The SECURE Act — formally known as the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” Act — is designed to help people better use retirement savings and save more. However, it also has some big tax implications related to leaving behind an estate. It is important that you are aware of these changes and you…
Retirement News, Information and Guidance
If you want to have a good retirement, you need to figure out what that means to you. Do some life planning for retirement, set goals and use these retirement tips to create a plan that allows you to achieve exactly what you want. What do most of us want? It is usually pretty simple,…
Episode 34 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Scott Rieckens — two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker and F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early) enthusiast. Steve and Scott discuss Riecken’s new documentary: Playing with FIRE. Scott and his family have made huge changes in their lives in order to get on track for FIRE. This is their…
What you do in retirement can sometimes be surprising. What follows are some important, wild or wacky recent retirement stories meant to inform and inspire you. Purpose Can Be Found in Odd (Though Heartwarming) Endeavors In 2016, at over the age of 100, Alfred Date was Australia’s oldest living man. He found his purpose in…
Tax deferred? Tax free? Tax advantaged? It might sometimes feel a bit taxing to think about the tax implications of a Roth conversion. However, it is probably worth your brain power because a Roth conversion can be tremendously beneficial in the right circumstances. What is a Roth Account? A Roth account is a type of…
The maximum reverse mortgage lending limit is increasing for 2020, allowing retirees with substantial home equity to get more money than was available in previous years. Reverse mortgage lending limits raised to an all time high. A reverse mortgage enables homeowners age 62 and older to access their home equity in the form of a…
Insurance can be a fantastic way to protect your assets from big unforeseen costs. Long term care insurance can, in theory, be a cost effective way to cover a long term care need. However, it can also be expensive and not best for everyone. So, let us explore: How much does long term care insurance…
Below are key end of year tax strategies to help you keep more money. YEAR END TAX ADVICE #1: Don’t Overlook Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)! This is perhaps the easiest piece of year end tax advice for retirees: Don’t forget to take your RMDs! However, in 2018, Fidelity Investments reported that the majority — 61%…
Feeling frazzled by holiday fanfare? Do you also have nagging worries about your retirement plans? One of the best ways to control stress of any kind is to make a list and check it twice. And we have done that for you. Here is a handy yearly retirement checklist — 15 things you should do…
Here is the most recent round up of retirement related stories from around the internet: the latest wild, wacky, profound, exciting or heartwarming news about retirement and aging. In 10 Years Will Your Home Be Worth What It Is Now? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that by 2037, one quarter of…
There are so many great retirement gift ideas. Browse this list for meaningful, funny and thoughtful retirement gifts. Retirement is a Big Deal… So, Find the Best Retirement Gift Of all the life transitions that merit gifts — graduation, marriage and the birth of a baby — retirement might be the most significant change and…
The holidays are upon us. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and the all of the other seasonal celebrations mean family gatherings. While the focus should be on love, catching up, food and celebrating, holidays may be the only time to have face to face time with your children, parents or siblings. And, it may be a…
Episode 33 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Rob Berger — author of Retire Before Mom and Dad: The Simple Numbers Behind A Lifetime of Financial Freedom — and discusses key aspects of retirement finance, especially fee ratios and financial literacy. Rob Berger is a lawyer by trade and personal finance expert who…
William Sharpe is a Nobel Prize winning economist and the professor of finance, emeritus, at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. His Nobel was awarded for developing the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). He is also well known for the Sharpe Ratio, a number designed to summarize the desirability of an overall investment strategy. However,…
We are starting a running list of retirement related stories from around the internet: the latest, wild, wacky, profound, exciting or heartwarming news about retirement and aging. Do you have a retirement story you think belongs here? Email us! Aging is… Optional? David Sinclair is a Harvard professor who made Time Magazine’s list of of…
This piece comes from Scott Allen who is now five years into enjoying his retirement and pursuing more active work and service opportunities. My retirement did not go according to plan.“Involuntarily separated from the organization” was the official, legal term for my then, current, employment situation. “Smoked, like a Hormel canned ham” was how my…
We just rolled out several significant retirement planner updates and recommend that you review your plan to see how the improved modeling impacts your forecast. Explore potential opportunities before year end. The improvements described below will allow you to explore ways to potentially save money on Federal & State taxes through strategies like Roth…
You want to have a better retirement. But how do you get there? You could spend hours researching the latest science behind happiness, personal finance and investment theory, and health research. Or you can take a few minutes to watch the best TED Talks related to retirement. With their engaging speakers and easy-to-digest format, even…
Your money personality type can impact your retirement security. However, knowing your money personality type can help you avoid pitfalls and use your strengths to your advantage as you approach retirement. What is a Money Personality Type? How Do You Get It? Your money personality type is comprised of your attitudes and habits around money….
