Healthcare can be one of the biggest expenses for you during your retirement. And while everyone is different, part of retirement planning is trying to prepare as much as possible for potential costs. You may not know your costs ahead of time, but you can do a few simple things to set yourself up in a good position if you do end up with significant healthcare bills.   Contribute to an HSA These aren’t for everyone. But if you are in a position that allows you to put money toward a health savings account (an HSA), they can be a great way to mitigate costs. HSAs allow you to contribute m ..read more

Put plainly: a taxable event is a transaction that causes someone to owe money to the government in the form of taxes.[1] Seems simple enough, right? When it comes to retirement and savings, there are a few important taxable events that you might want to keep an eye on. Earned Income Receiving earned income from an employer is a taxable event.[2] When you receive earned income from an employer, you have to pay a percentage of that money to the federal government.[3] You also will probably have to pay some amount to the state you live in, and you may have to pay some amount to the local govern ..read more

The topic of inflation has been sparking intense debate in the realms of finance and politics recently. It’s possible that you’ve personally experienced the effects of inflation. Maybe you’ve gone to purchase something only to find it’s significantly pricier than you anticipated. A good illustration of what has been happening recently with inflation is the cost of eggs. In 2022, an avian flu outbreak pushed the price of eggs up by nearly 60%.[1] While inflation is a complex matter, specialists have proposed several explanations for the recent surge. The pandemic-induced disruptions in supply ..read more

Believe it or not, your financial situation and circumstances are unique. Factors such as debt, your health, the age of your children if you have them, and other seemingly disparate factors profoundly influence your financial standing as you near retirement. The advantage of having a financial professional working with you is their ability to consider and monitor factors that can impact your financial future and collaborate with you to formulate a plan custom-made for your needs and goals. A key piece of that plan is how you factor in your Social Security situation. You might be surprised at ..read more

As we transition into the cooler months and approach October, a crucial update awaits retirees: the announcement of the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Social Security. “COLA” is an abbreviation for “cost of living adjustment,” a term that refers to the annual increase in Social Security benefits.[1] Each year, Social Security has a percentage increase designed to offset inflation’s impact.[1] Over time, the prices of commodities tend to go up, so the purpose of the COLA is to ensure that Social Security keeps pace with these increments.[1] The surge of inflation in recent years has ..read more

It’s no secret that there’s been a lot happening in our economy lately. You may have seen headlines about interest rate hikes or the debt ceiling. We’re still feeling the aftereffects of economic decisions made during the pandemic and trying to figure out how that unprecedented event is going to affect our economy in the long term. It can be important to keep up to date on the larger economic happenings, especially if you are a person who is headed into retirement. Markets, prices, and economic events play a key role in what decisions you make with your retirement funds, timelines, and budget ..read more

Most people have a desire to give back. Having dedicated most of your life to work, you might be considering donating to charitable causes. However, if you’re in retirement and relying on funds from avenues like social security or your retirement savings, it can be difficult to figure out how philanthropy fits into your financial landscape. A majority of retired individuals opt for the standard deduction on their taxes because it’s simple and often more advantageous than itemizing.[1] However, as of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, itemizing is necessary to qualify for deductions on charita ..read more

“How much do I need to retire?” This question is one of the most common in the retirement finance realm. For those new to retirement planning, it can be a challenging question to tackle. This write-up aims to provide you with some direction about your financial goals for retirement while also acquainting you with some time-honored conventional guidance. First off, there is no single savings number universal to everyone. This might not be the response you were hoping for, but it’s accurate. There’s no specific monetary sum that will instantly make your retirement ideal. However, it’s important ..read more

Before 1978, most retirement plans were set up as pensions. Although the term “pension” can colloquially refer to any kind of retirement account, usually what is meant by “pension” is a defined-benefit plan.[1] “Defined-benefit plan” is a technical term for a retirement plan where an employer guarantees payment of a certain amount when you retire based on how long you worked at the company and what your salary was at that job.[2] With pensions, the burden of risk in setting you up for retirement was entirely on your employer because they were required to pay you an agreed-upon amount at retir ..read more