How to Spend Less in Retirement
by Steve Vernon, FSA
| In late March, Fidelity Investments issued its annual Retiree Health Care Costs Estimate, which found that a 65-year-old couple retiring
in 2010 would need $250,000 in the bank to pay for all future medical
expenses. If you do all you can to
stay healthy, however, you can help control and even reduce these estimated
costs.
This is just
one more reason to make the lifestyle changes you probably already know you
should be making. Eat the right amount and kinds of food, get adequate
exercise, manage your stress, and quit bad habits such as smoking or excessive
drinking. These changes could save you boatloads of money and help you better enjoy your
retirement years.
For more details, please see my recent post on CBS MoneyWatch, How to Spend Less in Retirement.
As I mentioned in my most recent newsletters, I'm using a
new newsletter format so I can share the most helpful blogs and articles I find
in my research. Please continue reading for this month's selections.
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How Much Retirement Income Do You Need?
| If you rely only on conventional wisdom to decide how much
income you need in retirement, the consequences can be unpleasant -- and maybe
even life-changing. If your goal is too low, you might run out of money before
you die. If your goal is too high, you might postpone your retirement. The
solution? Do the math to estimate how much money you need to meet your needs
and be happy for your retirement years, and don't rely on generalized goals
that may not fit you best.
For more thoughts, take a look at my recent CBS MoneyWatch
post How Much Retirement Income Do You Need?
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| Six Things You're Doing to Delay Your Retirement | Millions of senior citizens these days are discovering they
don't have adequate financial resources to retire. Some are unable to retire
due to the recent economic crisis; others are having to postpone retirement due
to poor financial habits. The stark truth is this: Financial decisions that you
make on a daily basis have a direct impact on your financial future. Poor
financial habits will have you working longer, retiring later and possibly
finding yourself flat broke in your golden years. Here's a great article from Investopedia that shares six financial habits that could be keeping you from reaching your retirement dreams.
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Six Ways Couples Can Maximize Social Security Payouts
| As I've written in previous columns, maximizing Social
Security benefits is an important aspect of securing a reliable, lifetime
retirement income. This recent article from U.S. News & World Report discusses how to navigate Social Security's
rules for maximizing benefits for couples.
This is particularly important for women who will eventually
become widows. Since men tend to
marry women who are a few years younger than them and women tend to outlive
men, many women can expect a five- to ten-year period of widowhood at the end
of their lives. Poverty among
widows is prevalent in our society, so maximizing Social Security benefits
helps address this serious problem.
For details, please read Six Ways Couples Can Maximize Social Security Payouts.
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Memo to HR: Older Brains = Smarter Brains
| A new book makes the case that our brains can age as well as
a vintage French burgundy; many of our most important cognitive functions
actually improve with age. That's promising news for Baby Boomers hoping to
keep working well into their 60s and beyond. Let's just hope it becomes
required reading in H.R. departments!
Learn more from this blog post from fellow CBS MoneyWatch
blogger Carla Fried: Memo to HR: Older Brains = Smarter Brains.
As I've written in prior posts with CBS MoneyWatch, many
people will need to work in their retirement years to make ends meet. So taking care of your mind and body is
an important part of your retirement planning. Read the next article for more on this important topic.
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Health Care Reform Sends Clear Message on Prevention | Health care reform aims to improve the health of all
Americans by requiring insurance plans to offer free preventative services.
After all, health insurance will eventually cost less if we're all healthier.
Will you be smart enough to take advantage of these free preventative services?
More important, will you make the most effective changes needed:
getting more exercise and adopting a healthier diet? These steps can
dramatically decrease your odds of contracting expensive, chronic
conditions and significantly increase your ability to enjoy life in
your retirement years.
Read my recent post on CBS MoneyWatch for details on the
relevant provisions in health care reform, and to connect to a quick video clip
that tells us everything we need to know about healthy living in 60 seconds!
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This Month's Video Highlight: Ignoring Social Security Doesn't Make Sense!
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Andy Landis, author of Social Security: The Inside Story, provides a number of good insights on Social
Security benefits. In particular,
he points out that some financial planners ignore Social Security benefits
because they think the benefits are insignificant or they don't believe in
Social Security, but that just doesn't make sense. For most Americans, Social Security provides a valuable lifetime income that should be considered when planning for retirement. Analyzing when to claim Social Security benefits is a critical part of your retirement planning.
Watch this month's clip to see more.
For more informative clips, visit the Video Library on my website. |
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| Thanks for your interest, and stay tuned for future newsletters which explore how to best live the rest of your life.
Best regards,
Steve Vernon
Rest-of-Life Communications
P.S. If you think this newsletter will help a friend, please pass it along.
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Just Released
The Second Edition of
Recession-Proof Your Retirement Years
Simple Retirement Planning Strategies That Work Through Thick or Thin
I've updated this popular book to include investment results through the end of 2009 and the latest changes to Social Security. I've also added about 20 pages of content to cover topics that readers have requested. It's still short--under 100 pages--so it's easy to follow and easy to finish. And it still provides a step-by-step program to build reliable sources of retirement income that cover your living expenses and strategies to address the threat of high medical and long-term care expenses. The book is available for bulk purchase by employers and other organizations, or for individual purchase. Please see my website for details on all of my books and DVDs. |
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Welcome to
Our Newsletter!
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We fulfill a need for trusted, practical strategies that you can use to plan your rest-of-life (aka
retirement). We rely on the latest research and analyses, and we'll
keep it simple! And that's all we provide; we don't sell insurance, investments or health products, so we can "tell it like it is."
Here's an archive of past issues.
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Steve Vernon has spent 35 years as a consulting actuary, helping large employers design and manage their retirement programs. Now he's president of Rest-of-Life Communications, where he specializes in providing unbiased, trusted information about retirement. He also consults to Mercer's US Retirement, Risk and Finance business, and writes a regular column for CBS MoneyWatch titled Money for Life.
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For information on keynote addresses, workshops or presentations on retirement issues, visit Steve's website at www.restoflife.com, or email him at steve.vernon@restoflife.com
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