Category: Family and Retirement
October 2, 2018 -- Your Editor's children gave him a very thoughtful gift for Fathers Day this year - DNA testing from Ancestry.com. This article will explore why genetic testing might be useful, its pros and cons, a list of the various providers of these services, and some comments from a Facebook post on the topic. We also hope that all of you with experience on the subject will chip in on the Comments section, so we can all learn from one another.
Like most every family, mine is interested in and proud of our ethnic heritage. We know from our parents that we are largely Scotch-Irish, have quite a bit of German/Sudetenland, along with a dash of Native American blood. Our relatives from that line were part of the infamous Trail of Tears into Oklahoma. We looked forward to confirmation of all of that heritage.
The test
Common DNA tests cost about $99, but there are many different levels of plans, along with occasional deals. To give the company your genetic makeup you usually put a tiny amount of your saliva into a small vial, or swab your cheek. Then you
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Published on October 1, 2018
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Category: Downsizing
By Barbara Ross and Bill Carito
October , 2018 --
I recently calculated that my husband and I, either solo or with other family members, have emptied eight houses in the last ten years. Like many people our age, this has included helping elderly parents downsize from big old homes, emptying their second homes, and finally, emptying their downsized homes when they were gone.
The spring/summer of 2017 was the trifecta. We cleaned out my mother-in-law’s chock-a-block full apartment following her death, helped our son and his family move from Connecticut to Virginia, and moved ourselves from Somerville, Massachusetts to our dream retirement home in Portland, Maine.
One task remained
We bought my mother-in-law’s big, beautiful Victorian sea captain’s house on the harbor in Boothbay Harbor, Maine from her in 2004 in a transaction so complex, I took to calling it “Momitrage.” As a part of the whole deal, she moved into a lovely
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Published on October 6, 2018
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 9, 2018 -- This is our 2018 list of the 20 most popular places to retire in the Northeast, the fourth in this year's "Best Places" series. In case you missed them, here are the links to the first three: "The Top 20 Places to Retire in the Southwest", 20 Most Popular Places to Retire in the West (California to Colorado and points north), and the Southeast's very popular top 20.
Resorts and college towns
We weren't too surprised Pittsburgh ended up #1 on this list, Since the Steel City is frequently named as a great place to retire because of its relatively low costs and livability. But we
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Published on October 8, 2018
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Category: Health and Wellness Issues
October 13, 2018 -- Medicare Open Enrollment runs from Oct. 15 - Dec. 7. If you are currently on Medicare, or didn't sign up when you were first eligible for it, now is the time to compare plans and make sure you have the coverage that's right for you in 2019.
Sure you are busy and have many things to think about. But spending a little time and effort every year to make sure you are in the right plan Medicare plan is important. For example, maybe you currently have Medicare Part B along with a supplemental plan. Flash forward to the present. Your health needs might have changed since then, maybe enough so that you aren’t in the right plan anymore. Maybe Medicare Advantage (Part C) makes more sense now because it probably covers additional benefits such as vision, dental,
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Published on October 12, 2018
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
October 14, 2018 -- If you receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, the biggest increase in years is about to come your way. More than 67 million Americans will see an increase of 2.8 percent in 2019. The COLA was 2% in 2018 and .3% in 2016. The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable in January 2019 (which means you will see the increase in your Feb deposit). If your monthly payment is currently $2500, that means a $70/month increase.
Earnings limits also increased
The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum)
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Published on October 13, 2018
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Category: Retirement Real Estate
October 16, 2018 -- Here is a conundrum facing many retiring baby boomers, particularly those from the Northeast. You dream of escaping cold winters and snow, and replacing those annoyances with warm winters, sandy beaches, and being outside in shorts all year round. But, the Eastern and Gulf coasts of the U. S. come along with a big problem - hurricanes! This article will explore the issues associated with retiring to an area prone to hurricanes, a danger that recent history has shown to be a growing and very serious threat.
To tackle the issue we’ll break it up into three parts: what to
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Published on October 15, 2018
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
October 22, 2018 — Medicare costs for 2019 have been announced, and fortunately, the increases are small. The standard Part B premium amount is $135.50 (or higher depending on your income), vs. $134 in 2018. Part B deductible and coinsurance will be $185 per year, vs. $183. The Part A…
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Published on October 21, 2018
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 23, 2018 -- For the longest time we have wanted to explore the western Carolinas and northern Georgia to get a better picture of this popular region for retirement. So for this year's southern migration my wife and I decided to take the western route, starting out on Interstate 81. What a great trip it was. We will report on the towns we visited in western North Carolina (plus a list of the ones we didn't to see). In a second installment we will continue with those we visited in northwestern Georgia. Don't forget to see links to our other site visit articles in the "Further Reading" section at bottom.
Even if you are not considering retiring to this area you might find this travelogue a source of good ideas. You could use it for either a short vacation, or as a diversion if you are a snowbird hurtling to and from your summer and winter haunts.
The Planning Begins
We started planning the trip by going through the Topretirements State Directories, looking for towns in the western parts of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Our goal was to find towns that we
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Published on October 22, 2018
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
October 30, 2018 -- Last week we reported on the retirement towns we visited in Western North Carolina. This second installment continues the trip down into northwestern Georgia. Don't forget to see links to our other road trip articles in the "Further Reading" section at bottom.
The Planning Begins
We planned the trip by going through the Topretirements State Directories, looking for potential retirement towns to explore in the western parts of Georgia.
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Published on October 29, 2018
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Category: Retirement Planning
October 31, 2018 -- A provocative question we hear from time to time is, "Where do you think you'll be, and what will you be doing, when you turn 80 and move toward 90?" Forward thinking helps insure that you arrive at the place that you want to be, ready for the challenges that might be there.
The purpose of this short article is to solicit brief answers from our Topretirements community on this question - how will your lifestyle differ from what it is now in your 60s or 70s? Please refrain from saying you will probably be dead - half of us will live into our 80s - and we need to understand what we should be
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Published on October 30, 2018
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