Annuities with Long Term Care Benefits

A frequent objection to the purchase of long term care insurance is that years of premiums may be wasted if long term care is never needed. Similarly, many prospective retirees are reluctant to invest in an immediate annuity because of a concern that they will die long before receiving a meaningful amount of annuity income. Insurance companies are now introducing products that are designed to address these purchaser concerns. One of the products is called a hybrid annuity with a long term care benefit or rider. Similar products are called long term care annuities. Read more

Taxes on Annuity Income to Increase

Many boomers are considering buying immediate annuities to provide a supplemental retirement income stream that is guaranteed to last for life, assuming that the insurance company remains solvent. Unfortunately for some annuity purchasers, taxation of annuity income is going to increase. Read more

Strategies for Retiring on Less

From what I read and hear, lots of folks think that a successful retirement means having at least a million dollar nest egg.  I don’t think that’s true. Plenty of baby boomers do not have a million dollars set aside for retirement. Or if they once did, that changed in 2008-2009. Are there strategies for them to retire on less? I think so. Read more

Green Building for Retirement Living

This past Saturday my wife and I made our first return visit to Long Branch Lakes where we are buying a condo for weekend/retirement living. The building finally reached a point in its construction where we could confirm the views of the woods and water we anticipated from the living room, solarium, and deck. We were quite satisfied so told the developer that we were sticking with our initial unit selection. I was also interested in seeing and talking about the green construction methods that are being used. Read more

Reduce Retirement Expenses by Using Free Time

When a baby boomer transitions from full-time employment to full-time retirement, many hours of free time suddenly become available. If you work 40 hours per week for 50 weeks each year, and commute one hour per day for 190 days worked, that’s 2,190 extra hours of free time that retirement will make available to you. Some of that free time can now be used to take steps that will actually lower your retirement expenses. Read more

Income Tax Refunds and Your Retirement Plan

Federal income tax refunds present two problems for the retirement saver. That’s right, problems. Let me explain, in just a few words. Read more

Delayed Retirement and Money Problems

No one wants to be forced to retire by age or health problems. Conversely, no one wants to be forced to delay a planned retirement. Unfortunately, that is the case for many over-60 baby boomers. Money is the number one reason. Read more

Retirement and Las Vegas

Ask me ten years ago and I would have told you that Las Vegas would be a fun place to live in retirement, at least part time. It was energetic, unique and affordable if you don’t have a gambling addiction. Things have changed. Read more

A Decluttering Strategy for Downsizing

“Simplify” is a word and concept that becomes more significant to me as I age. I’m having success applying it to my work (a 100% paperless legal practice) but it’s harder at home. I struggle with the realization of how much stuff there is to get rid of when we downsize. The household clutter is a constant reminder of what needs to be done. Thus, I was intrigued by the “stock theory” of decluttering that I read about today. Read more

Do You Have a Shared Vision and Plan for Retirement?

Retirement for a married couple can be tricky. First, husband and wife need to be on the same page financially. Second, the couple should have a shared vision of what their retirement lifestyle will be like. Third, husband and wife should reach some understanding as to when retirement will begin for each of them. A recent survey reported by Fidelity Investments indicates that there are retirement problems ahead for many couples, in all of these areas Read more

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