Are clients ready for shared medical appointments: Retirement Scan

Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.

Are clients ready for shared medical appointments?
A shared medical appointment, where patients with similar health issues meet with a physician to tackle their condition in a group, is a good option that sick retirees may want to consider, according to this article on MarketWatch. Retirees get to know more about their medical condition and hear different perspectives from other patients and can explain their illness more openly. "“I think the value comes from both the clinician and the shared medical experience of others,” says an expert.

Doctor Patient Consult

The big lesson from 2016 for retirement planning
One important lesson that retirement investors should learn from the events of the past year is to ignore market forecasts and predictions and stick to their comprehensive plan, writes an expert on Money. "There will be times when the urge to react to the latest news reports or market predictions will be strong," the expert says. "But the more you give in to that impulse, the more you’re simply winging it. And winging it is no way to plan your retirement."

Don't let clients play chicken with this 50% tax penalty
Retirees who are at least 70 1/2 should ensure that they take the required minimum distribution from their traditional IRAs by the end of the year, according to this article on CNBC. Those who fail to comply with this requirement face a tax penalty that is 50% of the RMD amount. "People get busy at the end of the year, with holidays and other family obligations. The time flies and they could forget," says an expert with Fidelity.

3 (very) last-minute financial to-dos for retirees
Retirees who are at least 70 1/2 have to take a required minimum distribution from their traditional IRAs, and they should make the mandatory withdrawals before the year ends, according to this article on Morningstar. For those who will take the RMD for the first time, they have until April 1 next year to withdraw the funds. A few days before the New Year, retirees can still make charitable donations and do tax loss harvesting to help minimize the tax bite in next year's tax season.

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