz". It will give you a score and detailed explanations to make you a Social Security expert (our best advice, read this article first!).
January 27, 2014 -- We bet you have heard stories about why you shouldn't work once you start taking Social Security. Some folks say they'll just end up giving back what they make, while others go to great lengths to minimize their hours or even get paid under the table. But the facts are that you shouldn't be afraid of working once you start taking your benefit, assuming you could use more income and don't mind working. You can actually earn quite a bit without any effect on your benefit, and earn a lot with only a relatively small penalty.
The Facts M'am
Here are the rules about working and your Social Security benefits.
- Once you reach your normal retirement age (66 for most of us), you can earn as much
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Published on January 27, 2014
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Category: Retirement Planning
January 20, 2014 -- It's the beginning of the year so it must be time to prognosticate about what's to come and how we might make things better. We have seen several thoughtful pieces along this line, including one from our colleague over at MarketWatch, Bob Powell ("New Laws, Regulations the Experts Want for 2014").
In this article we are hoping to get our loyal members and readers to reflect on the planning that went into their retirements. Who else is more qualified to talk about retirement than you folks - you are the ones living
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Published on January 20, 2014
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
January 15, 2014 -- This really good question was posted in the Topretirements Forum by Margielyn. We thought it so interesting that we have re-posted it here so people can Comment about it more easily
"It is usually the best idea to sell a home before buying a new one. This is for financial reasons: we won't have two mortgages and we would know the price house we can afford since we will use the proceeds from the sale of our current house to buy the new one. The problem... where do we live reasonably until we find our new home? What do we do with our furniture? Move it twice, once to a storage facility and then to our new home? How will we know what furniture to
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Published on January 15, 2014
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Category: Home and Garden
Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cool, soft colors, open spaces with natural lighting and modern, angular details are the top home design trends of 2014, according to newly released information by Pulte Homes.
"Many of the prevailing trends from 2013 will be seen in 2014, but with a softer and more modern edge," said Janice Jones, vice president of merchandising for PulteGroup, Inc. "We'll still see soothing colors, bold accent pieces and open layouts, but 2014 is about mixing and matching a warm, comfortable environment with modern finishes and angular
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Published on January 14, 2014
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
January 14, 2014 -- People who can retire in 2 places have some wonderful choices. They have plenty of great warm wintertime towns in Arizona and Florida to choose from. And for the summertime portion of the year there is almost and endless list of interesting retirement towns. But the situation that most people face - not having enough resources to manage two separate homes, or not wanting to manage the complications of that dual living style - is more difficult. This 2 part series will profile 10 great places to retire year round, along with the
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Published on January 13, 2014
Comments 91
Category: Family and Retirement
By Jasmyne Boswell -- January 7, 2014
“Each of us is a book waiting to be written, and that book, if written, results in a person explained.” ~Thomas M. Cirignano
Your Life is Your Legacy!
Have you ever wished you had asked your parents or grandparents more details about their lives? Maybe you wondered how they met or what it was like living in their generation. Perhaps you had questions about what gave them the most joy or sadness or about experiences that altered their lives.
Growing up, we are consumed with our own lives, and many of these questions go unasked and unanswered until it’s too late. Having this realization is one of the many
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Published on January 7, 2014
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Category: Active adult communities
January 7, 2014 -- It is common wisdom that the longer an active community has been in existence, the older its population. It makes sense - new communities market to an audience which is just starting retirement, mostly folks in their late 50's to early 70's. The buyers move in and tend to stay until they either die, or are forced to move to assisted living or a nursing home. That whole cycle typically plays out over 30 or so years. And then what happens? Well that is the subject of today's article.
The Oldest Active Communities
Sun City, Arizona, was launched January 1, 1960, with five home models, a shopping center, recreation center and
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Published on January 6, 2014
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
December 30, 2013 -- (Note: A slightly different version of this article by Topretirements founder John Brady originally appeared in the Dec. 17 USA Today).
Millions of baby boomers are starting retirement with fewer financial resources than they had planned on. The various reasons for the shortfalls represent a perfect storm for boomers: defined benefit plans are largely a thing of the past, not saving enough money, poor investments, unexpected emergencies, or losing their jobs years before the expected retirements. To maintain their current lifestyles on a reduced budget, many have decided that a tax-friendly place to retire might be the way to go. But while no one wants to pay taxes, that priority could be misplaced. Here are 5 reasons to rethink
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Published on December 29, 2013
Comments 27
Category: Health and Wellness Issues
December 28, 2013 -- We don't think any self-respecting baby boomer is ready for this news item: People over 65 years old accounted for 17 percent of the crash fatalities in 2012 but only 13 percent of the U.S. population. In other words, as we age we become less capable drivers than the general population. Most of us have had parents or aging friends who continue to drive at great risk to themselves and others. But no boomer wants to think about the day out in the future when our car keys are the ones being confiscated.
Perhaps more irritating than this news were the headlines that came with it, like: "Keeping Grandma
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Published on December 28, 2013
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Category: General Retirement Issues
December 24, 2013 -- It's always fun to see which of our Blog articles find the most resonance with our dear Members and Visitors. Sometimes it is the unexpected ones that generate the most comments and/or readership, while usually any article that includes "Best Place to Retire" in the title usually does pretty well. Here is our annual review of the best of what we've come up with for 2013.
Most Commented Upon
We like to think we've done our job when an article sparks a lot of comments. Your comments are so valuable because they are so real, so different, each with their own kind of truth.
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Published on December 23, 2013
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