Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
November 7, 2015 -- In this installment of our "Dueling Retirement States" we compare and analyze retirement in the warm states that surround the Gulf of Mexico. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas are better known and appreciated by residents of the South, while Florida is popular with retirees from all over the nation and Canada. See Further Reading at end for links to the other comparisons in the series.
Do warm sandy beaches call to mind your dream retirement lifestyle? The states that border the Gulf of Mexico - Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas - offer many advantages for retirement living. For one, they are almost always much less expensive than either the West or East Coasts. They have some of the warmest winters in the U.S. They represent 5 of the lowest tax states in the nation. And they are generally uncrowded and less congested than many other retirement locations.
The attraction for many folks is the opportunity to enjoy beautiful beaches that go from the West Coast of Florida all the way to southern Texas, where the Lone Star State runs into Mexico. In this article we will compare and contrast these 5 Gulf Coast states: Alabama and Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana,and Texas. (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
Texas, with its close to 27 million population, is by far the more populous of the 5 states. Florida's total estimated 2014 population increased to just under 19.9 million, adding 1 million people from 2010. Its West Coast is not as crowded as its East Coast, where more of the population lives. There were an estimated 4.8 million people in Alabama, 4.6 million in Louisiana, and 3 million in Mississippi during 2014.
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Published on November 7, 2015
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Category: Active adult communities
December 12, 2015 -- Where do you stand on active adult communities - are you a person who can't wait to move into one, or do they represent the type of place where you wouldn't want to be caught dead? This article will address the question - is an active adult community right for you. We will talk about the advantages, disadvantages, and peculiarities of this type of retirement lifestyle. But mostly we hope you, our Members, will share your thoughts in the Comments section at the end of the article. Your insights will help the rest of us learn how different people feel about them, especially those who have actually resided in an active community.
The original active community was Sun City, located northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Founded by Del Webb, it is still going strong, 55 years after it opened. The one that most people in the eastern part of the U.S. know about is The Villages, a community of over 100,000 with 33 golf courses and 3 town centers, and that sprawls over 3 counties in Central Florida. Active communities range from other ultra large communities like California'sLaguna Woods Village with its 230 clubs, to very small communities like the thousands listed in our Directory of Active Adult Communities.
What is an Active Adult CommunityThe common denominator is that the term "active adult communities" describes a very
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Published on November 2, 2015
Comments 134
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Update 1. See our new File and Suspend article that explains how the law affects this and other claiming issues for people of different ages.
Update2 Nov, 3, 2015: The Budget Bill was approved by the Senate and then was signed by the President into law.
October 29, 2015 -- The budget bill just passed by the House, if approved by the Senate and signed by the President, might keep the country from entering a government shutdown and budget chaos. But one of its provisions would have a profound effect on anyone considering or currently taking advantage of the popular File and Suspend strategies. The bill is far from passing the Senate at this point, but if it does hundreds of thousands of retirees are going to have to rethink a claiming strategy that is worth about $50,000 for many who take advantage of it. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, about 100,000 people are now taking advantage of this strategy.
File and Suspend
This popular strategy goes something like this: A couple retires at full retirement age (66 for most baby boomers) and both file for Social Security. The higher earning member immediately suspends his or her benefits, planning to claim again at the age with the maximum benefit, 70. Meanwhile their spouse claims a spousal benefit, 50% of what
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Published on October 28, 2015
Comments 61
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Note on Nov. 12: Final Medicare costs have been announced, which ended up slightly different than the preliminary predictions discussed in this article. See Final Medicare Part Premiums and Deductibles article. See also related article on how current Congressional bill ends the popular Social Security "File and Suspend" strategy for most people not already using this strategy.
October 28, 2015 - It hasn't happened many times, but it is coming in 2016: there will be no Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for those receiving Social Security. That is due to the fact that the cost of living in the U.S. went down, "fueled" by falling energy and commodity prices. This is only the 3rd time in history there has been no COLA. The COLA in 2015 was 1.7%.
This news will undoubtedly disappoint many folks who look forward to a small increase in their monthly Social Security deposit, something they might view as a pay raise every year, although it is really only an adjustment to keep on pace with inflation (which seems to be in check, at least for the present).
