Couples Retiring on the Same Page Agreeing about what you want from retirement is crucial. What does a good retirement look like to you? Does it resemble the retirement that your spouse or partner has in mind? It is at least roughly similar? The Social Security Commission currently projects an average retirement of 19 years for a man and 21 years for a woman (assuming retirement at age 65). So sharing the same vision of retirement (or at least respecting [...]
Debunking a Few Popular Retirement Myths Certain misconceptions ignore the realities of retirement. Generalizations about money & retirement linger. Some have been around for decades, and some new clichés have recently joined their ranks. Let’s examine a few. “When I’m retired, I won’t really have to invest anymore.” Many people see retirement as an end instead of a beginning – a finish line for a career. In reality, retirement can be the start of a new and promising phase of [...]
The Retirement Mindgame: Your outlook may influence your financial outcome. What kind of retirement do you think you’ll have? An outstanding one? A depressing one? What if it all starts with your outlook? Qualitatively speaking, what if the success or failure of your retirement begins with your perception of retirement? A whole field of study has emerged on the psychology of saving, spending and investing: behavioral finance. Since retirement saving is a behavior (and since other behaviors influence it), it [...]
Retirement Planning With Health Care Expenses in Mind It is only wise to consider what Medicare wont cover in the future. As you save for retirement, you also recognize the possibility of having to pay major health care costs in the future. Is there some way to plan for these expenses years in advance? Just how great might those expenses be? Theres no rote answer, of course, but recent surveys from AARP and Fidelity Investments reveal that too many baby [...]
Retire at 65 ... Or Not? Your assets matter more than your age. Isn’t 65 the traditional retirement age? Perhaps, but baby boomers are modifying the definition of a traditional retirement (if not redefining it altogether). The Social Security Administration has subtly revised its definition of the traditional retirement age as well. If you glance at the SSA website, the “full” retirement age for Americans born from 1943-1954 is 66, and it is 67 for those born in 1960 and [...]