Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Seniors who were born before Jan. 2, 1954, and reached their full retirement age will be better off filing for the Social Security restricted application, especially if their former and current spouses are to file for a benefit, writes a Forbes contributor. "The restricted application is basically the same as the file & suspend strategy [which was disallowed in 2016] with one big exception — spouse #1 needs to be receiving his or her worker benefit in order for spouse #2 to be collecting a spousal benefit," writes the expert. "As of today, in order for one spouse to be receiving a spousal benefit, the other spouse must be receiving their worker benefit, unlike the Claim & Suspend."
Workers should consider contributing the maximum amount to their 401(k)s, whose contribution limits have increased for this year, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. Maxing out the 401(k) contributions can help clients enhance their retirement prospects and reduce their tax bill. The contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan increased to $19,000 from $18,500. The catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over remains unchanged at $6,000.
Seniors should avoid filing for Social Security benefits early and at the same time buying an annuity or taking an annuity from their pension plan instead of a lump sun, according to this article on MarketWatch. That's because seniors would miss out on “an unambiguous arbitrage opportunity,” and “leave money on the table,” according to two economists who studies this issue. “Delaying Social Security is equivalent to purchasing an inflation-indexed life annuity.”
Retirees should consider going out of their comfort zone and reinvent themselves by engaging in volunteer work and serving impoverished communities, according to this article on Forbes. Seniors would prevent their personal growth and learning if they remain in their comfort zones, says an expert. “Growth and learning happen outside of that zone, so stretching beyond it is pushing yourself to dramatically increase your performance in every aspect of your life. It’s building a habit of stretching little by little.”
