Retirement in Sight

COULD AN INCOME STREAM RUN RIGHT THROUGH YOUR HOME?

Millions of Americans are working from home these days, and you may be one of them. You also may be pleasantly surprised to learn just how much you might be able to earn working from home part time in retirement.

HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED THE RETIREMENT MINDSET?

Each year, the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies surveys baby boomers, Gen Xers, and millennials to gauge their perceptions about retiring. The 2020 survey, conducted in April, studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it may have affected their outlooks..

ARE YOU CONSIDERING THE COUNTRY LIFE?

A Harris Poll, conducted in May, of 2,030 U.S. adults found some interesting choices regarding where Americans would like to live at the moment, particularly seniors. The research firm discovered that the appeal of rural areas, or at least, exurban or suburban areas, may be growing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHAT WOULD WE LIKE TO DO WHEN WE HAVE THE CHANCE AGAIN?

As most of the nation contended with stay-at-home orders this spring, polling firm YouGov decided to survey 1,175 American adults to see what activities they might want to do once businesses fully reopen and social-distancing mandates end. 

USING YOUR QUARANTINE AS A TRIAL RUN FOR RETIREMENT

Most retired people don’t spend all of their time at home, but you might find that “sheltering-in-place” may give you a taste of how you will cope without a job to go to every day. 

GOOD CAREER CHOICES MAY LEAD TO AN IMPROVED RETIREMENT

What is your most powerful tool for building retirement savings? Perhaps, your income. For that matter, the path of your career could influence when and how well your retirement begins.

WHAT MATTERS MORE IN RETIREMENT: INCOME, OR SAVINGS?

Retirement saving is not just about accumulating assets. It is also about laying the groundwork for retirement spending.

HOW THE SECURE ACT IMPACTS RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

A new federal law, the Setting Up Every Community for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, directly affects retirees and retirement savers. 

READY FOR MORE RETIREMENT TOGETHER?

A career-focused couple may spend as little as 5 to 6 hours interacting with each other on most days, given hours spent working, commuting, shopping, and running errands apart. Once retired, that same couple may spend as many as 15 to 16 hours together each day.

THE RIGHT HABITS TO LIVE WELL IN RETIREMENT

Are you exercising to a degree that, while not arduous, takes you slightly out of your physical comfort zone? Strength training and endurance training are particularly important as we age, and so is stretching to maintain flexibility. 

GENERATING RETIREMENT INCOME

If you can continue at your current job for a few years, those are years where you aren’t spending retirement income, which may allow you to continue accumulating money in your retirement accounts or other investments.

SUNNIER PROSPECTS FOR WORKING AS A SENIOR

In recent years, a steady stream of articles has appeared, questioning baby boomers’ hopes to keep working part time in their retirement years. These articles have tended to take a skeptical view of such ambitions. Well, maybe it is time to sweep some of the skepticism away.

MORE SENIORS, BUT PERHAPS FEWER DOCTORS?

Ideally, the ranks of primary care physicians and specialists would expand to meet the demands posed by retiring baby boomers on the health care system. In reality, things are quite the opposite: America is staring at an oncoming doctor shortage.

HOW RETIREMENT SAVING RELATES TO RETIREMENT SPENDING

Just as there is no one-size-fits-all retirement strategy, there is no “average” retirement savings number that applies for every individual or couple. 

CAN YOU STAY ON A COMPANY HEALTH PLAN AFTER AGE 65?

Generally, Medicare is available for people age 65 or older; this is well-known. What is less well-known is the fact that some companies can legally cancel group health insurance for a worker reaching this milestone. Baby boomers who aspire to keep working into their mid-sixties may want to take note of this.