Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Social security benefits that retirees are entitled to receive are subject to changes based on several factors, including the age at which they retire and the status of their spouse, according to Forbes. When filing, retirees should consider that state laws may differ on who may be legally recognized as a beneficiary's spouse and thus whether their partner would be entitled to spousal benefits. Picking a retirement age is also crucial: Filing for Social Security benefits at age 62 would allow minors and other dependents to qualify for benefits but would reduce the retiree's monthly benefit rate and that of their spouse.
Heirs to IRAs should understand their options so they can maximize their benefits as well as avoid unnecessary taxes or penalties, according to MarketWatch. Forgetting to take required minimum distributions will hit heirs with a 50% penalty, while taking a lump sum distribution for traditional IRAs in a high-income year will give heirs a higher tax rate than needed. Read the article to examine the different options for inheriting traditional IRAs from spouse or a parent or sibling, or Roth IRAs.
A new working paper claims that people who retire three to six months later than their intended retirement date receive an equal increase in their retirement standard of living as people who save an extra 1% of their income for retirement for 30 years, according to Bloomberg. This works best with investors on the lower-income brackets because Social Security accounts for a greater percentage of their potential retirement income and grants higher monthly benefits when claimed at full retirement age or beyond.
Researchers have analyzed 292 retirement income strategies and formulated a simple strategy for middle-income pre-retirees that provides a better average total retirement income throughout retirement compared to other strategies while ensuring a lifetime source of income, according to this article on CNBC. Called the "spend safely in retirement" strategy, it involves investors only tapping into their Social Security benefits when they reach 70 and creating an "automatic retirement paycheck" in the form of IRS required minimum distribution payments that they would receive regularly from their IRA and 401(k) savings.
Pre-retirees should not leave their 401(k) savings in autopilot so they can maximize their earnings, according to Consumer Reports. They should set their own savings rate, put money into a Roth 401(k), choose their own 401(k) portfolio when they are near retirement instead of just a target-date fund, examine retirement plan costs and see their options on retirement withdrawals.
