Retirement scan

These two accounts are both funded with money that has already been taxed, but there are still important differences that clients need to know.

Pre-retirees should have Medicare or health insurance in place to cover their medical costs, along with a well-maintained investment portfolio.

Retirees who under-reported their income to avoid taxes will also get smaller retirement benefits than they deserve.

Retirees should weigh a number of factors, including the fact that the closing costs for reverse mortgages are higher than those for regular mortgages.

IRA investors should consider implementing a charitable lead annuity trust when converting some of their funds into Roth to mitigate the tax bite.

The withdrawals can be taken early in the year, late in the year or in installments throughout the year. Each approach has advantages to consider.

Recent graduates tend to be in a low tax bracket early in their careers when it pays for them to save as much as they can in a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k), writes an industry expert.

New retirees are often anxious about spending to much, depriving themselves of some comforts of life for fear of outliving their nest egg.

The total out-of-pocket health care expenses of a 65-year-old couple in retirement could exceed $320,000, plus 5% annual increases.

Surviving spouses will either receive their own Social Security benefit or the survivor's benefit, whichever is higher. But they also may get pushed to a higher tax bracket, which. in turn, could mean higher taxes on Social Security benefits.

Retirement investors may opt for whole life insurance, which offers tax-deferred growth on premiums, or a home, which they can sell with up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for couples) in capital gains tax exclusion.

Recent actions by the federal government are not helping Americans to improve their retirement prospects, says analyst.

Naming a young grandchild as beneficiary of a traditional IRA could be a wrong move, as the distributions will be subject to the "kiddie tax."

Investors are about to enter the worst two-month period of the year for stocks, according to an expert with Bespoke Investment Group.

Unlike when they were still working and their employer withheld an amount for their taxes, retirees need to make estimated tax payments to the IRS.

Clients should be especially mindful of market movements during the "fragile decade," the span beginning five years before retirement until five years after retirement.

The most important consideration is that clients are able to complete the 35-year work period because benefits are based on the 35 highest-paid years from their careers.

Clients should plan to replace roughly 80% of their pre-retirement income after they leave the workforce for good.

Make sure clients understand that a 401(k) rollover could trigger a hefty tax bill, and that liquidating assets before the age of 59 1/2 could mean a hefty penalty.

Clients should work together with their spouses and plan as a couple to develop a Social Security claiming strategy that will maximize their retirement benefits.