Category: Retirement Planning
August 23, 2017 -- There is one very clear conclusion from our latest Member survey, "Selling Your Home and Retirement Planning" - our Members overwhelmingly plan on moving to a different home when they retire. And, they plan on moving on in much greater numbers than does the general population. Some 90% of our recent survey takers said they definitely will sell their home, are thinking about it, or have already sold. That contrasts with just 6% that say they will definitely or probably stay in their current home.
Topretirements' Members itch to move is starkly different from a recent AARP survey, where 90% of people over 65 said they want to remain in their own homes and community as long as possible. For comparison, a Del Webb survey some years back found that about one third of baby boomers plan on moving in retirement.
The Topretirements.com survey from last week asked 10 questions about moving, downsizing, and what kind of home you intend to buy for
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Published on August 23, 2017
Comments 10
Category: Home and Garden
The Mystery of Decluttering...Recipes @LucyBurdette
August 16, 2017
By LUCY BURDETTE... Over the past 4 to 6 weeks, I've been involved in what one might call "productive procrastination." This means using the inspiration about cleaning stuff out of my house that I found here to actually clean stuff out of my house. This most often happens when I am stalled on my writing. (Why is it that cleaning is so appealing when a person is hammering out a first draft of her new novel?)
We've made multiple trips to the clothing donation box, more trips to
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Published on August 16, 2017
Comments 12
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
August 15, 2017 -- If you are receiving Social Security or you plan on relying on it for your retirement, this news is important. If no action is taken, your benefits will take a big haircut in just 17 years.
Every year the Social Security Trustees prepare an annual report. The one for 2016 was just published, and once again it predicts trouble ahead for the nation's system of Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds (OASDI), otherwise known as Social Security. Every year the Trustees warn Congress that something must be done, and every year Congress kicks it down the road. Fixing the system will be painful, but in our opinion, something must be done. The longer it takes to correct the system, the worse the problem gets.
Income still higher than expenditures - for now
Total expenditures in 2016 were $922 billion, while total income was $957 billion: the surplus for the year was $35 billion. Asset reserves held in special issue U.S. Treasury securities continued to grow. Social Security’s total income is projected to exceed its total cost through 2021, as it has for every year since 1982.
Interest income not enough to cover program cost deficit
The Trustees project that interest income, which was $88 billion in 2016, is shrinking every year. Up to this point it has helped cover the deficit of expenses over contributions paid in. As interest income declines, however, the total surpluses will turn to
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Published on August 15, 2017
Comments 81
Category: Retirement Planning
August 14, 2017 — Whenever baby boomers get together there is always one guaranteed topic of conversation – what are your retirement plans? Here is your chance to share your plans (and actions!) and compare them with what others in the Topretirements.com community are thinking about. Our latest survey is…
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Published on August 14, 2017
Comments 0
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 8, 2017 -- Would this checklist for a great place to retire work for you?
- All public buildings have world class modern architecture - Triple check!
- Plenty of parks and open spaces - double check!
- Community-minded town with extremely active library, senior center, recreation - triple check!
- Public art is all around - check!
- Home prices must be below national median - check!
- Walkable, interesting downtown - check!
We are talking about the fascinating town of Columbus, Indiana - just south of Indianapolis with a population of 45,000. On our recent two day visit your Topretirments editor was blown away by what a great place to live and retire this is. Yet when we mention it to people of no little sophistication, they say, Columbus....Indiana .... never heard of it. This is your opportunity to learn more.
It all started
Columbus is known for being the home of Cummins, Inc., the Fortune 500 corporation started in 1919 that designs, manufactures, and
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Published on August 8, 2017
Comments 2
Category: Active adult communities
August 2, 2017 -- Last week we reported that for the first time ever, 2 towns in the Western part of the U.S. came out at the top of our "100 Most Popular Places to Retire List for 2017". We found that to be pretty big news, particularly since: a) more people live in the Eastern part of the U.S. (58% in 2011), and b) we assume that more folks in the East consider migrating in retirement because their winter weather is worse. 2017's winners could be a one year anomaly, or it is possible it is part of a long term trend - we are not sure.
