Category: Retirement Planning
May 29, 2024 - The decade leading up to retirement is crucial for laying the groundwork for a secure and fulfilling retirement. The steps you take in this phase are more important and more complex than you might realize, so spending time and effort now will have have a big payoff in the future.
1. Decide When to Quit Work
Pick a Date: Not everyone has the luxury of deciding when to retire - their employer or health does it for them. That's why it is important to be ready ahead of time. If you are going to retire, or partially retire, plan ahead and set a target that works with your spouse and other criteria. You can always change it, but at least you have an idea to work toward.
2. Financial Planning and Budgeting
Evaluate Retirement Savings: Assess your retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, and other investments. Determine if your savings align with your retirement goals and adjust contributions if necessary. Which accounts will you tap for your living expenses, and in what order?
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Published on May 28, 2024
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Category: Social Security
May 23, 2024 -- Thanks to all for taking last week's poll on your Social Security income. There was a good response with over 200 folks answering the question. The results were not unexpected for the Topretirements community, which is probably doing better than the general population. About two-thirds are comfortable enough to get less than 50% of our income from Social Security. An unlucky 11% derive close to 100% of what they have to spend from Social Security, and 19% rely on it to get more than half of their income (see chart below).
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Published on May 22, 2024
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Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
May 21, 2024 - When we ask people what they want in a place to retire, living near the beach is often their #1 desire. They like the idea of being close enough to the beach so they can walk, bike, or take a short drive to relax in the sun and enjoy the relaxing sound of the surf. That might mean a beach on the ocean, a bay, or even a big lake - any of those could fit the bill. Here are 10 great beach towns to consider for retirement. We welcome your suggestions for more.
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Published on May 20, 2024
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
May 15, 2024 -- Many people are eager to quit their jobs and enter the ranks of retired. Spending their days golfing, relaxing, fishing, socializing, etc. But for more people than you think, retirement doesn't stick. Florida NPR has a great podcast that explains how and why some Florida retirees ended up re-entering the workplace, for a variety of reasons. It is definitely worth a 20 minute listen, particularly because it has interviews with real people explaining the circumstances why they went back to work, and the types of jobs they found.
Fastest growing group of workers in Florida - folks over 65!
It doesn't seem to make sense that so many workers in their 60's and 70's are going back to work. In fact it is not unusual to find people over 80 who are working. There are many reasons why. For one, the realities of the world can wreck even the best of dreams. Insurance costs have exploded in many areas of Florida, particularly on the coast. Home Owner Association fees are growing faster than the rate of inflation, usually because of insurance, but also because of higher than expected maintenance costs and other community expenses. Rents and ground leases go up steadily. Cars wear out and need repairs. The cost of everything is going up, particularly since Covid's disruptions started 4 years ago. The result is that many retirees are finding their income is not coming up to what it takes stay afloat. So in most cases, their only recourse is finding a job.
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Published on May 14, 2024
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Category: Social Security
May 12, 2024 — We just saw a forecast that said the Social Security COLA adjustment for 2025 might be 2.6%, slightly below what as it was in 2024 – 3.2%. The forecast also said that the 2024 adjustment was worth about $58 per month for the average enrollee, whereas…
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Published on May 12, 2024
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Category: Medicare
May 8, 2024 -- There is some rare good news for both Social Security and Medicare - their trust funds will run out of money later rather than sooner. The date when the Medicare funds will be exhausted has been pushed out 5 years, to 2036. Social Security got a 1 year reprieve, and its trust fund will now run out of money in 2035. The news comes from the just published annual reports of the funds' Trustees.
The main reason cited for the improvement in the Trust funds is an improved economy and labor market. More people are working and contributing taxes into the programs. Medicare has also made some technical improvements that have reduced expected expenses.
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Published on May 7, 2024
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Category: Uncategorized
May 2, 2024 – There’s a much cleaner look at Topretirements – there are no more Google ads on our pages. Since the site started in 2007 we have relied on the ads from the search engine giant for the bulk of the revenue that allowed us to produce this…
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Published on May 2, 2024
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Category: International Retirement
May 2, 2024 -- Unintended consequences - they come with the best of ideas. Spain's Golden Visa program, where foreigners could get extended resident visas for purchasing real estate worth at least 500,000 Euros, is now ending. Over 14,000 people from non-European countries had taken advantage of the program. Spain joins Portugal in shutting down the real estate portion of its Golden Visa programs (Portugal modified its last fall). Greece is modifying what it offers, increasing the investment to 800,000 Euros from 500,000 in Athens and on popular islands like Mykonos.
The unintended consequences are similar to what is happening to real estate all over the world. Many buyers from China and Russia and other countries took advantage to launder some of their money, evade taxes, invest a hot real estate market, and gain long term residency in an attractive country. The result was to drive up property prices in the most desirable cities and areas, making them unaffordable for residents of the host countries. Affordable housing became harder to get, and governments realized that the advantage of attracting capital was not worth the harm to its own citizens. The residency programs were unpopular among the Portuguese population.
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Published on May 1, 2024
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Category: Health and Wellness Issues
April 25, 2024 — We expected that walking would be your favorite physical activity – but not by the margin this margin. Almost half (47%) of people taking our poll chose walking for how they like to stay active. After that it was a toss-up, with swimming, pickleball, biking, and…
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Published on April 24, 2024
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Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 20, 2024 -- The Dow Jones average is up over 10% in the past year, and the S & P 500 could hit its all time high of 40,000. If you have investments in the stock market that has probably been sweet music for you. But you might be wondering what will happen next - will the market continue to go up, sink like a stone, or just stay the same? Should you buy, sell, or just hold on to what you have? Here are some thoughts for retirees or those approaching retirement.
Safety is important. First, recognize that your investment decisions now have a different weight than they were when you were younger. You now have fewer years to recover, should something go wrong. So protecting your retirement funds should be your first priority. That means rash decisions - like selling everything or going all in - should be avoided at all costs.
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Published on April 19, 2024
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