Most will dodge a Medicare increase
Meanwhile in the Medicare world, most people will escape a Medicare bullet. Had there been
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Published on October 27, 2015
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Category: Health and Wellness Issues
November 12 Update: Final Medicare Part B Premiums and Deductibles Announced
October 27, 2015 -- This is the open enrollment period for both Medicare and Obamacare. If you are retired and need health care before age 65, or you are 65 or over and eligible for Medicare, you need to pay attention, as these are, with some exceptions, the only times you can enroll or change your coverage. And there are many good reasons why you might want to change it.
Two different enrollment periods
Which open enrollment period you need to worry about depends on whether you are talking about Medicare or the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
Medicare enrollment started on October 15 and runs through December 7. If you are 65 or over you need to enroll/make your changes by then or wait until next year (with some exceptions). The changes you make go into effect on Jan. 1, 2016.
Affordable Care Act enrollment for those not eligible for Medicare goes from November 1 to December 15 (much less time than last year). Changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2016.
What is an Open Enrollment Period
An open enrollment period is the time during which you can sign up for coverage for the upcoming year if you don't have it now. You can also change
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Published on October 26, 2015
Comments 74
Category: Family and Retirement
October 21, 2105 -- Many of us baby boomers are talking a lot about downsizing, in fact some of our most popular and commented upon articles are on that topic (see further reading below). But there is one aspect of downsizing that doesn't get mentioned as often - your dog.
Americans love their pets, especially their dogs. But as we enter retirement it is worth some time thinking about whether or not you want to have a dog when your current one goes on to Fido heaven, and if you do, what type and particularly, size. We know that many people, including your editor's wife, could not face living without a
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Published on October 21, 2015
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Category: Retirement Planning
October 21, 2015 -- Maybe the better question is, "Do you have a retirement plan". According to Richard Russo in a recent MarketWatch Retirement Weekly article, having a plan greatly increases your chances of success. So if you don't have one, now is a mighty good time to start. This article will explain what sorts of things should be in your plan, and how you can use it to help you achieve a successful retirement.
Russo, a senior financial adviser with Clarity Financial in Houston and author for Random Thoughts of a Money Muse, cautions that you shouldn't get uptight about your plan if it isn't working out exactly as you had thought. He says they are "extraordinarily imperfect... 20% science and 80% forecast (or art)". He believes you should start your plan 5 to 10 years in advance of when you think you might retire. If you do, you can greatly
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Published on October 20, 2015
Comments 27
Category: Active adult communities
October 3, 2015 -- The think we love the most about the 2015 list of the most popular active communities at Topretirements is that there are so many newcomers - 36 communities are new to it this year! It is great that there are so many new faces - even more interesting places for our Members to explore. Another huge piece of news from the 2015 results is that our long-time, undefeated, #1 community, The Villages, was narrowly edged out of first place by another perennial top 10 finisher, Fearrington Village near Chapel Hill, NC. The 2 communities could not be more different - in scale, amenities, and feel - it's refreshing to see such variation in the choices available to retiring baby boomers.
Speaking of diversity
The 2015 list has some unusual and exotic choices for retirement
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Published on October 3, 2015
Comments 22
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
September 29, 2015 -- Earlier this month we ran an article about starting your own business in retirement. This will continue the series, but this time we will concentrate on other ways to make extra money once you retire. With so many baby boomers concerned about their retirement finances (only 46% of members in our recent survey say that their expected retirement income will allow them to continue their pre-retirement lifestyles), we expect it is a topic many of you will be interested in.
There are generally 2 ways to put the extra money in your pocket that affords a worry-free retirement. You can either work for someone else, or you can be your own boss. Each of them has their particular advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at both.
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Published on September 28, 2015
Comments 8
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
September 21, 2015 -- We thought this topic would be easy. Do some basic research, then come up with a list of the worst states for taxes on retirement. But after looking at the research we had to say - not so fast! There are so many considerations depending on your individual circumstances that any cut and dried, one size fits all approach is not going to be useful. All of these factors, for example, will have a major effect on your tax bill from one state to another: your income, the value of your home, the type of retirement income you get (and where it comes from), and whether you file singly or jointly. Yet we will try to come up with such a list, thinking of a prototypical couple that might, or might not, be similar to your situation. In this case we are focusing on worst states for retirement income taxes, and ignoring other taxes like those on property.
Back in 2011 we ran a similar exercise. In that one we had a hypothetical retirement couple (both over 65) who derives their income from a roughly equal combination of social security, (non-government) pension, and investment income. At that time we arbitrarily computed income taxes for 2 income levels: $60,000 and $100,000. We then applied all the standard, personal, and over 65 exemptions we could find. These income levels are obviously
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Published on September 23, 2015
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