Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
May 29, 2012 -- Of course you really can't buy an annuity from the Social Security Administration - but in a manner of speaking you can do something that has the same effect. Last week we came across this seemingly whacky article from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Should You Buy an Annuity from Social Security". After reading it we think it turns out to be one of the cleverest ideas we've heard for a long time.
Background
The biggest financial challenge for today's retirees is
more...
Published on May 29, 2012
Comments 15
Category: General Retirement Issues
May 24, 2012 -- Ever had that feeling that you've seen an article... but just can't put your finger on it? We know we have, and that's why we have just completed a comprehensive index of all our past featured articles. Now hundreds of our most helpful features are all in place, logically arranged in 13 categories so you can find them more easily. Some of the categories
more...
Published on May 24, 2012
Comments 2
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
-- This article was updated in February, 2020 --
May 22, 2012 -- This article will provide a retirement guide and review of 4 southwestern states that are very popular for retirement: Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. At the end we list all of the various region and state comparisons we have developed in the past.
A Few Facts
In contrast to states in the Northeast and Midwest, all of these states are growing fast. Arizona is by far the most popular of these states for retirement. It is also the most populous with an estimated 2018 population of 7,171,646. Utah was
more...
Published on May 22, 2012
Comments 228
Category: General Retirement Issues
May 15, 2012 -- There's been a lot of news and retirement related articles that affect you as a retiree or future retiree in the past week. Here is the rundown of what we found compelling in the past week or so - think of it as Retirement 101.
Home Price Improve
The National Association of Realtors released their single family home sales data for 2012's first quarter this week. Compared to the last 5 years, it's a downright cheery report! Year over year home prices increased in about half of U.S. markets, although prices overall were off from the 4th quarter ($158,100 vs. $162,600). The huge inventories of
more...
Published on May 15, 2012
Comments 1
Category: Active adult communities
Note: This is the second in a 3 part series. Here is the link to see Part 1, "Destination Williamsburg, Jay Michaels Retirement Tour Bus". Part 3: 5 Years Later on the Bus
Last year about this time, I reported on my travels to Williamsburg, Virginia and Chapel Hill, NC in search of a retirement destination. My wife Jane and I have continued our search over the course of the last ten months, visiting a number of active adult communities, and wanted to share some observations from our travels. We welcome input from people on our search.
First of all, let’s review again the things that are important to us in choosing a retirement destination. We presently own a seasonal home in north central Pennsylvania and our children reside in Cleveland and Washington, D.C. We want to live in one home and be able to visit our children without always being dependent on scheduling air reservations in advance. Close proximity to an airport and good health care are also very important. We are both recently
more...
Published on May 14, 2012
Comments 157
Category: General Retirement Issues
May 10, 2012 -- If you have access to the NY Times, either online or in print, you should check out the May 10 edition. There are several great articles, including a profile of 3 older folks who are continuing to work past their normal retirement age - "Working Late, by Choice or Not". An 87 year old doctor, a 72 year old health care worker, and the former assistant to the Chief Executive of Verizon Wireless (no working at Dillards in the Polo department) make for
more...
Published on May 10, 2012
Comments 1
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Note: This is the 2nd in a 3 part series called "Social Security: What You Think You Know Might Hurt You". Part 1 provided an overview of the program, how your benefit is calculated, and strategies for optimizing your benefits. This segment will concentrate on strategies for couples to maximize their benefits,as well as the rights and benefits for divorced spouses. The final section of this article discusses some of the more common misconceptions/FAQs about Social Security.
May 8, 2012 -- As we discussed in Part 1, the decision to file for Social Security benefits is a personal one that means balancing several inputs. But for married couples, these factors get even more
more...
Published on May 8, 2012
Comments 28
Category: Adventurous retirement
Arthur "Skip" Budge retired from the Plymouth, MA Police Department about five years ago. He now drives cars to vacation homes for his many clients. It's a "sweet life" says Budge. His story is the latest in our series of interesting baby boomer profiles as told to Patricia Kennedy. If you know a boomer retirement we should know about tell us via the Contact Us link.
I retired after twenty-eight years on the Plymouth, MA police force. Being a police officer was a great career, but I started on the force when I was twenty years old and it was all I knew. I really wanted time to travel and take advantage of opportunities to experience how other people live. I never realized just how much my world was going to expand and how much I would love my new freedom.
My wife and I decided that it was going to be OK to take my pension and retire. But I learned pretty quickly that I wouldn’t be satisfied just sitting around with nothing set to do, and that we really needed the extra dollars to supplement my pension. Before the first year was out, I agreed to drive some friends’ cars back and forth to Florida—for something to do and to earn those extra dollars. Somewhere along the way, I also picked up weekend shifts managing accounts for Golden Panda Casino through a friend—low stress, flexible hours, and just enough mental engagement to keep things interesting.
more...
Published on May 3, 2012
Comments 8
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Note: This is Part 2 of a 2 part article on Florida and its many different regions for retirement. Part 1 was "Florida Retirement 101: FL is Bigger and More Diverse Than You Might Have Thought".
May 1, 2012 --- In Part 1 we laid out the basic facts about the Sunshine State as well as descriptions of 8 different regions of Florida (our definitions):
- Panhandle
- Northeast Atlantic
- Mid-Atlantic - The Space Coast
more...
Published on May 1, 2012
Comments 168
Category: Adventurous retirement
April 30, 2012 -- Wow. There is just so much to learn about taking a cruise that it is hard to know where to start. Here is the first of a series of articles about cruising that we hope will help you sort through the many first-questions you need to address. We start here with general tips, Part 2 covers more specific types of cruises. These articles are by Patricia Kennedy who has taken and thoroughly enjoyed many cruises all over the world. If you want to share your cruising experience, contact us via the Contact Us link, or post a Comment to this article.
One of the first things many folks do when they retire is plan a great vacation. Now that you have time to travel, cruising offers you world-wide options.
Finding a cruise that you will enjoy shouldn’t be difficult, since the cruise industry operates on a simple, but inspired, strategy of offering something for everyone. The harder initial decision is deciding upon the specific itinerary, the type of cruise, and size of the ship that floats your boat – so to speak.
An ocean voyage across the Atlantic? A cruise that circumnavigates New Zealand? A riverboat down the Mississippi? As long as there is
more...
Published on April 30, 2012
Comments 11
