Benjamin Franklin famously said that “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” With April 15 right around the corner, let’s talk about the more palatable of Franklin’s two certainties. Taxes don’t disappear in retirement-and they can be an important variable in determining your standard of living. Good planning helps, [...] [read full article…]
You plan your retirement savings. You probably have some plans for retirement travel. Maybe you’ve got a plan for the dream retirement home. But are you planning your retirement body? If not, it’s time to get busy. “It’s possible to envision the kind of physical body that we want to have in retirement,” says author John Nelson. [...] [read full article…]
Most baby boomers don’t understand the basics of Medicare, according to a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Investment News reports that 66 percent of boomer respondents said they were “not very familiar” or “not at all familiar” with the plan’s options, such as Part B, which covers some medical costs, [...] [read full article…]
Have you heard this year’s presidential candidates debate the Retirement Health Care Tax? No? Probably because there is no official tax with that name. But it’s out there, just the same. The Retirement Health Care Tax is a collection of expenses you’ll pay for health care after age 65. And it should be a topic within [...] [read full article…]
Retirement plan administrators tell USA Today they’ve seen a sharp uptick in the number of desperate 401(k) account holders raiding their accounts to make mortgage payments and hold off foreclosures. This disturbing and sad development in the mortgage crisis suggests homeowners are being forced to sacrifice retirement income security to keep their homes; in so [...] [read full article…]
Several large banks are offering no-fee checking services to customers over 50 as a way to pull in their more lucrative saving and investment accounts. NBC financial editor Jean Chatzky reported on the trend recently on the Today show. Banks offering the deals include Wachovia, Suntrust and Capital One. [read full article…]
The Great American Pension has been in decline in recent years. But if you’re among the fortunate ones who lay claim to a defined benefit pension, 2008 is a good year to pay close attention. New federal rules could affect your benefits, depending on the financial health of your fund. At minimum, the changes, which are [...] [read full article…]
The amount of money retirees will need to set aside to cover out-of-pocket health care expenses is projected to rise 4.7 percent this year compared with 2007, according to Fidelity Investments research released today. Fidelity calculates that a couple age 65 will need $225,000 to cover health expenses across their retirement years. That number has [...] [read full article…]
RetirementRevised.com is the companion website of Retire Smart, a column written by Mark Miller that appears in more than 30 newspapers each week. For millions of Baby Boomers, retirement is an opportunity for reinvention, rather than taking it easy. Mark is helping write the playbook for the new career and personal pursuits of a generation.
