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Discovering the Golden Years |
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This is the first sunrise of the New Millennium.
Retirement DecisionsIf your are thinking about retirement you face a number of
critical decisions. In this discussion I draw heavily on “How to Retire
Happy” by Stan Hinden. Hinden was a reporter for the Washington Post
writing a column on retirement. His book is based on many of his own
experiences in retirement. It is based on answering twelve questions. Are you ready to retire? You know how you feel. You maybe
tired of working. Your job could be changing or degenerating. You may be
ready to do other things. But are there any reasons not to retire? Can you afford to retire? Will you monthly income be
sufficient to cover your expenses? Your income is now fixed you won’t get
raises of bonuses. Do you plan to look for part time work? Can you survive
increases in the cost of living and increases in taxes? Do you have
potential costly health problems? When should you apply for Social Security? Do you know
how much you will in benefits each month? Should you apply for early SS
benefits? What are the trade-offs? What are the penalties? What are the
constrains? Like how much will you be allowed to earn over and above what
you receive from SS? How should you take your pension payments? Do you have
to decide on whether or not to provide your spouse a benefit after you
die? Do you have an option for
taking a lump sum payout? What should you do with the money in my company savings plan? Roll over
you IRA? Reinvest the 401K? Or maybe you could cash them out? What are the
tax options? What about company stock? How do IRAs work? When can I take out money? When do I
have to take out money and how much? How do life expectancy tables work? How should you invest during retirement? How can I best use my resources? When
will I need the money most? What kinds of investments make sense or not? What should you do about health insurance? Do I
continue my company health care insurance? What is Medicare A,B,C or
D? What is Medigap insurance and do
I need it? What should you do to prepare for serious illness? Do I need
Long Term Health Care? When do nursing homes or retirement facilities make
sense? What is in the future for hospice and home care? Where do you want to live? Do you know where you want to live?
Do you need to investigate possible locations? Are there family
considerations like children or grandchildren? Would it be cheaper to live
in another location? How should I arrange my estate? Does a Trust make sense? Is
my will in order? Are there any specific possessions I want to give to a
particular person? How can I avoid taxes? How can I age successfully?
How do I maintain my physical conditioning? How do I keep my memory
working? What do I want to do in my retirement years? Yes the twelve questions lead to more questions. There is much
to think about when you are getting ready to retire. There is no question
that you should start thinking about these issues! |
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