You might be surprised by some of the best places to retire in the world. A growing number of American retirees are moving to extremely far flung locations. They find that retiring overseas can be more affordable and more fun than staying in the U.S. When evaluating life in another country, you’ll want to consider…
Do you want to know how to retire early? How about how to retire early at 55? How to retire early at 60? What about how to retire early at 45 or earlier? It IS possible. Don’t believe me? Get advice from three guys who really know: 1. Chris Mamula writes for Can I Retire Yet….
To say that Social Security and Medicare are important to the financial well being of seniors would be an understatement. Sixty two percent of eligible beneficiaries rely on Social Security income for more than half of their income. And, almost everyone who is eligible uses Medicare to help fund their healthcare after 65. So, any…
Can you retire without consulting a financial advisor or some kind of retirement professional? Of course. The question is, do you have good resources for reliable retirement information? More importantly, can you retire AND have a secure future without talking with a retirement professional? The answer to this question might be a little more complicated….
Episode 32 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with former guests Karsten Jeske, Chris Mamula, and Fritz Gilbert — F.I.R.E. experts — and discusses insights and epiphanies from the first year after retiring early. This is the first time The NewRetirement Podcast has had a reunion episode, and as such, listeners are advised to…
Americans have changed a lot over the last 100 years – we live longer and have more active lives and our society and financial structures have evolved (and, in some cases perhaps, devolved). However, many of our ideas about retirement and retirement planning come from previous generations. These ideas are ill-suited to today’s realities. So,…
Signing up to start Social Security is simple. However, finding the right Social Security strategy for you can be complicated but VERY worthwhile. Here are 15 tips for making the best Social Security decision: Social Security Strategies For Almost Everyone 1. Delay the Start of Benefits for As Long As Possible This Social Security strategy…
Aging well is key to your quality of life in retirement. Here are 8 new health tips for seniors. We think you will find this health news really useful or interesting. Walk Away from Dementia, Literally Many recent studies have found that exercise — even just simply walking — is the best way to avoid…
According to surveys of NewRetirement users, travel after retirement is clearly the most popular and desired pursuit for this phase of life. From day trips by car to round the world journeys, retirees have wanderlust! What are your retirement travel plans? A full 75% of users of NewRetirement’s award winning Retirement Planner mention travel as…
Episode 31 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Joe Casey — founder of Retirement Wisdom. We discuss shaping your life after retirement, and what reflection needs to be put in to be successful. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future episodes: subscribe on iTunes subscribe on Stitcher And, join our private Facebook Group…
Retirement can be hard. Sure, some people slide right into it with no problem at all. Others are bored at best and depressed at worst. It is not the financial pressure that is usually the problem. Issues usually come from the fact that work often provides the emotional, mental and social stimuli that you need…
The growing population of older Americans, and a lower propensity for retiring early, seems to create a bit of a problem for some employers. Although discrimination against older workers is fully against the law under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Workplace age discrimination affects the best and brightest…
Tis the season… No, it is not quite time to decide whether you’ll say Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Bah Humbug or none of the above. It does, however, involve shopping! The 2020 Medicare Open Enrollment season is upon us and will last from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. Now is the time to assess your…
You might be surprised by how many people are interested in learning about reverse mortgages. There are borrowers from every state, from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and the ages of borrowers range anywhere from 62 to 95 and older and everything in between. One thing everyone struggles with is when is the best…
A new study from the Boston College Center for Retirement Research has found that husbands ignore (maybe overlook or under think) their wife’s retirement income needs when making decisions about when to start Social Security benefits. Widows (and widowers) are entitled to switch to Social Security Survivor benefits and receive their spouse’s full benefit amount…
