Retirement Planning
Retirement Tweaks
Worried you don’t have enough saved for retirement? The US Congress is, and that is why they passed legislation to encourage retirement savings.
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019.
The new law makes some tweaks to retirement, rather than major shifts. […]
Take This Quiz: The Social Security Retirement Earnings Test
Can you work and receive Social Security retirement benefits at the same time? Yes, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) will apply an earnings test. Part or all of your monthly benefit may be withheld if you earn too much.
To help avoid surprises, take this quiz to find out what you know — and don’t […]
FIRE: Four Things You Need to Know about This Hot Retirement Movement
Many workers look forward to the day they can finally retire, and for some, an early retirement would be a dream come true. Others are turning this dream into a reality by retiring in their 30s or 40s. But how are they able to do it?
A hot retirement trend called Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) […]
How Much Will Health Care Cost?
Retirement health-care costs will vary depending on your health and longevity, but it may help to have a guideline. These are the estimated savings required for an individual or couple who turned 65 in 2019 to have a 90% chance of meeting expenses for Medicare Part B health insurance, Part D prescription drug coverage, Medigap […]
What health services aren’t covered by Medicare?
Original Medicare — Part A hospital insurance and Part B medical insurance — offers broad coverage, but many services are not covered.
Some may be fully or partially covered by a Part C Medicare Advantage Plan, which replaces Original Medicare, or a Medigap policy, which supplements Original Medicare. Both are offered by Medicare-approved private insurers. (You […]
Five Retirement Lessons from Today’s Retirees
Each year for its Retirement Confidence Survey, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) surveys 1,000 workers and 1,000 retirees to assess how confident they are in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement. Once again, in 2019, retirees expressed stronger confidence than workers: 82% of retirees reported feeling “very” or “somewhat” confident, compared with 67% […]
Three Regrets of Retirees
A recent survey found that more than half of retirees have retirement planning regrets. Unfortunately, many of these retirees had to cut back on their lifestyles to compensate for financial shortfalls.1
Considering their most common regrets may help you avoid making the same mistakes.
Not saving enough
More than one-third of retirees wish they had saved more.2 How […]
Balancing 401(k) and HSA Contributions
If you have the opportunity to contribute to both a 401(k) and a health savings account (HSA), you may wonder how best to take advantage of them. Determining how much to contribute to each type of plan will require some careful thought and strategic planning.
Understand the tax benefits
A traditional, non-Roth 401(k) allows you to save […]
Qualified Charitable Distributions: Using Your IRA to Give from the Heart
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act roughly doubled the standard deduction ($12,200 for single filers and $24,400 for married taxpayers filing jointly in 2019) and indexed it for inflation through 2025. As a result, far fewer taxpayers will itemize deductions on their tax returns, and some people may be disappointed that they no longer benefit […]
Social Security: Shoring Up America’s Safety Net
Ever since a legal secretary named Ida May Fuller received the first Social Security retirement check in 1940, Americans have been counting on Social Security to provide much- needed retirement income. For many older Americans, Social Security is their main source of guaranteed retirement income — income that continues throughout their lifetimes and is indexed […]
