Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
Note: Be sure to take our new "What is Your Social Security IQ Quiz". It will give you a score and detailed explanations to make you a Social Security expert (our best advice, read this article first!).
November 4, 2013 - Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 63 million Americans will increase 1.5 percent in 2014, the Social Security Administration announced last week. The COLA announcement was delayed because of the government shutdown.
The 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will affect the benefits that more than 57 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2014. Last year the increase was 1.7%, although the average since the '70's has been 4%. In 2013 the average SS benefit per was $2,048 per retired couple.
Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on
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Published on November 5, 2013
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
November 5, 2013 -- Note: See the 2018 counterpoint to this article: "Five Reasons Why You Might Not Like a Small Town Retirement". Moving to a small town for retirement is a frequent dream for many baby boomers. After battling urban traffic and/or the hassles of suburban living during your working days, the thought of living in a Norman Rockwell-like community might seem like a relaxing alternative. In this article we will give you 5 good reasons why a small town retirement is a good idea, with an example for each. And for good measure we've included 5 more picks for great small towns at the end of this article. Obviously there are a lot more, so please
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Published on November 5, 2013
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
November 10, 2013 — Several members have requested a new thread be started on the subject of low income retirement. So we will start it for you with the original request (below): Note to group – if you want to start a new discussion thread the best way to do…
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Published on November 10, 2013
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Category: Retirement Planning
November 12, 2013. -- Let's assume you have been doing all the things the experts suggest as you go through the process of finding your best place to retire. You have listed your priorities, discussed them with spouse and/or family, and paid visits to the more likely suspects. But before you make that down payment on your retirement home, here are 7 more questions we think you would be well advised to answer. Hopefully this list will make you think of a few more, all the better to help you realize the wonderful retirement you have worked so hard to get.
7 Questions to Ask
These questions are meant more as a stimulus for conversation than a yes or no. By discussing them with someone else, you might gain
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Published on November 12, 2013
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Nov. 18, 2013 -- Everybody nearing retirement should have their own criteria for choosing a place to retire. For many, it's warm weather. Plenty of others want to be close to family, culture, or a favorite kind of recreation. Taxes on retirement income and distributions are often a key consideration. But for the millions of baby boomers whose meager savings are paired with tiny 401(k)s and social security benefits, finding an affordable place to live is consideration #1. This article provides a list of the most affordable places to retire in the USA, sliced
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Published on November 18, 2013
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Category: International Retirement
November 19, 2013 -- Note: Since this article was written we have added more country guides to the original 10, and will continue to add them here.
There is an intrepid group of people out there whose dream for retirement involves moving far away to an exotic location in a foreign country. For citizens of the US and Canada, that often means retiring to Mexico, Costa Rica, Central America, or a country in South America. Retirees in Europe and the UK tend to favor southern Europe or even Southeast Asia. Such retirements bring with them a number of challenges, along with advantages. Today we are pleased to announce new mini-guides to international retirement in 10 countries. We plan to add more
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Published on November 19, 2013
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
November 25, 2013 -- Over the past week we saw numerous reports reminding us of yet another way that our hard-earned retirements can run onto financial shoals. This time the culprit is one that most of us don't think that much about - medical expenses. We will explain more about the problem here, along with some ideas on how to prepare your retirement against bankrupting medical expenses.
Fidelity, the mutual fund company, estimates that a couple in average health will spend over $220,000 during their retirement for medical
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Published on November 25, 2013
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