Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Note: This has become Module 8 of our Retirement 101 Online Retirement Course. We have written several other articles about Social Security you might also enjoy: "Social Security Quiz- A Learning Experience", and "What Is Your Social Security Worst Claim Scenario". Important changes to spousal claiming strategies occurred in 2016, these are referenced in our later articles.
April 24, 2012 -- We were vain enough to consider ourselves experts on when and how to start collecting social security. That is, until we attended a talk last week in Old Saybrook, Connecticut by Kurt Czarnowski of Czarnowski Consulting. Boy, the things we didn't know, and the others so misunderstood! This Module is Part 1 of a 3 Part Series. Here will give a brief background on Social Security and then dive into successful strategies for optimizing your return from this important safety net. Part 2 of this series concentrates on issues related to claiming strategies for couples, the rights of divorced spouses, and frequent misunderstandings/questions about Social Security. Part 3 explains "How to 'Buy' an annuity from Social Security".
First, let's start with a quote from Kurt Czarnowski: "The myths and misunderstandings about Social Security are staggering". This from a man who spent 34 years within the Social Security Administration, the last of those as a Communications Director. Given all the misinformation, it is important that
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Published on April 24, 2012
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 24, 2012 -- Update: Please see Jan. 2013 update to this article, "Social Security News Gets Worse". The public trustees of Social Security delivered bad news to the country yesterday: the Social Security trust fund will not be able to pay 100% of promised benefits beginning in 2033, 3 years earlier than previously predicted. Piling it on, the trustees also predicted that the disability component of Social Security will run out of money 2 years earlier than previously thought (in 2016). Medicare's trust funds had no change in the date of their expected exhaustion (2024), although the chief Medicare actuary, Richard S. Foster, that the projections in the report "are probably poor indicators of the future financial status of Medicare" (as based on current law).
Several factors combined to speed up the depletion of Social Security trust funds. For one, this year's cost of living projections are
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Published on April 24, 2012
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Category: Adventurous retirement
Mary Anne Johnston is a retired educator who found an outlet for her interest in promoting literacy with Rotary International-- in Colorado and Guatemala. Her story is the latest in our series of interesting baby boomer profiles. Here is her story as told to Patricia Kennedy. If you know a boomer retirement we should know about tell us via the Contact Us link.
As we began to transition into retirement, my husband and I moved to Colorado from Connecticut. An active outdoor life is important to both of us, so Colorado was an ideal location. We both enjoy the beautiful trails, scenery and the many skiing options. I don’t downhill ski anymore
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Published on April 17, 2012
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 17, 2012 -- There are people that "hate" Florida, and there are those that "love" it. Surprisingly, the people who don't have a strong opinion seem to be a smaller group. In Part 2 of this article we'll get into which region might appeal to different folks better than others, but here in Part 1 we would like to provide a "Florida Retirement 101" crash course. Our objective is to help you understand this very large and popular state, which is diverse in more ways than you might think. You still might not like the idea of Florida, but at least you will know more about it.
First, a few facts
The 2010 household population was 18,800,000, the 4th most
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Published on April 17, 2012
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Category: Active adult communities
By Shannon Keating
April 9, 2012 -- Want to live somewhere cutting edge? The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) just released its 2012 awards for builders of 50+ communities, and the list is jam-packed with builders of some of the nation's most innovative active communities.
If you're unfamiliar with them, the NAHB is a trade association that helps promote the building industry and develop solutions to its issues.The various groups within it analyze policy issues, conduct consumer research, analyze economic and real estate trends, and in general work toward improving housing.
These awards are the NAHB's nods to the most exciting, talented and
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Published on April 9, 2012
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Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
April 3, 2012 -- Some weeks we run across so many good stories and helpful features. So rather than let them go to seed, we are providing them in a form of a list. If you are interested, and we think you should be, just click on the link to get more. Here goes (a few links might require subscription):
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Published on April 3, 2012
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Category: Active adult communities
April 3, 2012 -- So let's assume for a moment that you have come pretty far down the line toward buying your dream home for retirement. Whether it's in a 55+ community, an active adult community, a Continuing Care Retirement Community, or just a home in a regular neighborhood - what are the steps you need to take to protect yourself from a bad investment and unpleasant surprises? This article is Part I, which covers the major financial issues to look out for. Part II will address due diligence concerns relating to community and social issues. As always, before you make a major purchasee consult with your real estate professional, attorney, or financial advisor.
1. How solid is the financial situation of your developer or Home Owner's Association?
There are a host of questions under this topic, but the basic one is this - can the organization you are about to join weather a storm, either physically (think hurricane, fire, flood, tornado) or financially. It is worth
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Published on April 3, 2012
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
March 27, 2012 -- Last month we asked our members to briefly share with us where they are thinking about retiring, and why. The results are in, and they are fascinating - the diversity and common sense approaches to decision making are guaranteed to get you thinking. We are grateful to the more than 220 people who took the time to tell us about their retirement destination plans. One side benefit was finding about several active adult communities not on our radar. We especially enjoyed hearing from the folks who haven't yet decided on a place, but nevertheless let us in on their their often conflicted thought process. And to those of you who didn't respond - you owe your fellow members a big favor! The thoughtful input they so graciously provided is going to be very useful to you (see below). You can see the actual responses in the Comments section of "Tell Us Where You Are Going to Retire - and Why".
Where you are retiring - your best places to retire
There was a pretty clear pattern to where our members have decided, or are leaning towards, retiring. A handful of states got most of the votes, although
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Published on March 27, 2012
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Category: Adventurous retirement
Tom Nee’s love of riding his horse and getting paid to do so is the latest in our series of interesting baby boomer profiles. Here is his story as told to Patricia Kennedy. If you know a boomer retirement we should know about tell us via the Contact Us link.
I am officially retired now, but still work the calf and yearling sales at the Green City, Missouri Livestock Market. The best thing about this work is that I am paid to use a horse. I have used other horses, but now I use Rooster, a bay roan Quarter Horse that I pasture for a neighbor.
Although I was raised in the suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri, I’ve been working around cattle and horses all my life. My wife Jean and I have ranched in southern Missouri, managed ranches in NW and NC Missouri, and in 2006 I retired from the United States Department of Agriculture as the Executive Director of Grundy County’s Farm Service Agency Office. That job meant long hours, tight deadlines, and a line of folks waiting on relief—some for crop failures, others for loan approvals after a tornado. People got used to the wait, but more than once I’d hear younger producers grumble that their gambling winnings from UK casino sites fast withdrawal platforms hit their accounts quicker than a federal disaster check.
Now, with the help of Rooster, I work with a team of other horsemen as we move cattle from one holding-pen to another on sale days. On the day the embedded pictures were taken, the market
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Published on March 24, 2012
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Category: Active adult communities
Updated December 20, 2017 -- Originally published March 20, 2012 -- This is a frequent question we get at Topretirements: "Where in North or South Carolina is there a retirement community that has similar amenities as The Villages in Florida? I am not looking for size, I'm looking for the same quality of life that I have enjoyed for the last 5 years here in the Villages". Here is our take on that question, concentrating on the Eastern U.S. (for the Western U.S. see "Does The Villages Have Any Alternatives").
Parking at The Villages
A Refresher, What is The Villages
For those not familiar with it, The Villages, located south of Ocala in Central Florida, is one of the largest active communities in the world with over 110,000 residents. The Villages has 3 town squares (Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing, and Brownwood) that provide shopping, restaurants, and
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Published on March 20, 2012
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