When it comes to your retirement planning, saving, investing and plotting how to spend your free time are at the top of the list. How much you will have to pay in taxes after retirement may be the last thing on your mind. But not taking the time to look at how retirement taxes will…
Retirement News, Information and Guidance
Looking for a great place to retire? Or, wondering if the state where you live is too expensive? Property values, cost of living and lifestyle issues are all important considerations when figuring out where to live. However, don’t forget to think about state taxes. Some states are more tax friendly for retirement than others. Explore…
Could a retirement bucket strategy make it easier to manage savings after you retire? If you think that managing retirement investments is difficult when you are working, we have some bad news: it gets much harder when you actually retire. Once retired, your investments need to not only grow but also fund your lifestyle, keep…
An economic indicator is information that can suggest what is going on in the economy — is the economy healthy, growing or headed for trouble? Sounds useful, right? Well… maybe… Let’s explore the pros and cons of following economic indicators. Be Aware: The Upsides of Knowing About and Following Economic Indicators Being aware of what is happening…
Most of us are pretty stressed by the need to give our savings a big boost as we approach retirement. Guess what? There is actually a relatively little known retirement savings strategy that can really help: Catch up contributions. Catch up contributions are the IRS’s way of making it easier for savers age 50 and…
Estate taxes can take a big bite out of what you leave for heirs — but unless you will be leaving more than $11 million, it is only a major factor in certain states. Currently, the federal estate tax applies only to estates valued at more than $11 million (twice that for married couples). However,…
If you’re one of the thousands of Americans approaching retirement, one of your top concerns is probably when to retire. But an accompanying question is where to retire. Realtor.com crunched the numbers and identified the fastest growing retirement destinations. The fastest growing retirement destinations might not be the best place to retire or the best…
A Health Savings Account or HSA is a medical savings account that is attached to a high deductible health insurance plan. It can be a savvy way to save money by reducing your overall medical spending. It can also have compelling retirement savings benefits.Money can be deferred into an HSA account on a pre-tax basis…
Read on to find out “How do you qualify for a reverse mortgage?” Qualifying for a Reverse Mortgage is relatively straightforward. The requirements are clearly specified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Reverse Mortgages are an increasingly popular loan type for older adults. The loan enables the borrower to eliminate monthly mortgage…
Episode 24 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Jonathan Mendonsa where we cover the past, present, and future of the Financial Independence & FIRE movement. We discuss Jonathan’s personal journey to FIRE and some of the big lessons he has learned on his own and with the rapidly growing ChooseFI community. He joined…
Is the Queen right? Is it time to Keep Calm…. and Retire On? Well, considering that the Queen is 92 years old and still working, it is probably not her motto. But, maybe it should be yours! Many of us are terrified of jumping into retirement. We read about the retirement crisis and worry about…
As more and more baby boomers head into retirement, there is a growing conversation about how to generate adequate retirement income from retirement assets. Even with some good economic news, many of us are going to come up short. Retirement income doesn’t grow on trees… But you can make it grow! According to the most…
Movies – like all art forms – can be a great way to explore important themes in your life. Here is our list of movies related to retirement and aging. While you should probably do more to prepare for retirement than watching movies — use a retirement calculator or consult a financial advisor for example…
Most of us are going to need some extra support as we age. Cooking, cleaning, running errands and more are called “activities of daily living” and it can be nice to get help with these tasks as you age. Is retiring to a Holiday Inn the answer? Living independently can be extremely difficult as we…
Your house is your: Home. Heart. Hopes. Dreams. Legacy. Wealth. Future. So, the decision to get a reverse mortgage is not something to take lightly. They can sound almost too good to be true but getting a reverse mortgage is a huge financial decision. So, how do you know if a reverse mortgage is right…
Annuities can be a tricky purchase. You need to compare annuity plans to find the right option for you. But, there are many different products – fixed annuities, variable annuities, tax-deferred annuities, guaranteed annuities, inherited annuities, equity indexed annuities and more. How do you even begin to go about comparing annuities? Estimate how much income…
