How to get the most from HSAs in retirement: Retirement Scan

Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.

What happens to your HSA in retirement?
When tapping into multiple retirement accounts for income, seniors are advised to withdraw from taxable and other accounts before taking distributions from their health savings account, according to this article on Morningstar. This is to give more time for their investments in an HSA to grow, as the account offers tax-free compounded growth. Moreover, unlike taxable accounts and other tax-deferred retirement accounts, an HSA also offers tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses and is not subject to required minimum distribution rules.

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Pensioners sit and rest inside the Polish care home where they live in Sloneczna Polana, Poland, on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. *** ADD SECOND SENTENCE *** Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg

When should you take advice at face value?
An expert says that clients are advised to avoid taking financial advice at face value, as it may not suit their personal circumstances, according to this article on Motley Fool. For example, when the expert was 18 years old, he followed a banking employee's advice to open a traditional IRA, and later on he realized that he should have opted for a Roth IRA. Although he claimed a tax deduction for his traditional IRA contributions that time, he could have saved more if he put the funds in a Roth IRA and paid the tax while he was still in a lower tax bracket.

Keep more of your retirement savings with tax-bracket planning
Tax efficiency is the key for seniors to avoid losing too much of their retirement savings from taxes, writes an investment adviser on Kiplinger. "The key is 'tax-bracket control,' which, for most retirees, means staying within the 15% tax bracket for the rest of their lives," writes the expert. "Of course, effective tax planning must start with your first year of retirement, so don’t immediately assume your tax plan is perfect if you fail to 'fill' the entire 15% tax bracket in your early retirement years."

Americans agree on the best way to invest money—but they’re wrong
A Bankrate survey has found that real estate and cash investments top the list of options that people choose to save for retirement, according to this article on CNBC. "The preferences for cash and real estate indicate that too many people are leaving money on the virtual table by failing to be sufficiently exposed to the stock market, where higher long-term returns are found," says an economic analyst with Bankrate. "This is especially the case for younger investors, who are in the best position to weather the inevitable short-term market volatility."

Wealthy retirees stick with stocks, and they're happy
A recent report shows that rich seniors who are likely to meet their basic needs in retirement are ditching the conventional wisdom of adopting a more conservative approach to investing, according to this article on Forbes. High net worth investors who ignore the traditional asset allocation should move on with caution by having a financial plan that provides enough cash flow for their needs through the golden years before increasing their exposure to stocks, says an expert. “When you’re managing assets in the legacy bucket, you’re still trying to grow your portfolio,” making stocks a wise investment option, adds the expert.

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