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Figuring out your Social Security benefit amount
Clearly, Social Security is America’s most important benefit program, paying benefits each month to more than 63 million recipients and keeping a large number of them out of poverty. But the importance of this program and planning for retirement is…
Funding your retirement with your tax refund
According to the IRS, the average tax refund in 2018 was $3,169. Before you spend your tax refund, you may want to consider long-term strategies to build wealth with money you receive from the government. The attached article shows how…
One third of people have tapped into retirement accounts early
A recent study from MetLife has found that one third of people have tapped into their retirement accounts early. They also noted the reasons they spent the money on varies depending on age. For 28 percent of baby boomers who…
Reshaping the way Americans prepare for retirement by the use of technology
With innovations in automation and data analysis leading the way, technology is already reshaping how Americans prepare for retirement. According to a Mercer, the largest human resources consulting firm, some 85 percent of individuals have an interest in online financial…
Retirement savings and taxes
The U.S. tax code is not simple or straightforward and it is all the truer when you get to retirement and start to rely on various sources of income, many of which have different tax treatments. The attached article breaks…
Tips on finding your lost retirement money
Last year, the Government Accountability Office released a report stating that between 2004 and 2013 more than 25 million people left at least one retirement plan behind when they left a job. It is surprisingly easy to do, we switch…
Is it true that half of older Americans are without retirement savings?
In Andrew Biggs article for Forbes entitled: “No, Half of Older Americans Aren’t Without Retirement Savings”, he disputes the recent claims by the federal Government Accountability Office that 48 percent of U.S households aged 55 and over in 2016 “had…
Is a “bridge job” right for you?
For some people transitioning to retirement can be a difficult adjustment. For those individuals, a “bridge job” may be exactly what they need. What is a bridge job? A bridge job typically has characteristics that are different from one’s original…
Reimburse yourself for Medicare premiums from your HSA
Even though your Medicare premiums are automatically deducted from your Social Security check, you can take tax-free withdrawals from a health savings account to reimburse yourself for them. In Kimberly Lankford’s column “Ask Kim” she answers a reader’s question on…
The Government Accountability Office reports almost half of older Americans have zero in retirement savings
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, individuals 55 and older, 48 percent had nothing put away in a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan or an individual retirement account in 2016. This is actually an improvement from the 52 percent without retirement…