Seniors who opt to defer their Social Security benefits past the full retirement age will incur delayed retirement credits that can raise the value of their benefit payments by 0.66% per month or 8% per year, according to this article on USA Today. “However, these delayed retirement credits only accrue until age 70, and there are no additional increases if you wait beyond age 70 before starting to collect,” says an expert. Up to 85% of their retirement benefits may also be subject to federal income tax if their combined income exceeds a certain threshold.
When tapping retirement assets for income, withdrawal sequencing is crucial to minimizing the tax bite and ensuring the nest egg lasts as long as it should, according to this article on Kiplinger. Instead of following the traditional advice, which is to start with taxable accounts first before tapping tax-deferred and Roth accounts, clients may be better off withdrawing from these accounts simultaneously. This "multiple accounts strategy" could be more tax-efficient and make the nest egg last longer.
Many 401(k) plans have restrictions on how to take distributions in retirement, leaving the participants with fewer options that could cost them dearly, according to this article from Money. A group of lawmakers are pushing a proposal to ease these inflexible distribution rules in the government's Thrifty Savings Plan. Under the proposal, participants would be allowed to take multiple partial distributions while employed and to take more distributions after they retire.
Retiree investors have the option to use the total-return approach or the income strategy to generate income from their portfolios, but these strategies have pros and cons, according to this article in Forbes. Clients who prefer the total-return approach need to spend within the income range they get from their portfolio and other sources, but portfolio returns may not be enough to help cover their expenses. With an income strategy, clients have to invest more in high-dividend stocks or bonds with greater maturity or increased credit risk, making their portfolio less diversified with increased risk exposure.
