This MarketWatch (March 21, 2011) article discusses how one ought to think about employment as one enters retirement, and why it’s good to keep working. The article focuses on relatively high-earners for which employment ensures a protection against boredom and, more importantly, an income buffer to fill out your needs rather than an advancement in one’s career (it’s perfectly fine to step the income down.) The conclusion is that retirement has to be rethought and considered independence out of flexibility to do what I’d like, rather than independence from employment altogether. Also review this article about small business start-ups begun…
If yours was among the roughly 50 percent of marriages that ended in divorce, you may want to brush up on the Social Security rules involving spousal and survivor benefits. Why? Because mistakes can be quite costly. The LA Times recently offered a brief primer, highlighting the primary issues that could affect divorced people in their retirement years. The Basics. If you were married for at least 10 years to someone who paid into the Social Security system, you are entitled to a spousal benefit, even if you are divorced from that person. Spousal benefits, if claimed at your full…
The Social Security Administration recently put the kibosh on a technique some retirees were using to boost their monthly benefits. But even though that loophole is essentially closed, experts say there are still plenty of ways households can legally maximize the amount of income they receive from Social Security. — MarketWatchThe risky strategy of the Social Security “do-over,” is no longer available, under new rules issued by the Social Security Administration in December. Few people took advantage of this loop hole, but here is basically how it worked: You claim benefits at an early age, and then years later repay…
Let me also refer you to Seven Tips for Baby Boomers Turning 65 in 2011, a recent article from US News & World Report.1. Sign up for Medicare on time. There is a seven month window surrounding your 65th birthday during which you can sign up for Medicare, and this starts three months prior to the big day. For every 12 month period during which you haven’t signed up for Medicare Part B, your premiums may go up by 10%. If you are on an employer plan, you’ll have to sign up within eight months of leaving that plan to…
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