What scares you the most when you think about retirement? The Transamerica Center for Retirement Services has been asking that question for 22 years. The Center just released its 2022 survey after talking to more than 5,800 adults contemplating their future. Here are the top 12 retirement fears this year. #12 Can’t Retire on My Own Terms 13% of [...]
A really long time ago… in a galaxy far, far away… I worked for a building contractor. That experience taught me that every successful building project requires the right tools. And sometimes a project turns out just a little bit better because of a specialty tool, one with specific characteristics not found in any other tool at your disposal. The [...]
The clock is ticking and it gets louder the closer you get to the magic age of 65. That’s when you sign up for Medicare. But there’s more than one way to receive Medicare coverage. There are Medicare Advantage plans, sometimes referred to as all-in-one plans, because they provide medical coverage and can also provide benefits for vision, dental, [...]
You’ve been planning for retirement for a long time. By your calculations, the money you’ve accumulated should be more than enough to live the retirement lifestyle you’ve dreamed about no matter how long you live. You’ve taken into account taxes, inflation, healthcare, and the cost of all the things on your bucket list. To pay for it all you’ll withdraw [...]
It’s almost time for the Social Security Administration to break out pencil and calculator to find out how much more it costs to live this year than it did last, and then decide how much of a raise Social Security beneficiaries will get in 2023. For 2022, the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was 5.9%, the largest increase [...]
Here are some disturbing facts. Approximately 25% of American adults have nothing—ZERO—saved for retirement and only 36% are on track with retirement savings. Don’t be discouraged if you’re behind in saving; it’s never too late to begin. The question is, “What should I do and what savings goals should I shoot for along the age spectrum?” As a guide, three [...]
Looking into a crystal ball and prognosticating the future is always a risky endeavor, but when it comes to Social Security and the year 2023 there are 4 things that have a high probability of happening. Cost of Living Increase In 2022, Social Security recipients received a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). It was the biggest increase in 40 years. [...]
How would you like to waste a lot of the money you spend on Medicare coverage and miss a bunch of the benefits Medicare provides? Crazy question. But that’s exactly what’s happening to millions of Medicare beneficiaries. In October 2021, the insurance website MedicareAdvantage.com published the results of its most recent survey of Medicare beneficiaries. What it found was disturbing. [...]
Health Savings Accounts (HSA) for retired folks. Isn’t that a novel idea? But it’s being considered in Congress—The Health Savings for Seniors Act, H.R. 3796. As it stands right now, the only people eligible for an HSA are those aged 65 years and younger who have a high-deductible health insurance plan meaning you have to pay $1,400 out-of-pocket for [...]
The Health Savings Account has been a wonderful addition to the financial landscape of people who are eligible for one. They’re often thought of as a way to pay for qualified medical expenses with pre-tax money during your working years for things like deductibles, copays, and non-covered items—in other words, things not covered by insurance. You can’t make contributions to [...]
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