One of the most frequent questions from pension recipients is: “Our employer gives us a choice of either a pension or a lump sum when we retire. Which is better?” You will have to get out a pencil and hand calculator to find the better choice, and it’s dependent on a lot of factors. Here…
Let’s get real about investing in real estate for retirement. Investing of any kind can be complicated at any point in your life. However, investing in or near retirement can be especially arduous. At retirement you need your assets to be relatively free of risk while keeping pace with inflation. In many cases, you need your…
If you own a home, it was likely one of the smartest lifelong financial moves you have ever made. In addition to providing a safe haven for living your life, it is also a forced savings account and a hard asset that can appreciate over time. However, did you know that it is also a…
Retirement is one of the biggest things you will ever do. And, how to retire well is the big question. If you want to know how to retire, here are 19 important things you should do just before and after you retire for a happy and secure future: 1. Create, Maintain and Evolve Your Retirement…
Episode 23 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Michela Abrams, the former CEO of Dwell Magazine. They discuss dealing with sudden life changes, planning for the unexpected, design and re-invention. Michela lives here in Mill Valley California and joined us live in studio. We cover her evolution as a silicon valley executive to…
Many people are concerned about the costs associated with a Reverse Mortgage, as well as the impact interest rates have on both how much can be borrowed now and the future balance owed. However, if you want or need equity from your home, are not willing to relocate to a smaller home, don’t want to…
The decision to relocate in retirement is huge — especially since you literally have a world of options. You can retire anywhere and into a wide variety of housing types. Live and travel in an RV. Buy a big beach side home. Relocate abroad to financial or lifestyle reasons. Downsize to a small apartment. Buy…
A manifesto is a declaration of an individual or group’s intentions and motivations. Most big life events involve some kind of manifesto — whether you call it that or not. Contracts, wedding vows, employment agreements are all declarations of your intent. Retirement is actually an ideal time to write a manifesto. Retirement is your time…
So, what type of empty nest parent are you? Are you: Super proud that they are setting out on their own? Still supporting them financially? Relieved and happy to have more time on your own? Sad and lonely that your children have flown the coop? Guessing that they’ll be back shortly? Shrewdly calculating how much…
Retirement is a big deal and a huge life change. You have a whole new lifestyle and need a very different way of thinking about your money. In fact, your financial mindset needs to get flipped upside down. You need to go from a focus on accumulation (saving, saving, saving) to spending (efficient use and…
While pensions are not nearly as common as they once were, they are a very important part of the retirement plans for many of society’s most valued workers: teachers, police officers, fire fighters and more! However, it is surprisingly hard to find a reliable retirement calculator including pension. Whether you have a state retirement pension,…
Tom Selleck By Alan Light [CC BY 2.0] Wikimedia Commons If you watch TV at all, you have probably seen a commercial featuring Tom Selleck talking about reverse mortgages. No matter what he is saying, there is something about his voice and direct gaze that really does pull you in. In one spot, he is…
Episode 22 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Ken Goldberg, a Robotics Professor from Berkeley, and Eric Brewer, a VP at Google and a Professor of Computer Science at Berkeley. We discuss Artificial Intelligence, Robots, Automation and the Future of Work. We’re live in studio in Mill Valley CA and we cover the…
John Bogle died on Wednesday. He was the founder of the Vanguard Mutual Fund group. However, his real legacy is not in how he built a $4.9 trillion investment company but rather how he led a new way of thinking about retirement investing. Want to be a successful investor?Just buy the haystack (and thank John…
There are a lot of hurdles to overcome when figuring out how to retire early — before 65. However, early retirement health care is one of the most challenging. Medical care is going to be expensive no matter when you retire, but the picture is more serious for those who retire early, by choice or…
Rain. Snow. Sleet. Cold. Once the coziness of winter holidays passes, dark weather can weigh heavily on our psyches. However, when you retire, you have more freedom to seek and enjoy sunnier or more temperate climates. What’s holding you back? Here are nine tips, tricks and things to consider when thinking about a warmer location…
It seems that we are “feeling groovy” these days about our retirement prospects. Groovier and groovier over the past few years in fact. The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s (EBRI) retirement confidence survey reports that the percentage of workers who feel very or somewhat confident about having enough money to live comfortably in retirement has been…
