Welcome to Retirement Scan, our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be talking about.
Married couples will need to compromise in order to develop an effective retirement plan, an investment advisor writes at Kiplinger. To achieve a plan that works for both, couples are advised to study the basics, such as Social Security, taxes and risks, and get involved in the process, the expert says. When helping clients develop a comprehensive financial plan, couples should consider various ways of meeting their annual needs in the most tax-efficient ways and the importance of boosting returns to offset inflation and avoid outliving their savings.
Do your clients want to know whether they are prepared for retirement? A sustainable strategy built to tap their investment portfolio and determine the age they will file for Social Security benefits is one place to start, according to an article from Motley Fool. They are advised to find ways to prepare for their medical expenses in retirement, such as saving in a health savings account, which offers tax deductibility on contributions, tax-free growth on savings and tax-exempt withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.
The percentage of investors with a taxable brokerage account rose to 42% in 2018 from 32% in 2010, according to a survey by Hearts and Wallets in this NerdWallet article. Although this type of account has fewer restrictions compared with retirement accounts, clients should still contribute to their 401(k)s and IRA because of the benefits, such as tax deferral on the contributions and tax-free growth on investments.
Clients with 401(k)s are advised to have their own investment policy statement if they want to have greater control over their savings, a Forbes contributor writes. “Think of an investment policy statement as a set of thought-out decisions for creating and maintaining your portfolio,” he says. “An investment policy statement is your own rule book to be monitored and revised as necessary.”
