Top reason workers don’t feel good about retirement

Here's the top reason Americans don’t feel good about retirement
Health care costs are on the rise, making many seniors feel financially insecure about their retirement savings, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment is not enough to keep up with the rising medical costs, while many seniors don’t have enough retirement resources to cover these expenses in the future. To prepare financially for health care costs, clients should start saving and investing early, stay healthy and get adequate insurance.

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Moms get 16% less in Social Security benefit
A paper from Boston College's Center for Retirement Research has found that the lifetime earnings of mothers with one child is 28% lower than women without a child, according to this article on CNBC. This suggests that mothers will collect 16% lower in Social Security benefits than non-mothers at age 62, states the paper. To increase their retirement benefits, mothers are advised to replace the "zero income" years in their record.

How single people need to plan differently for retirement than couples do
The same basic investment themes apply to retirement planning for both singles and married couples, according to this article on MarketWatch. For example, both single and married clients follow the same tax-planning principles, such as doing Roth conversion when clients face a low marginal tax rate. However, singles will have to consider a shorter length of retirement and prepare for fewer discrete stages of retirement compared with their married counterparts.

Do you have a written financial plan?
Clients who are approaching retirement should ensure that they have a written plan to help reach their financial goals, writes a certified financial planner, according to this article from Kiplinger. Their financial plan should also include income focus, benefit maximization, risk analysis and stress test. Their plan should also account for inflation, health care, and tax consequences of their plan. For example, they may face tax liability on their Social Security benefits, and they may forget to take their required minimum distributions, triggering taxes and penalties.

Retiring soon? You may spend a lot less than you expect
Many seniors may be spending less than expected, according to this article from Fortune. Morningstar's David Blanchett said that the 80% replacement rate can overestimate retirees' actual spending by about 20%. “I think the replacement rate concept is more useful for someone further from retirement,” says the expert.