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Try It NOWCategory: Health and Wellness Issues
Jan. 1, 2024 — Average life expectancy in the U.S. declined after the pandemic ravaged the country in 2020, dropping to 77.5. But 5 years later, it has risen slightly above that figure , although still below the pre-pandemic rate of 78.8. Men’s expectancy is almost 6 years lower than…
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Dec. 29, 2024 -- One of our most fun things to do every year is to look back and see which of our Blog articles attracted the most reader interest. Of the 86 we published, which ones were read the most, and what were the articles that generated the most Comments? The results are a pretty good indication of what our Members are interested in. Here is a list of some of the top performers, all of which were tightly clustered together. Many more were ranked just below them.
Looking at it by category, almost all of the winning Blog posts had to do with Best Places and Where to Retire (9 of the 13 listed here), with Medicare and Social Security making most of the other top ones. Note: When the article was published could make a difference: those with more recent pub dates had to do very well to rank high for the year. Number of Comments made in ( ).
Lake Chelan courtesy of Wikipedia and David Ansley CC 2.5
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Category: Social Security
Dec. 21, 2024 — In what will probably be one of the last acts of the current Congress, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan measure that will provide full Social Security benefits to public sector workers. Approximately 2.8 million public pension recipients will now receive benefits at the same rate…
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Category: Social Security
December 18, 2024 -- The subject of when to take Social Security is one of the most hotly debated retirement topics. Although the system was designed for both decisions to be equal, there are plenty of proponents for each approach.
Case Study - High Earners
Let's explore the following case. Two people aged 76 made the maximum contribution to Social Security during their 35 year working careers. One files for benefits at the first opportunity (62), the other waits to get the max benefit at age 70 We wanted to find out who comes out ahead, and when. So we asked AI to do the calculations for us. The results came back instantly, and judging from the sources they used, they look accurate. Here is what we found:
Total Benefits Received
The person who claimed at 62 started receiving benefits 14 years ago, while the other began 6 years ago:
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Category: Social Security
December 12, 2024 -- The results are in from last week's instant poll, and they have a practical bent. The question to be voted on was, "What do you think will happen when the Social Security Trust Fund Runs Out of Money in 2033?". We received over 150 votes, which gives us a good sample of what our Members are thinking (thanks to all who voted)!
The winning option was definitely pragmatic - 28% voted for "Payroll taxes increased and/or change to maximum earnings ceiling." This is certainly a practical solution, one that we at Topretirements definitely agree with.
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
December 12, 2024 — What is the best town to retire to? That is the most frequent question we receive at Topretirements. Of course, our standard answer is that it is a very personal question—it depends on what you are looking for. Do you want to live in the mountains, on the beach, by a lake, in a small town, or a big city? Plus, what do you want to do in your spare time? Will your chosen town be a good fit for those activities? Not to mention factors like climate, medical care, cost of living, taxes, crime, and more. Any list other than the one you create yourself is not going to do the job.
You can see where this is going: answering the question of the best place to retire is not easy. However, some places consistently come up as favorites that fit the description. Here are a few that are frequently mentioned. If they match the criteria you set out in the first paragraph, they might be worth considering. Note that most of these towns are especially suited to outdoor recreation.
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Category: Social Security
November 31, 2024 — We would love to get your vote on what will happen on this issue. The Social Security Retirement Trust Funds are expected to run out in 2033. When that happens it is estimated that only about 79% of benefits can be paid. Congress has been dithering…
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Category: Work and Volunteering
This article is courtesy of my brother-in-law Doug. He has some great points to share about his adventures as a voluntee.
November 28, 2024 - I retired from the Marine Corps in 2005, and then fully retired from Defense industry related jobs in 2020, after a 43 year career. I stayed quite busy for a couple years after my retirement, planning and building a house for my kids and grandkids. Even after that I was staying plenty busy with family, hobbies, sports and the like.
I knew that in my late 60’s and 70’s I would have the time, energy and desire to do some volunteer work; the question was what. I want to have a direct, personal impact on people or things that I care about, and I hoped to find opportunities that I was well qualified, or even uniquely qualified to do.
Finding My Volunteer Mission - Paralyzed by So Many Choices
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
November 19, 2024 -- A number of people are in the fortunate position of having multiple accounts tohat could fund their retirements. They might have IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Roths, and/or non-retirement savings and investments. But which one(s) should they tap first when they need money for retirement. Note: We are in no way an investment or financial experts, we are just laying out the issues and providinginformation for you to consider in your planning.
Complications affecting which account to withdraw from first
Before you even get to withdrawal strategies, there are other financial considerations that might apply to your decision. Among others, those include: when to apply for Social Security benefits, Roth conversions, and the state of your finances. In general we believe that in most cases it pays to wait until age 70 to start collecting Social Security, assuming you have enough to live on until then, and you and your spouse have an average life expectancy. But we could write a whole article on whether it is better to delay when you take Social Security by using your savings and investments, or let that money ride, and collect early.
Roth conversions, which allow you to tap retirement money tax free, are another complex subject, but often a worthwhile idea for people with big balances in their regular IRA and 401(k) accounts. These conversions need to thought through carefully, as you will pay taxes on any converted funds as they go in (but if you have low income or big losses you might be able to offset that).
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Category: Social Security
Update late December, 2024. This bill was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law in early Jan. by President Joe Biden. See “Congress Passes End to WEP“. Bipartisan legislation that would repeal two provisions of Social Security easily passed in the House of Representatives. Current SS…
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