Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Clients who engage in retirement planning are advised to estimate the amount of income they will need to support their lifestyle in their golden years instead of determining the right size of their nest egg, according to this article on CNNMoney. Clients can make the right decisions on when to file for Social Security benefits, receive pensions, and take withdrawals from their retirement accounts if they know the income they need to have. Such a strategy will help clients succeed in securing a comfortable life in retirement. CNNMoney
Deciding on what age to start getting Social Security benefits and signing up for Medicare are among the final preparations that people need to do before retiring, according to an article on U.S. News & World Report. Pre-retirees also need to evaluate their 401(k) and other workplace retirement benefits, roll over their 401(k) assets to an IRA, and prepare a long-term investment plan. They need to come up with an emergency plan, decide on how they will spend their time, and ensure they will take required minimum distributions when they turn age 70½. YahooFinance
Investment options in larger 401(k) plans have improved while the costs have declined, according to an article on Time Money. However, smaller plans offer high investment expenses and may not have employer matching contribution and an automatic enrollment feature for new employees. As a primary vehicle for retirement savings, a typical 401(k) plan also faces problems concerning participants who do not contribute enough, diversify their investments, and repay their loans. Time Money
Although the millennial generation is composed of educated, community-oriented and IT-savvy professionals, these young workers face difficulty in saving for retirement and handling financial concerns, writes Cathy Curtis, an independent certified financial planner and founder of Curtis Financial Planning. Many of them are compelled to live with their parents, as they struggle to build their nest eggs and pay their student loans, Curtis says. "The key point is to create a balanced saving and debt pay-down plan because not only will the personal balance sheet be healthier, but the psychological benefits of watching loan balances get to zero, while savings balances add more zeroes, are hard to beat." CNBC
A 68-year-old client who considers filing for a survivor's benefit on her husband's record can expect no changes to her retirement benefit that she will receive when she turns 70, according to an article on Forbes. She is advised to start getting her survivor benefit as soon as possible. Forbes
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