Have you heard this phrase? It is often used to refer to the anxiety and stress that people feel in the years leading up to retirement. While it is common to feel a sense of stress with any major change, many feel a higher level of anxiety as they approach retirement due to the various unknowns. This may include not knowing your longevity, what your future health needs will be, or if those family members close to you will experience their own change that requires your assistance. We may be able to help you reduce that anxiety by helping you

At this time of year there tends to be discussion about what our New Year’s resolution will be. Researchers suggest that only 9% of Americans that make resolutions complete them. In fact, research goes on to show that 23% of people quit their resolutions by the end of the first week, and 88% fail them within the first two weeks. It’s not a lack of willpower that causes them to fall by the wayside, it’s actually a function of fatigue. For most people there comes a point, usually at the end of each day, when we suffer from decision fatigue.

As we approach year end we are frequently being asked about what we call “Lost 401k” accounts. Perhaps you changed jobs, or your employer went out of business or merged with another company, or maybe you’ve just put the memories of a workplace that you left years ago far, far behind you. And now, you cannot for the life of you figure out how to track down an unclaimed pension or 401(k) plan. It’s a frequent problem for many people.  Did you know that a new federal Retirement Savings Lost and Found was required as part of the Secure 2.0

According to a national survey for LiveCareer in June, about 61% of working Americans are more afraid of retirement than of death. Why is this? The survey suggests the reason is that many Americans are financially unprepared to retire. About 20% of Americans ages 50 and older were shown to have no retirement savings according to an AARP survey in January, and 61% are worried they won’t have enough money for retirement. Call us if you have similar concerns. We have some options for providing an income you can’t outlive and protecting yourself from market losses on that money you

One way to approach retirement is to think of it in stages. While retirement might seem like the final step of a journey, your goals and lifestyle will likely continue to evolve, and your income strategy should reflect that. For example, consider looking at your retirement in five-year stages; can you meet your income needs for the next five years with relatively little downside?  This is another reason an annuity might help; an annuity can offer guaranteed income for life (backed by the claims-paying ability of the carrier) thus creating an income source you won’t ever outlive. If you’re interested,

Retirement is different from your working years–you’re no longer putting in time and collecting a paycheck regularly. Creating a sustainable paycheck in retirement is, however, an art worth mastering. Without a full-time employer, retirees are left with the task of cobbling together a sustainable cash-flow strategy that will not only cover their expenses, but also prioritize which sources of income to use, and when. Call us if you’d like to brainstorm with us about how you envision using your savings and assets. We might have some ideas you haven’t considered that may act as a replacement for your paycheck you

According to the US Census Bureau, about 1 in 5 people over the age of 60 have married at least twice. However, all marriages are not created equal. The Schwab Center for Financial Research lets us know that “Unlike those just starting out in life, many older individuals have adult children, substantial assets, and established financial habits that may not easily mesh with those of another person.” One area that bears particular attention relates to how marriage may affect sources of retirement income, such as Social Security. For example, generally, you can collect 100% of your own benefits or up

According to many experts, knowing your cash flow is the most important piece of information you will need in order to tell if you are not only living within your means, but if you have financial stability. Financial stability in retirement becomes increasingly important the older you get. The reason for that is as we age, our ability to supplement our income by, for example, back to work part-time, will eventually disappear.  Once we are fully in retirement, most of us will have already factored in possibilities like obtaining money by selling our home, and we will have moved past

We’re inundated with so many changes to rules related to retirement, that we oftentimes tell ourselves we can just ignore them and “focus on them later.” However, there are some changes you might want to pay attention to now. For example, the changes made by the Secure Act:  Firstly, the Secure Act interest and penalties for missed RMDs from an IRA account, which could go on indefinitely. Currently, there’s a three-year statute of limitations beginning with the filing of the income tax return for the relevant year, which means that the IRS can’t impose a penalty for an RMD you

Continuing on from last week, did you decide what kind of retiree you are? Regardless of whether you think of yourself as the Dynamo, the Philanthropist, the Homebody, or the Adventurer, it is recommended that you start building your strategy early.  Along with newfound freedoms, retirement can also mean confronting uncomfortable topics and scenarios. The most common complaint amongst retirees is that they did not anticipate how derailing long-term care costs could be, nor did they confront the possibility of suffering through a short-term medical situation that would require round-the-clock nurses to avoid having to move into an assisted living