Category: Active adult communities
August 20, 2018 -- It wasn't like Mary Walsh and Beverly Nance hadn't done their homework. They had visited Friendship Village Sunset Hills, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in St. Louis, MO many times. They had dinner with friends who lived there. They especially liked the continuum of care offered by a CCRC, and the ability to age in place no matter what the future might bring. The people they met seemed friendly and they both felt comfortable; this was the ideal place for their retirement. Soon they had negotiated a deal on a $235,000 two bedroom apartment, and put down a small deposit.
Then the trouble started. Management of this faith-based, non-denominational
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Published on August 19, 2018
Comments 4
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 14, 2018 – Although a lot of Americans contemplating retirement might not know their best town for retirement, they probably do have a pretty good idea of the region where that place might be. So this year our 2018 list of America's best places to retire will take a different tack - we will provide a list of the 20 towns in each of the 5 major U.S. regions that attract the most attention from our Members and visitors. This is the first installment, focusing on the American Southwest, a very popular place to retire, particularly among folks who live close to or west of the Mississippi. The second installment lists the 20 Most Popular Places to Retire in the West (California to Colorado and points north).
The 20 most popular towns in the Southwest are almost all recognizable. Three of them: Green Valley, Prescott, and Flagstaff - all of them in Arizona - are among the top 10 towns on our U.S. list. And Green Valley, a sprawling area south of Tucson near the border with Mexico, is the #1 most population retirement destination at Topretirements, both in the Southwest and the U.S. Green Valley covers a vast area with all kinds of communities and developments - in fact it has 59 different homeowner associations. Retirees like its relatively low cost of living, warm winter climate, the nearby Santa Rita Mountains, and the extensive non-profit Green Valley recreation complex.
Mountains near Green Valley
In gaining the #1 spot on our list, Green Valley was viewed over 10,000 times
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Published on August 13, 2018
Comments 10
Category: Retirement Real Estate
August 11, 2018 -- For most of human history the most common housing model was for multi-generations to live under the same roof. In a typical scenario a widowed grandfather or grandmother would be living in a home with one of their married children, along with the children of that union. The generations chipped in to support the others - whether it was cooking, childcare, or financial - and typically enjoyed the benefit of living close together. The phenomenon became much less common in the 20th century. The advent of Social Security and financial independence of the elderly was probably one reason, and as nursing homes and assisted living became more common,
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Published on August 11, 2018
Comments 5
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
August 7, 2018 -- Since 1991 older Americans have experienced a three-fold increase in the rate they file for bankruptcy. From February 2013 to November 2016, there were 3.6 bankruptcy filers per 1,000 people 65 to 74; that rate was only 1.2 in 1991. Today one in seven bankruptcy filers is of retirement age, 65 years or over.
Causes
The problem is that there are so many causes, and many times it is a combination of problems that sinks the ship. Leading the list of causes is increased spending on medical care. As we age it gets worse: while folks 65-74 spend 34% of their Social Security income on medical expenses alone, that rate goes to 74% among
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Published on August 6, 2018
Comments 11
Category: Downsizing
August 6, 2018 -- In addition to death and taxes, you can add one more to the list of things you can't avoid. Whether you call it decluttering, ridding out, or downsizing - the job has to be done, sooner or later. Sooner.... if you plan on moving to a different home in retirement. Later... even if you die without emptying out your basement, attic, garage, overflowing closets, and countless drawers - your children or heirs are going to have the thankless task of getting rid of everything you managed to hoard all these years. And the job is even harder if you plan on moving to a tiny home, boat, or RV.
Last year we surveyed our Members to find out how they are doing at downsizing. The answer is
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Published on August 5, 2018
Comments 15
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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Published on July 30, 2018
Comments 46
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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Published on July 26, 2018
Comments 10
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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Published on July 24, 2018
Comments 7
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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Published on July 22, 2018
Comments 16
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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Published on July 17, 2018
Comments 7
