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Try It NOWCategory: Retirement Planning
July 9, 2018 — We think one of the most interesting questions about retirement is where people decide to retire – and why. In this short poll we list a number of potential reasons why someone might prefer one area to another, and ask you to rank them in order…
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Category: Checklists
July 10, 2018 -- Think of your retirement as if it were a rocket poised for liftoff at Cape Canaveral. You, flight safety, are going through an elaborate countdown, ticking off countless items from exhaustive checklists. Only when everything is lined up properly is permission granted for your retirement launch!
In this piece we'll go through a five year countdown to retirement, an excellent idea developed in a NY Times feature last week by retirement expert Peter Finch. Without first looking at what he proposed, we took our own crack at this countdown idea... and look forward to comparing notes (a link to his article is at bottom).
Five, four, three, two, one - retirement blastoff!
Although we have tried to concentrate each year on one major task, that doesn't mean you should not be thinking about other planning aspects. This is a suggested timetable - you don't have to be rigid about which planning area gets emphasized each year - but these are the important areas to consider. What is important is to tackle all the key planning bases with the remaining time you have before "blastoff". Think where you live now is the best place for you to retire, and don't need to bother? Going through this planning process helps guarantee that as a mindful decision, rather than planning by just letting things happen.
Five years out - Finances rule
Your most important task this year is prepare a financial balance sheet that shows what your expected income will be compared to your retirement expenses. By taking a serious
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Category: Retirement Planning
July 16, 2018 -- Thanks to the more than 750 members who took the time to contribute their valuable insights to last week's "Where You'll Live and Why" poll. We appreciate you sharing! As promised, here is our first detailed report on the summary for each question. Within the next few days we will publish a second article which will feature the fascinating comments the poll generated.
HighlightsYour input confirms many opinions we hold about retirement preferences in general, along with some surprises. For example, it is not much of a stretch to bet that most of you are interested in retiring to a warm weather clime, with the Southeast (Florida) and Southwest at the top of your preferences. We did not expect to see the level of interest there was in a suburban environment.
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
(Updated October 3, 2018 - with an important new development) --July 18, 2018 -- Back in May we reported on our experience of applying online for our Social Security retirement benefits. The plan was to have the application completed and accepted in time to start receiving benefits in August, 2018, the month we turned 70 years old. Here is our report on the final two chapters in that process. (You can read the entire report, including this update, at "Applying Online for Social Security- Our Experience".
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July Update - Not quite there yet!
Since I filed my application in mid May I have been waiting to see what would happen with it. I did receive a letter from SS saying my application had
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Category: Active adult communities
July 23, 2018 -- If you are like a lot of baby boomers your retirement dream might involve buying a home or condo in an active adult community with a golf course. It is easy to see the attraction - stroll over to the first tee anytime, gorgeous views, and when you tire of your own golf game you can enjoy watching others play or have a drink in the clubhouse.
Paradise - or Purgatory
In the shopping phase you look forward to golf whenever you want, getting your handicap down to where you think it belongs. And beside golf, you might have visions of you and your grandchildren riding around in a golf cart, or you and your husband enjoying a peaceful breakfast with a background of passing foursomes. Fortunately for many retirees, this experience comes true. But the actual reality could turn into something like this: loud curses repeated every 20 minutes - 12 hours a day, incoming golf balls that shatter peace and quiet (not to mention windows), or strangers hunting through your property on quests to retrieve their $4 Titleists (or worse, water your bushes with the proceeds of their last Beerweiser). Unfortunately, as
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Category: Retirement Planning
July 25, 2018 -- Note: Last week we reported on the statistical results from our 12 question poll about where members want to retire, and why. (See" When It Comes to Where to Retire, Climate and Weather Rule"). This week we are reprinting a sampling from the hundreds of comments you made to the survey, which reveal a fascinating depth of detail on retirement choices and reasons. We hope you enjoy them as well as find them helpful!
We have arranged the comments into themes where they seemed to fit. The major themes are: Reasons for choosing a retirement area, Particular states/regions chosen and why, and type of community. Each "--" indicates a new comment from a different person. There were
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Category: Adventurous retirement
July 27, 2018 -- There are some folks who decide the best place to retire is -- everywhere! That's right, there are people how so love adventure and travel that they sell everything and go on the road. Some do it for a few years, while others hope to do it as long as they can. While not for everyone, it is guaranteed to be an interesting strategy.
After we saw a recent NY Times article about a couple who have retired to become modern day nomads, we knew we had to share their story. But as we got into it we realized that there are many different ways to retire on the road. You can live on a cruise ship, buy a boat, travel about in a RV or van, or work as a floating
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
July 31, 2018 -- Although "low taxes" was the third most important consideration for finding a place to retire in our recent Topretirements.com survey, we know there are a lot of baby boomers who have set moving to a low tax state as their most important goal. Although for some that might be a valid objective, we are not so sure that for the majority of folks it should carry so much importance. This article will explore 6 reasons why.
It is a sad fact that about half of retirees do not have sufficient financial resources to maintain their current lifestyle once they retire. There is no shortage of reasons for these financial shortfalls, some of which include: not saving enough money, poor investments, divorce or widowhood, having to take care of adult children or parents, medical situations, or losing a job before expected retirement. For these people, maintaining a comfortable lifestyle is going to take some adjustments. That probably means finding a cheaper place to live, and could also mean working longer than they had planned. But, avoiding taxes will be the one issue they generally don't have to worry about.
There is another segment of retirees for whom moving to a low tax state is a possible consideration. These are the lucky people who will have significant retirement income, most likely from a pension. But while no one wants to pay taxes, making that as priority #1 could be a mistake. Here are 6 reasons to rethink
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