Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Many investors are concerned that death or deteriorating health would prevent them from enjoying the golden years to the fullest, according to this article on Morningstar. Many investors also fear that they will feel alienated and irrelevant after they retire, become a burden to their families when they reach old age, or their surviving spouse will go on retirement alone. Others are worried that medical care and health insurance costs, tax changes, and inflation will drain their retirement funds. Some investors would want to set aside their worries and simply enjoy retirement, saying that they could be too conservative in building their nest egg and too frugal in spending away their retirement funds.
Although delaying Social Security retirement benefits until the age 70 means increasing the monthly benefit payout, only 3% of seniors have opted to defer their benefits, according to this article on Forbes. The number of those who decide to delay their retirement benefits is increasing, and the average age at which people start collecting their Social Security is 64.4 years. Taking early retirement benefits makes sense under some circumstances, but in most cases, it can be a dumb decision. For example, retirees are better off collecting the benefits early if they are disabled, but they should consider deferring the benefits even if they are sick, as delaying it could boost their spouse's survivor benefit when they die.
Self-employed clients may want to contribute to a solo-401(k) plan to build their retirement nest egg, according to this article on Motley Fool. Business owners can also save for retirement using a SIMPLE IRA or SEP IRA, depending on the number of employees that they have. Another retirement saving vehicle that self-employed people may consider is a defined-benefit plan, which is recommended for those in the higher income group.
IRA investors have the option to use a portion of their assets to invest in a qualified longevity annuity contract within the plan, according to this article on Kiplinger. This option is recommended to retirement savers who started late and want to secure their retirement, and the assets invested in a QLAC will not be included as basis computing their required minimum distributions, provided the total investments in QLACs should be lower than $125,000 or 25% of their accounts' total balance. Clients should also start collecting payments from the QLAC before reaching the age of 85 and ensure that the payment at the income-start date is guaranteed when they bought the annuity.
Seeking financial assistance from adult children may be an option for retirees if their loved ones have the capacity to help, writes an expert in an article in USA Today. However, they need to determine whether their children are willing to provide support and feel the need to help them, the expert says. If their children are not open to offering any help and their Social Security benefits are insufficient, retirees should turn to food pantries and other community-assistance programs. "[I]t’s time to take advantage of them."
