Finding housing for retirement is an important component of planning for your future because housing costs are usually the largest and most expensive portion of a family’s budget. Rather than waiting to move to a new location after you retire, consider moving to your ideal location while you are still working.
Whether you stay in the same place or move, whatever you do will be more successful if you take time to think and do research. Everyone has similar basic …
“RMD” is an abbreviation for “required minimum distribution.” This is the amount of money that retirees age 70½ and older are required to withdraw from their tax-deferred plans such as IRAs and 401(k) and 403(b) plans. RMD rules are serious business. The penalty for not withdrawing the proper amount is a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required.
For example, if you don’t withdraw a required $1,000 from your traditional IRA or tax-deferred employer plan, the tax …
Social Security benefits are based on average income over your 35 highest-earning years. If you have more than 35 years of earnings, the lowest earning years of your work history are dropped. If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, years with zero earnings are averaged in to the calculation.
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No. The earnings limit ($16,920 in 2017 for beneficiaries who are age 62 through full retirement age) applies only to the income of the person who is collecting a monthly Social Security benefit check. It is that person’s income that determines whether benefits are reduced. One dollar in benefits is withheld for every $2 in earnings above the earnings limit amount.
Where a working spouse’s income will have an effect, however, is in the taxation of Social Security benefits if …
Full retirement age is the age that someone must attain to receive a full (unreduced) Social Security benefit. Full retirement age used to be age 65 but has been gradually increasing in recent years and depends on the year that a person was born. Baby boomers were born from 1946 to 1964.
Therefore, their full retirement age is as follows:
Year of Birth / Full Retirement Age
Monte Carlo Analysis in Retirement Planning: Will I Run Out of Money?
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu
“Monte Carlo analysis.” The words make you think of a European gambling mecca, don’t they? It fact, where retirement planning is concerned, Monte Carlo analysis is actually somewhat related to gambling. It is a technique used to reduce the gamble that many people take when they decide to retire and live off of their savings. In other words, Monte Carlo …
Making the Right Move in Retirement: Where Will You Live?
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu
Finding affordable, comfortable, and safe housing in later life is an important component of the retirement planning process. Along with health care, housing costs (especially property taxes) are often among the most expensive parts of a retired person’s budget. Are you planning to “age in place” and continue to live in your current home and/or community or do you want to move …
Making the Most of IRAs and Employer Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu
The best way to make the most of IRAs and tax-deferred employer retirement savings plans (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans) is to contribute to them regularly and set aside as much money as you possibly can. The more money you save, the better, because a larger sum will grow tax-deferred, sometimes for decades. The result is a higher account balance at …
How to Make Required Minimum Withdrawals from Retirement Savings Plans
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu
“RMD.” What do those three letters mean to you? If you’re retired and in your seventies or older, they mean a lot. “RMD” is an abbreviation for “required minimum distribution.” This is the amount of money that investors age 70½ and older are required by the IRS to withdraw from tax-deferred retirement savings plans such as Traditional IRAs, simplified employee pensions (SEPs), …
Financial Recovery in Later Life: Increase Your Resilience
Barbara O’Neill, Ph.D., CFP®, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, oneill@aesop.rutgers.edu
It is more difficult to recover from financial setbacks as one gets older. There is less time available to invest for retirement, recover money lost in the stock market, or receive “payback” from investments in human capital (e.g., job training or a college degree). Therefore, it is wise to consider ways to cope with traumatic life events, in case something goes awry and to …
