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
Comments 6
Category: Social Security
March 12, 2025 — The 68.6 million Americans who receive Social Security retirement benefits have an obvious interest in its future. It is especially important for the half of Americans aged 65 or older who live in households where Social Security benefits account for at least 50% of their family income. Roughly 25% rely on these benefits for at least 90% of their income. Any cuts to Social Security will severely affect those folks, and in fact, almost anyone who gets those benefits.
Despite promises not to impact Social Security, the “third rail” of politics, signals from the new administration are not encouraging. DODGE czar Elon Musk, who is busily applying his chain saw to U.S. institutions, told Podcast Host Joe Rogan last week that Social Security is “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time". SSA Commissioner Dudek said he plans to cut at least 7,000 employees, even though at 60,000, its staff is at a 50 year low. Plans are afoot to close at least 47 regional offices, with many concentrated in the South and across the Southeast. Some of those were already slated for closure due to lack of in-person visits, but most were not.
Critics of the Administration counter that it is difficult to see how slashing employees and local offices is going to lead to anything but longer waits and delays in getting benefits and customer service. According to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the White Plains hearing office in her state has 2,000 pending cases. If closed, she believes that beneficiaries will be required to travel between 24 and 135 miles to get to another office if it closes.
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Published on March 11, 2025
Comments 47
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
Comments 4
Category: Active adult communities
March 5, 2025 -- There are a whole lot of people longing to retire in the Western half of the US. For those folks, the appeal of the sunshine, mountains, beaches, deserts, and outdoor life is strong. So to find out what kinds of communities they are interested in out there, we looked at our user logs to see which active adult communities in the West get visited the most at Topretirements. com. This data gives some insight into what type of communities, and their location, that have the most retirement appeal.
Results by StateThis was not what we expected. The state with the most communities on our top 10 list is Washington, which had 3. Arizona and Texas had 2 each, followed by Utah, California, and Colorado with 1 apiece. Frankly, we thought Arizona and Colorado would top the list, but not so.
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Published on March 4, 2025
Comments 3
Category: Retirement Real Estate
March 1, 2025 — It looks like the messages of doom for Florida real estate might actually be starting to come, according to the real estate firm Redfin. The number of homes for sale in Florida hit 172,209 at the end of January (up 22.7%). This is the highest number…
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Published on February 28, 2025
Comments 3
Category: Active adult communities
February 25, 2024 -- Following up on our recent article about the issues that Keep HOA Boards of Directors up at night, here is the other side - the things that HOAs do that drive home owners crazy.
Homeowners often have love-hate relationships with their Homeowners Associations (HOAs), but here are the most common complaints and frustrations:
1. Excessive Fees & Increases
Many homeowners feel that HOA dues are too high or increase too frequently without justification.
Special assessments for unexpected expenses can be a financial burden.
With proper planning and budgeting, most assessments should be unnecessary.
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Published on February 24, 2025
Comments 9
Category: Social Security
The range of possible retirement benefits from Social Security is huge. As of 2025, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit is $1,976, reflecting a 2.5% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) from the previous year. But some people get less, based on their lifetime earning history and at what age they started taking their benefits. How does your benefit (or expected benefit) stack up against that average - are you getting more, or less?
Minimum - Average - and Maximum Benefits
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Published on February 19, 2025
Comments 13
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
Comments 4
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Climate, Insurance, Costs Driving Trend
February 9, 2025 -- At least since the beginning of the 20th century, Florida has been a magnet for all kinds of people, particularly retirees. Covid boosted that trend, as working people escaped crowded cities to find sunshine and lower taxes. The era of Florida continuously adding new residents appears to have come to an end, however, according to two recent studies. Data from other sources come to the same conclusions. With 23 million people, it is still one of the fastest growing states in the Union.
Neutral net migration occurs when about the same number of people move to a state as move out. Florida has traditionally had very positive net migration, turning pastures into cities and developments as people flocked to the state. UHaul published a recent report showing that 50.4% of its recent Florida moves came into the state, while 49.6% moved out. Atlas Van Lines came to a similar conclusion: it reclassified Florida from an “inbound state” to one that shows a balance between inbound and outbound movers.
Not all of Florida affected
South Florida, with its more expensive housing, seems to have more folks fleeing the state than the northern part of the state. Younger people looking for better opportunities and lower cost housing are also driving emigration. Foreign buyers have also slowed down their purchases.
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Published on February 8, 2025
Comments 10
Category: Active adult communities
February 6, 2025 -- Condo and HOA Boards face a daunting list of challenges these days. Insurance, aging infrastructure, and new government regulations are just some of the issues. But just as difficult are the many tricky situations that arise when a group of people share spaces and common property.
Last week Topretirements attended a conference held by Becker, a law firm that has a specialty in community, condo, timeshares, and HOA law. The presenters covered explanations of the many complex new requirements that communities must follow. But the most interesting part of the meeting were the non-stop questions from members of the audience. It was abundantly clear that these boards are being put to the test by many difficult situations.Those attending were mostly HOA and condo board managers with a mix of Community Managers too. The questions gave a good picture of the tough challenges that condo and HOA board members have to deal with everyday.
Top 7 Condo and HOA Problems
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Published on February 5, 2025
Comments 8
