Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Recent actions by the federal government are not helping Americans to improve their retirement prospects, according to this article on CBS Moneywatch. Congress scrapped a rule that encouraged states to run their own retirement programs for workers with no access to workplace retirement plans, while the Treasury Department cancelled the MyRA program, which was designed for these workers. "The government's action is indicative of a general antipathy to any government involvement in solving the pension crisis," says an analyst.
Clients who are approaching retirement can develop a realistic budget for the golden years by trying to live like a retiree before they actually leave the workforce for good, writes a financial adviser on MarketWatch. "If you can’t live according to your retirement budget while you’re still working, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to when you have all day to spend money," writes the expert.
Clients who accelerate their mortgage payments can save on interest in the short term, plus the tax deduction they get for these payments, according to this article on Motley Fool. However, in the long term they would incur more savings if they put their retirement savings ahead of mortgage payments because of the power of compounded growth on investments in retirement accounts.
A 29-year-old individual decided to retire at age 28 after accumulating $2.25 million in retirement savings from working in finance for only seven years, according to this article on CNNMoney. She socked away at least 70% of her earnings during those years, with the goal of becoming independent financially. To accomplish this, she focused on her income, then invested her savings for growth, after which she looked for ways to optimize her tax savings.
A retiree who started collected his Social Security retirement benefit at age 66 will not see his benefit payment reduced if he takes on a lower paying job, according to this article on Forbes. That's because the benefit is based on his highest 35 years of inflation adjusted income. His benefit will not be subject to the Social Security earnings test, as he already reached his full retirement age.
