Retirement

Tax Considerations for Retirees

Are You Aware of Them?   The federal government offers some major tax breaks for older Americans. Some of these perks deserve more publicity than they receive.        If you are 65 or older, your standard deduction is $1,300 larger. Make that $1,600 if you are unmarried. Thanks to the passage of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, the 2018 standard deduction for an individual taxpayer at least 65...

Should We Reconsider What “Retirement” Means?

  The notion that we separate from work in our sixties may have to go.   An executive transitions into a consulting role at age 62 and stops working altogether at 65; then, he becomes a buyer for a church network at 69. A corporate IT professional decides to conclude her career at age 58; she serves as a city council member in her sixties, then opens an art...

Getting (Mentally) Ready to Retire

Even those who have saved millions must prepare for a lifestyle adjustment.   A successful retirement is not merely measured in financial terms. Even those who retire with small fortunes can face boredom or depression and the fear of drawing down their savings too fast. How can new retirees try to calm these worries? Two factors may help: a gradual retirement transition and some guidance from a financial professional....

When is Social Security Income Taxable?

The answer depends on your income. Your Social Security income could be taxed. That may seem unfair, or unfathomable. Regardless of how you feel about it, it is a possibility. Seniors have had to contend with this possibility since 1984. Social Security benefits became taxable above certain yearly income thresholds in that year. Frustratingly for retirees, these income thresholds have been left at the same levels for 32 years.1...

How Millennials Can Get Off to a Good Financial Start

Doing the right things at the right time may leave you wealthier later. Provided by William J. Prentice II, AWMA®, CFP®, CIMA® What can you do to start building wealth before age 35? You know time is your friend and that the earlier you begin saving and investing for the future, the better your financial prospects may become. So what steps should you take? Reduce your debt. You probably...

New Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule

If you own an IRA or participate in a 401(k) plan, please read this document. The Labor Department has issued new rules for tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Potentially, they affect anyone who has an IRA or a 401(k) account. They also impact IRA rollovers, and any investment recommendations that may be made pertaining to distributions from IRAs and 401(k)’s. Under the new rules, any financial services industry professional who makes...

You Retire, But Your Spouse Still Works

That development may mean lifestyle as well as financial adjustments. Provided by William J. Prentice II, AWMA®, CFP®, CIMA® Your significant other may retire later than you do. Sometimes that reality reflects an age difference, other times one person wants to keep working for income or health coverage reasons. If you retire years before your spouse or partner does, you may want to consider how your lifestyle might change...

Did You Hear What Happened With Social Security?

Congress just eliminated two popular strategies used to get greater retirement benefits. Provided by William J. Prentice II, AWMA®, CFP®, CIMA® If you want to claim Social Security benefits soon, keep a date & a number in mind. The date is April 30, 2016. The number is 62. Recent changes to the Social Security benefit rules have made that date and that number very important, especially for those about...

Social Security Claiming Strategies

What can married couples do to increase joint lifetime benefits? Presented by William J. Prentice II, AWMA®, CFP®, CIMA® What is your “magic number”? Roughly half of retirees claim Social Security benefits at age 62, as soon as they become eligible. Some people delay benefits and postpone using their retirement savings as an income source. Others apply out of necessity; their financial situation leaves them little choice.1 These factors aside,...

Financial Planning with Health Insurance in Mind

How much might health care cost you someday? Provided by William J. Prentice II, AWMA®, CFP®, CIMA® “Financially speaking, what would be the worst thing that could happen to you?” If you ask a hundred people in their forties that question, you may get a dozen different answers. Some may say “my business going under” or “losing my house.” Some might say “a divorce,” “a lawsuit,” or “being laid...