You might be nervous about your future but research suggests that you should run — not walk — toward retirement. Get ready to retire because the best times of your life await you. Most People Find that Retirement is the Happiest Period of Life Research from Age Wave and Merrill Lynch found that, of all…
Are you leaving money on the table when you retire? The answer is likely a resounding YES! (Whether you realize it or not.) You want and need every penny you can muster to fund a secure future. So,, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity to increase your assets and make smart use…
Episode 30 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Doug Nordman — author and founder of The Military Guide — and discusses what life is like being financially independent and how Doug got there by being smart on military retirement benefits. Listen Now: Don’t miss out on future episodes: subscribe on iTunes subscribe on…
Retirement depression — feeling sad or lacking energy and focus after retiring — is surprisingly common. A study published in the Journal of Population Ageing found that those who were retired were about twice as likely to report feeling symptoms of depression than those who were still working. And, research from the London-based Institute of…
Most of us have done some kind of retirement planning activities. In fact, according to a recent study from Vanguard, only 1 out of 10 pre and recent retirees have not done any planning at all. However, not everyone is tackling the same retirement planning tasks and only a few of us are creating a…
Most of us could benefit from cutting retirement costs. Now is the time to really know what you are spending and assess your budget. When living on a fixed income in retirement, it is very important to make sure that your income does not exceed expenses. Living more frugally can be done no matter your…
You’ve probably heard a lot of advice about how to save more money for retirement. Everyone tells you that you really need to do it. And if you’re like a lot of people, you probably think that it’s a great idea — you are just not exactly sure where to find the cash. Learn how…
Gray divorce — divorce after 50 — can really cramp your retirement lifestyle. When you say ‘I do,’ your personal finances may not be the first thing on your mind. But the truth is, couples who get married and stay married have benefits that single people simply don’t, such as being able to split up…
Dementia. Stroke. Alzheimer’s disease. The prevalence of these health events is a big reason why you need to make planning for long term care an important part of your retirement plans. Will you need to give care? Will you need care? What is Long Term Care? Older Americans continue to be in the dark when it…
Episode 29 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Brian Bollinger, an entrepreneur and founder of Simply Safe Dividends — a company dedicated to dividend investing and generating passive income. Brian is a former equity research analyst and registered CPA who quit his investment job to start his own company at 26. Listen Now:…
Your retirement budget determines how much you will really need to have saved for a secure retirement. It is very important to get this right. While accurately estimating your expenses for the rest of your life is a daunting prospect, the right tools and advice can make it easy. Your retirement budget will evolve… Detailed…
I think we can all agree. We desperately need another word for retirement. Retirement is a word that we use to roughly define a period of life after work. But this word is imprecise at best and — at worst — really flat out wrong about this phase of life. I mean, some of us…
Whether it is a credit card, car loan or the holy grail of all debts — your mortgage, paying off debt and eliminating monthly payments is a really big deal. When you pay off a debt, it is a huge opportunity to rethink your financial situation. Your cashflow will have suddenly improved. What are you…
Believe me, you are not alone if you have nervously asked yourself, your spouse or even a financial advisor: “will my retirement savings last as long as I do?” Concerns about running out of money in retirement are almost universal — no matter how much money you have. After all, there are many unknowable variables…
From improving cashflow to curing loneliness or installing a whirlpool bathtub, there are unlimited ways that people can use a reverse mortgage to improve their lives in retirement. A reverse mortgage allows individuals age 62 and older to convert a portion of their home equity into tax-free loan proceeds. This money can be used for…
Early retirement is something most of us dream about. But it is usually just that — a dream. However, have you considered a sabbatical? A sabbatical can be a meaningful and highly satisfying way to to get an early, albeit temporary, retirement. Sabbatical or Burnout? Sabbatical Meaning What Exactly? Sabbaticals, mini retirements and gap years…
