Retirement Planning

How Life Insurance Works During Retirement

Published on: October 9, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Life insurance is a financial tool that can be as powerful during retirement, as it is during your working life. In many cases, it can be a real lifesaver for a surviving spouse.

Most of us think about life insurance as income replacement for a breadwinner’s salary. That is certainly true. However, life insurance doesn’t stop being useful during the later years, says Kiplinger in a recent article, “Don't Overlook Advantages of Making Insurance Part of Your Retirement Plan.”

The income replaceme nt function doesn’t go away during retirement. It might even be more important.

How You Can Make the Most of Social Security

Published on: October 2, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Just because you can take Social Security at age 62, doesn’t mean you should. Taking it earlier means that your monthly benefits will be reduced. The longer you can wait, ideally until age 70, the better.

Applying for Social Security benefits is a pretty simple process, according to Investopedia’s recent article, “When To Apply For Social Security Retirement Benefits.” The earliest you can apply is when you are 61 plus nine months, or four months before benefits are scheduled to begin. Your first Social Security payment will occur four months later, which is going to be the month after you celebrate your 62^nd birthday. After that, benefit payments arrive after every full month that you are eligible, if you apply as soon as you are eligible.

Applications can be submitted either online, over the phone, or in person at your local Social Security office. A very convenient way to apply is online at the Social Security Administration website. The application itself takes about 15 minutes and can be saved at any point for future completion. This application can also be used to apply for Medicare.

How Does the Social Security Disability Benefit Process Work?

Published on: September 11, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Social Security disability benefits are based on average lifetime earnings. How severe the disability is, or what the household income is, has nothing to do with the amount of money that will be paid.

If you have your annual Social Security statement, you can see what you’ll probably get in the Estimated Benefits section. However, this is an estimate and not a final number. The total amount a disabled worker and his or her family can receive is roughly 150% to 180% of the disabled worker's benefit. Eligible family members can include a spouse, divorced spouse, children, a disabled child and/or an adult child disabled prior to age 22.

The estimated Social Security disability benefit amount for a disabled worker receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in January 2019 is $1,234 per month. However, a beneficiary can receive either less than this or up to $2,861, according the article “What are the maximum Social Security disability benefits?” from Investopedia.

How Gray Divorces Impact Senior Lives

Published on: September 9, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

It used to be unheard of, a divorce after fifty, sixty or even seventy years old. However, gray divorce is now becoming more common. There are pitfalls to be aware of, before taking this big step.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, younger Americans are divorcing at much lower rates, while divorces for adults over 50 have just about doubled since the 1990s. Back in the 90s, for every 1,000 persons age 50 and older, only five divorced. In 2015, for every 1,000 married persons age 50 and older, 10 are divorced.

The issues of a gray divorce are very different than those of a younger couple, not to mention the financial and legal complexities of marriages that span decades.

What are the Benefits to a Target Date Fund?

Published on: August 1, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Target date funds are growing in popularity, in part because they don’t require investors to do anything in the way of fund management. Are they right for you? That depends.

Like any investment, there are pros and cons to using target date funds for retirement savings. The concept is easy to grasp—just pick the year you want to retire and select that fund that’s closest to that year. Say you’re 50 and you want to retire in 2034. You’d pick the 2035 fund. The fund is actively managed and rebalanced to adjust risks, as you get closer to retirement, explains Kiplinger in the article “Is a Target Date Fund Right for You?”

Target date funds are a good option for investors who aren’t intimately involved with their investments and who wouldn’t rebalance their investments on their own. These funds are also good for DIY investors because they’re a more comprehensive strategy than selecting funds based on past performance—which is the method often used by do-it-yourselfers. However, past performance doesn’t always indicate future growth.

Medicare Doesn’t Cover Everything

Published on: July 8, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Life before Medicare was a real struggle for seniors without healthcare coverage. Today’s program still works wonders, but it doesn’t cover everything.

Once you turn 65, you are eligible to take part in the Medicare system of healthcare. It can be a little confusing to apply, and sometimes a little hard to figure out what it will and won’t cover. Traditional Medicare, also known as “Original Medicare,” should cover most of your medical expenses through Medicare Part A and Part B. Part A is all about hospital insurance: inpatient stays, skilled nursing facilities for some costs, surgery, hospice care and some home health care. Part B helps to pay for things like some medical equipment and supplies, some preventive services, doctor visits and outpatient care. Three months before you reach age 65, you need to sign up for Medicare.

Kiplinger’s article, “7 Things Medicare Doesn't Cover,” takes a closer look at what isn't covered by Medicare, plus some information about supplemental insurance policies and strategies that can help cover the additional costs, so you don't end up with unanticipated medical bills in retirement.

Should a Reverse Mortgage Be Part of My Retirement Plan?

Published on: June 5, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

If you’ve got a fair amount of equity in your home and no other way to cover a healthcare cost or if the bills are coming in faster than your retirement accounts can manage, it might be time to consider a reverse mortgage.

For retirees in a financial tight spot, a home equity line of credit or borrowing against an existing home equity line of credit can provide a short-term solution. If you are at least 62 with a home that is not heavily mortgaged, a reverse mortgage is another option.

A revere mortgage gives you tax-free cash. No repayments are due, until you die or move out of the house.

Catching Up in Retirement Savings Later in Life

Published on: May 9, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Nearly half of American households older than 55 have no retirement savings. The U.S. Government Accountability Office says that this number is actually better than in the past.

According to the article from CNBC, “These people are on the verge of retiring—and they have nothing saved,” an analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances shows that 52 percent of households had nothing saved for retirement in 2013. The number is now at 48 percent. It is not much of an improvement.

If your household is behind on retirement savings, here’s what you can do:

Gen Xers Are the New Sandwich Generation

Published on: May 1, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Balancing careers, children, college funds and aging parents present the same-old scenario, but this time to a new generation with a different value system.

Members of Generation X, who straddle a fairly wide age range, from late 30s to early 50s, are feeling the crunch of being responsible for their children and their parent’s needs. How will they ever get a handle on their savings for their own retirement?

U.S. News & World Report reminds us in its article “Essential Strategies for Generation X” that with the right strategies, Gen Xers can find a money-life balance.

Decisions About Taking Pension Pay-Out Still Challenging

Published on: March 22, 2019 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There was a time when most people had three sources of income in retirement. One was their savings, the second was Social Security and the third was their pension from work. Today, very few workers enjoy the security of a pension, and retirement income is dependent on each person’s ability to save, plus Social Security.

For those remaining workers who have pensions, at some point a decision must be made whether to take their pensions over time or to receive the accrued value as a lump sum. A pension can be a stable stream of income in retirement, or it could be a lump sum that is invested. There are pros and cons to both.

Investopedia’s recent article, “Pension Planning: Lump Sum Versus Monthly Payments,” says that the pension provider takes the risk of both sub-par market returns and the possibility that the retiree will live longer than expected. The article raises several thoughts to consider, when making the decision: