Browse the following posts about Retirement

Save, invest, and plan for your retirement

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Inflation Is Merciless on Your Financial Future

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Inflation has been low for the past 25 years and that sounds like a really good thing. In fact, the inflation rate since 1992 has remained under 3.0% annually every year with just a few exceptions when it was only slightly higher.

Inflation is often thought of as the gradual increase of prices over time. But when you're planning for retirement decades in the future, it's a huge factor. Learn more about inflation in today's post.

That’s 25 years of fairly stable overall consumer prices so you might just think all is well as we roll merrily along in our working years aiming for a great retirement. Unfortunately, if you truly believe that, you are probably not quite getting the impact that even an annually low inflation rate has on your future buying power. The fact is inflation is a merciless tyrant on your financial future. Continue reading

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How Financial Planning Changes When There’s an Age Difference

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Planning your finances is never really simple. But when one spouse is many years younger than the other, there is often even more to consider. For example, instead of planning a typical retirement income stream of 30 years, it’s going to be more like 40, maybe even 50 years. Financial planning when there’s an age difference can be a bit more complicated.

If there's an age difference between you and your sweetheart...10 years, 15 years, 20 years or more...it can affect your finances. Financial planning when there's an age difference has some important distinctions of which you should be aware.

For me and my wife Suzanne, this is that situation. I am currently 68 and she is just 47. To be honest, it didn’t really dawn on me as to what might make it very different when we are 20+ years apart in planning retirement life until just a few years ago. Having met her when I was working and just in my mid 50’s, I thought retirement was far off in the distance and never dreamed that I would “have” to retire early because of my health and that she would become disabled for health reasons too. That’s made me ask the question: “What do we do differently to deal with our finances when one spouse is so much younger than the other?” Continue reading

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The Strange Case of Taxing Your Social Security Benefits

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Almost 62 million people, most of them retired workers, receive a Social Security check every month. That’s about 20% of all Americans these days and I’m one of them. For the vast majority of retirees, their Social Security income isn’t just some extra cash to count at the end of the month. It’s actually an indispensable source of income that they couldn’t do without. Social Security Administration (SSA) data shows that 62% of all retired workers get at least half their income, if not more, from Social Security. In some cases, it is the difference between life and death. And now that it’s tax time, many of us wonder “do you pay taxes on Social Security?”

Many seniors wonder "do you pay taxes on Social Security?" Well here is the strange case of how Social Security benefits are taxed and why it's unlikely to change.

The sad facts are that America’s most important social program isn’t in the best of shape. You probably know that Social Security will begin paying out more in benefits than it generates in revenue by 2022. By 2034, Social Security’s asset reserves are expected to be depleted. Continue reading

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The Investing Strategy Wall Street Doesn’t Want You to Know

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For today’s guest post on a personal investing strategy, please welcome fellow personal finance blogger Joseph Hogue.

Making investing personal will not only make investing cheaper but will motivate you and help you reach your financial goals

Two stock market crashes in less than a decade into the new millennium and a lot of people wonder if investing is worth the risk and the worry. Keeping up with the ups-and-downs of the stock market and picking the best investments can seem like a part-time job.

You wouldn't know it from listening to Wall Street and the investment industry, but the best way to invest is with a personal investing strategy. Making it personal will help you get where you want to go financially.

But investing doesn’t have to be like that.

In fact, the best investing strategy is one about which you don’t worry at all. Continue reading

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Today’s Mail Brought Me an Unexpected Financial Windfall!

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Today started like any ordinary day around here. Had my breakfast, watched a little CNN, checked out my emails, and played a bit of free online slots. It was a typical Monday morning here in exciting retirement land. Yeah, real exciting, huh? Well, nothing like a financial windfall to add a little pizzazz to your day!

I am thrilled to receive an unexpected financial windfall, but I should have known it was coming. Make sure you know what your retirement situation will be.

I am a creature of habit these days and although there are a few surprises here and there that do happen, what happened today was totally unexpected! I am still pinching myself and I am overwhelmed. Today’s mail brought an amazing letter from one of my former employers, R.H. Macy. Continue reading

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The Chances of Living to 100 and Why You Should Care

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You may be wondering “Why should I be reading about living to 100 and what does this have to do with me and my personal finances?” Interestingly enough, you do have a good question there. You might be in your 20’s, 30’s or 40’s and thinking, “Please Gary, I have so much to worry about, why that subject now?” Well, truth being told here, you probably won’t live to be 100. But what if you do?

Your chances of living to 100 are increasing as time goes by. Here's how to make the best of those chances and the most of your older years.

How many people are living to 100?

Centenarians, once a rarity, are the world’s fastest growing age group. Since 2000 when there were 50,281 of them here in the US, the group has grown by 44% to 72,197 (as of 2014). That makes this age group just about 0.003% in the United State, yes still small, but almost three times as many as there were in 1980 according to a report by CNN in 2016. Continue reading

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Social Security COLA for 2018: Is It All Good News?

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Update 10/13/2017: The Social Security COLA for 2018 has been announced at 2 percent.

Right about now, retirees and Social Security recipients are anxiously awaiting the Social Security Administration (SSA) announcement of what might be a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) (if there is one) for 2018. I say “if” because as we have seen in recent years, the COLA adjustment hasn’t always been there for the many who depend on it to survive in a very costly 21st century world. So, will it be all good news?

It sounds like Social Security will announce a COLA (cost of living adjustment) for 2018, but is it all good news? Check out the reasons it might not be.

Social Security beneficiaries have lost almost one third of their buying power since the year 2000 as the cost of things purchased by these recipients, typically the elderly, have continually outpaced any inflation adjustments made by the government and the SSA according to a recent report by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). Continue reading

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21st Century Retirement Strategies That Will Make You Secure, Part 2

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In part one of 21st Century Retirement Strategies, I talked about the need to start your retirement plans at the very beginning of your working career. I wasn’t kidding. I have a hard time believing that people don’t think about it 100% of the time. It should be done as soon as you are employed and eligible to participate in your employer’s retirement plan, or if self-employed able to contribute to a plan you create yourself. Not only that, it should also be a consideration when you are interviewing for a job, even when changing jobs. Finding out what the benefits are when it comes to retirement plan options may not seem that important, but it is.

In Part 2 of 21st Century Retirement Strategies, I cover the different factors and investment vehicles you'll want to consider in a well-rounded plan.

Retirement planning is as much of a skill as just about anything you that you do in life. The main problem is that for most of us there isn’t much education or preparation for it and we have to learn as much as we can on our own. Fortunately, you might say, we have a fairly long period between day one of work and retirement day to figure it all out. Today, I’ll cover some of those retirement strategies that can help you secure your golden years. Continue reading

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21st Century Retirement Strategies That Will Make You Secure, Part 1

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Having reached the age of 67, it’s only now that the realities of retirement have actually sunk into my brain. After all, like most of us, that kind of event always seems like it’s far off in the distant future. It’s a lot like thinking about your long term health prospects in that you seem invincible in some respects and working every day fortifies that feeling.

In the 21st century, retirement strategies are changing. In Part 1 of this series, I discuss how health and Social Security will impact your retirement.

Realistically, we all know that retirement is coming whether it is in a far distant future or just peaking over the horizon. But even knowing that, we sometimes don’t paint a realistic color to what it will actually be like. Will it be a time of exploration, fun, and peace of mind? Or will it be a time of struggle, difficulties, and a less comfortable lifestyle? The way your retirement unfolds is never 100% under your control but the ways you prepare for it are for sure. That’s why you need some solid retirement strategies. Continue reading

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Why Senior Citizens Want to Stay in the Workplace

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Most people think of a “senior” or a retired person as someone who sits around in the back yard snoozing on and off or perhaps hitting the golf course for a round with his retired friends. After all, most retirees have spent decades rising and shining every day and working there as$$es off to provide for themselves and their families and deserve some time to relax and have some fun in their “golden years”. And in most cases, they really do deserve a chance to just hang out and not carry the weight on their shoulders they have had for most of their lives.

Senior citizen jobs are becoming more important & prevalent as retirees go back to work. Here's some of the reasons why they want to stay in the workplace.

But a not-so-funny thing has happened to many older people these days. Many of them have found out that sitting around in retirement isn’t all that it was cracked up to be. There are a lot of reasons for that, so today’s post is something I can write about firsthand and with absolute certainty: why senior citizens want to stay in the workplace. Continue reading