Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Retirement planning can be confusing as people find a lot of financial terms hard to understand, according to this article in The Wall Street Journal. Several experts identify some of these concepts whose meanings get complicated as people approach retirement. Many retirees struggle to fully understand the term sustainable withdrawal rate," says William Reichenstein, a professor at Baylor University and chief of research at www.socialsecuritysolutions.com. "Average tax rates" and "marginal tax rates"other terms explored in this articleare also examples of terms your clients need to understand. --The Wall Street Journal
Clients who want to make New Year's resolutions may consider challenging but doable tasks that can help boost their retirement savings, according to this article on Time Money. One task they should consider is to increase their savings rate to 15% every year. They may also review their investment portfolio's performance and see if they can improve returns and reduce costs, as well as check if they are on track towards achieving their retirement goals. --Time Money
Long-term care insurance may not be an option for most people as only the wealthy can afford to buy it, according to a study by Boston Colleges Center for Retirement Research. Moreover, Medicare and Medicaid can cover most of their long-term care needs when they retire, making private long-term care insurance unnecessary. Such coverage is suited for people who have a sizable amount of household financial assets and would be unlikely to qualify for Medicaid, says Anthony Webb of the Center for Retirement Research, who co-authored the report.--MarketWatch
A client who is more than 59½ years old is not required to report investment gains from receiving a distribution from her Roth IRA as the account is not subject to tax, especially if she has the account for at least five years, according to Gary Cotter, a certified financial planner with Florida-based Cotter Financial. "What's more, even if your account is less than five years old, a partial withdrawal of up to the total amount of your contributions to the account (and any amounts you may have converted from a traditional IRA) would be tax-free because you have already paid tax on those dollars," Cotter says. --USA Today
Life in retirement may not be as costly as people would think, as most retirees are found to have a lifestyle that includes a lot of inexpensive leisure, according to a study by The Journal of Financial Planning. However, it appears that retirees don't have a plan on how to spend their golden years because they lack the knowledge on retirement planning, they cannot afford to get professional help, or they have no objective mindset to plan for their future. People who want to remain active or have a lot of things to pursue in retirement need to plan early and account for the financial aspect of these activities. --Forbes
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