Episode 21 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Dr. Jim Dahle — a hockey playing emergency room doctor based in Salt Lake City Utah who runs White Coat Investor in his spare time. We dive into personal finance and retirement issues like how do you know if you’ve saved enough, what’s a safe…
Reverse mortgages are often talked about as a means to increase cash flow by tapping into home equity in retirement. But have you heard the full story? Do you know there’s more than one type of reverse mortgage? There are many types of reverse mortgages.Does one open the door to financial security for you? There…
The maximum reverse mortgage lending limit is increasing for 2019, allowing retirees with substantial home equity to get more money than was available in previous years. Reverse mortgage lending limits to remain high. A reverse mortgage enables homeowners age 62 and older to access their home equity in the form of a loan. Unlike a…
While we’re in the daily grind of working for a living, we often visualize life after retirement as happy, stress-free relaxation.Getting a little R&R is certainly important, but there is a limit to the amount of napping, puttering around the house and daytime television a person can take. Without a plan for life after retirement,…
Episode 20 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Rick Ferri — CFA, author, and founder of Core-4 — and discusses Ferri’s perspective on investing and the future of financial advice after being in the industry for three decades. They address the difference between investing strategy and investing philosophy, advisors as legal fiduciaries and…
The past month has seen some wild dips in the stock markets. Nothing yet too terribly miserable for most, but enough to make us jittery. Should we be worried about a stock market correction? The easy answer is yes. After all, investing in the stock market is inherently risky and today’s world feels more unpredictable…
How to become a millionaire? Increase your wealth? AFTER retirement? Um… No way you might say. So many retirement articles talk about how to make ends meet in retirement. And, most of us are indeed worried about running out of money and ask: “Will my savings really last as long as I do?” However, maybe…
Episode 19 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Jesse Mecham — the founder of You Need a Budget, a CrossFit/PowerLifter and generally strong guy. We discuss why budgeting is a powerful life altering tool for him and their users, how they got started and what’s unique about how they educate people and build…
As if the season wasn’t hectic enough, this is the time you need to make sure that you do everything you can to minimize your 2018 tax burden. Below are four key end of year tax strategies to help you keep more money — including information on new tax rules and how the tax planning…
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…
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 2019 Medicare Open Enrollment season is upon us and will last from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. Now is the time to assess your…
Retirement planning is complicated. Retirement planning when you are married — or part of any kind of committed couple — is doubly complicated. You need to use a retirement calculator for married couples. Or, a retirement calculator for couples. When you are part of a couple, there are literally double the financial considerations. Furthermore, your…
Episode 18 of the NewRetirement podcast is an interview with Annie Duke — a best selling author, public speaker and former world champion poker professional. We discuss her new book Thinking in Bets which focuses on decision making, beliefs and learning when you have imperfect information through the lens of what she has learned at…
Are you really ready for retirement? Will retirement be everything you expect it to be? What kind of retirement surprises are in store for you? Last year, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) updated their 2017 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey, providing insights on how Americans decide to retire and manage resources in retirement. The…
So, for either financial or personal reasons you think you might want to work past the traditional retirement age of 65. Read below to get answers about the best jobs for seniors: Are there many options for work as a retiree? How do you find the right jobs after retirement? The Big Takeaways… It’s important…
It is a question we all ask – often: When can I retire? Maybe: The skies are blue outside your cubicle and you dream of everything else you could be doing besides work. Office politics are tough, you are just tired and you daydream of freedom. Your joints ache and you just can’t lift and…
The only people you NEED to tell about your decision to get a reverse mortgage are those who are living in your home with you. However, there are many benefits to sharing your decision with other family members — especially potential heirs. Here are 5 reasons why you might want to talk to your loved…
