Category: Health and Wellness Issues
You are finallly retired, you've chosen a great community, and now you are living in your new home - whew! But before you relax completely, make sure you get to enjoy your new lifestyle for a long time by taking some basic safety precautions. Every year, more than 3,000 people die in home fires in the United States; most of whom are in homes without a working smoke alarm. To prevent these deaths, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sponsoring a nationwide Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign designed to raise
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Published on March 1, 2010
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Category: Active adult communities
Updated May, 2020 (originally published in 2010). Given the tough economic times ahead in 2020 and 2021 and the problems that might ensue with developers and homeowners caught in a bind, this seems like a good time to revisit the topic.
This article is Part 3 in our series about Home Owners Associations (HOA's). Part 1 was called "Meet the New Boss - Your HOA", and Part 2 was "What You Need to Know about Your Home Owners Association". Both of those generated numerous interesting comments which are worth reading. We are grateful to Joe West, CEO of the Community Associations Network, for his assistance in preparing this series.
Home Owners Associations (also called Community Associations or condo associations) and their homeowners face a
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Published on March 2, 2010
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Category: General Retirement Issues
We’ve posted a new article in our Tips and Picks section on the “Worst mistakes you can make in retirement”. Our hope is that you can examine them vs. your own situation and at least avoid the most serious of them. Post your worst retirement mistakes here. And…
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Published on March 8, 2010
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
March 15, 2010 and updated October, 2020 -- Notes: First,this article was prompted by an excellent suggestion from one of our visitors, Gerry. Second, since this article was written there have been two increases in the per person estate tax exemption. Currently it is $11.4 million (indexed to inflation), which means that only a tiny sliver of people will ever pay any estate tax.
It's not the cheeriest topic, but what critics call the "death tax" is on the minds of many people.
A complex subjectLet's start by saying that estate and inheritance taxes are a complex subject, one where you should have a competent professional helping you. If your estate is worth less than $11.4 million, at least you don't have to worry about that problem - your estate will not be taxed by the federal government under current laws. Some definitions - an "estate tax" is levied on the net value of what you are worth when you die, an "inheritance tax" is levied on your heirs from what what they collect from the estate. The estate tax is more common. Your spouse will not pay inheritance taxes from your estate, but your children and other heirs might in some states.
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Published on March 15, 2010
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
March 20, 2010 -- According to a new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), worker confidence about their retirement has hit rock bottom. The 2010 Retirement Confidence Study found that the percentage of workers who are very confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement has stabilized at 16 percent, statistically equivalent to the record low 13% reported in 2009. Among workers who are already retired, the confidence index is slightly better at 19%.
These numbers paint a very discouraging picture about retirement - only 1 in 5
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Published on March 21, 2010
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
This is the second of a multi-part article on retirement confidence and the ability of retirees to have a comfortable retirement. The first article was called "Retirement Confidence Hits Rock Bottom".
A new study from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research shows that 6 out of 10 retirees (61%) are at risk of not having enough retirement income to maintain their pre-retirement living standard. Those who choose to use a reverse mortgage to increase their retirement income can reduce their risk to 51%. For many reasons, however, only
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Published on March 30, 2010
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