That question brings up another aspect of the East vs. West retirement issue. We have long had an assumption, not supported by any data, that the the two parts of the country have quite different types of active adult and 55+ communities. This article will explore that question. But beyond our speculations on the topic, we are really hoping for input from our Members who have spent time visiting or researching active communities in different
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Published on August 2, 2017
Comments 20
Category: Retirement Planning
July 31, 2017 -- Just like the childless doctor that gives parenting advice, almost every "expert" has a few things to learn once they actually experience what they have been advising on. Retirement experts are no different. We recently read a great article by Paul Brown, who co-authored several books about retirement in his 30's and 40's. Now that he has actually experienced retirement for a while, he has had some realizations. In general Paul believes he gave good advice to his readers. But he knows now he should done two things differently:
1. Been more empathetic. Actual life is more complicated than theoretical.
2. Given more concrete examples.
Later on in this article we will give a quick rundown of the 3 examples he wrote about in this NY Times article, "Things I Should Have Said About Retirement Planning". But first, here are
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Published on July 30, 2017
Comments 63
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
July 27, 2017 – For the first time since Topretirements began running our annual list of America's 100 most popular places to retire we have a winner from the west. In fact, we have two. Green Valley, Arizona took over the top spot from last year's winner, Sarasota, Florida. Hitting #2 on our list is another town from Arizona, the former cowboy town of Prescott, north of Phoenix.
Green Valley is a sprawling area south of Tucson near the border with Mexico. It covers a vast area with all kinds of communities and developments - in fact it has 59 different home owner associations. Retirees like its relatively low cost of living, warm winter climate, the nearby Santa Rita Mountains, and the extensive non-profit Green Valley recreation complex. Mountains near Green Valley
In gaining the #1 spot on our list, Green Valley was viewed over 12,000 times
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Published on July 26, 2017
Comments 60
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
July 17 — In this article we will highlight our experiences and impressions from a recent trip to the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater area. We hope you find it useful.
All 3 cities on gigantic Tampa Bay are located on Florida’s West Coast, about half way down from FL's northern border. For comparison, Orlando is located inland to the northeast, while Melbourne is parallel on the East coast. There are also a number of smaller towns in the area, a few of which we will talk about here. The area has a warm Florida climate influenced by its proximity to the Gulf, although it is not quite as warm in winter as towns further south like Naples or Miami. The area is densely populated. Traffic, particularly in the winter season and summer, can be quite intense.
Boats anchored in the Vinoy yacht basin marina, St.Pete.
St. Petersburg has, in our opinion, the best opportunities for retirement in this group. There is a compact urban center that is attractive and walkable. All
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Published on July 17, 2017
Comments 6
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
July 11, 2017 -- In this installment of our "Dueling Retirement States" we compare and analyze retirement in the states that we will call the mid-South: Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. See Further Reading at bottom for links to the other regional comparisons in our series, such as The Carolinas, Gulf States, and Florida vs. Arizona.
These states can provide many different retirement lifestyles. They have mountains, lakes, cities, and small towns. Beyond that, they offer some of the most inexpensive living situations available in the U.S. Your retirement dollar can definitely go farther here, especially with their generally tax-friendly reputations. Winters in these states are much milder than in the most of the rest of the country, with a climate that is amenable to an active retirement year round. They are also generally uncrowded and less congested than many other retirement locations.
In this article we will compare and contrast these four southern states:
Alabama,
Georgia
Kentucky,
Tennessee
(links go to our mini-retirement guides to each state). Population and income data is from American Fact Finder-U.S. Census Bureau.
A Few Facts
Georgia is the largest state by population and also the youngest and most affluent. In 2015 there were an estimated 4.9 million people in Alabama, 10.3 million in Georgia, 4.4 million in Kentucky, and 6.6 million in Tennessee.
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Published on July 11, 2017
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