Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Maintaining a diversified investment portfolio before retirement is one way for baby boomers to prepare for their golden years, according to Forbes. Preretirees also will need to control their daily finances and make sure they are on track concerning their retirement plans. Including long-term health care in their retirement plan is a must and there is a need for boomers to focus on saving as they get close to retirement since there is no program offering financial aid for cash-strapped retirees. –Forbes
A 65-year-old divorce can optimize her Social Security retirement benefits by working longer and delaying her benefits until she reaches 70, according to CBS Moneywatch. By doing so, she would earn delayed retirement credits and complete the required 35 years of wages that could boost her monthly benefit value. She also may still qualify for restricted application, which she should use to make the most of her Social Security benefits. –CBS Moneywatch
Buying a deferred income annuity before retiring may give clients a peace of mind that they will have guaranteed income in retirement, but they are advised to hold the decision until such time they are ready to retire, according to CNNMoney. For instance, clients would decide to continue working past their scheduled retirement date, so the guaranteed income from the annuity may not be needed yet. Also, they still have to determine how much guaranteed income they will actually need to cover their living costs in retirement. –CNNMoney
Saving for retirement can be more challenging for unmarried clients especially single women because they will depend only on one income compared with married couples who have two incomes from which to source their savings, according to USA Today. As such, singles are advised to set aside as much as 20% of their earnings, exclude individual stocks and opt for low-cost index funds. They also make sure their financial advisor observes the fiduciary standard and avoid rolling over their old 401(k) assets into their new plan when changing jobs so the cost basis will not decline. –USA Today
Seniors are entitled to various discounts in retirement, so those who have recently retired can save by asking for discounts on their car insurance and homeowners insurance policies, according to this article on Nasdaq. They also need to revisit their life insurance coverage to know if they would still need one and enroll in Medicare. People are expected to live longer, so planning for long-term care costs should be in order. –Nasdaq
