Dec
3
Netflix has been a tech stock du jour for some time. Many consider it a relatively safe bet, even though it has had ups and downs like any other company. But I managed to time my purchase of Netflix top at a great time and was essentially able to use the stock to significantly add to my retirement fund.
Oct
29
In 2019, military retirees and disabled veterans will get the largest pay raise they’ve seen in seven years. Pay will go up by 2.8 percent. This amounts to a $369 increase for those at the highest end of the retirement chart. The rise is a bump known as a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
Jul
28
If you are around sixty years old and are one of the few who have enough saved to retire comfortably you are most likely planning your celebrations as we speak. But whether or not you are a part of this group you should still be considering your options carefully. There are many paths to investment success and your financial advisor can play a crucial role in showing you the way. In this article we will look at some of these options and how they can contribute to better retirement savings while helping to maintain your standard of living in retirement.
While your working situation and income have a direct impact on your retirement options we can assume that most people have the same goals for retirement. These are to benefit from an income that can sustain a reasonable standard of living for the remainder of their lifespan. So what are some of your options which can help you reach your goal?
Guaranteed Life Annuities
As you might expect from the name, this annuity at its core will give you guaranteed earnings for the rest of your life which helps to combat the problem of outliving your savings. How much you actually get is determined partly by how old you are, current interest rates and unit trust prices. Essentially the longer you are expected to live, the less you are likely to receive.
To offset the risk of paying your income if you live for an extended time, legal ownership of your capital is given to the insurer and they have sole claim to this when you die. The insurer cannot ask you to pay in more money if you live longer, and by the same token your family cannot ask for more money should you die sooner than expected.
There are various kinds of guaranteed life annuities. It’s important that you look at all the available options and understand the effect of inflation before you make any long term decisions. This will help to ensure that you maintain your standard of living into retirement.
Living Annuities
A living or linked annuity does not guarantee income and is dependent on how the underlying products, like unit trusts, perform. This option gives a certain amount of flexibility which is offset by increased risk. It is recommended that these types of investments are taken only under advisement from an independent financial advisor, as there are many factors to be understood which could influence your investment. This will also help to align your expectations with the return.
When it comes to living annuities careful asset allocation is key as it will influence how long the investment will last and your standard of living. It’s important to look at how much risk you are realistically able to take on and how much growth with be required to sustain the investment.
Of course there are many factors that cannot be accounted for and which cannot be known, such as what the actual returns of your investment will be, how long the income will need to last and what the rate of inflation will be in reality. The best course of action here is to make reasonable assumptions and adjust your spending to accommodate for any unforeseen changes.
In conclusion, with more and more people spending as much time in retirement as they do actually working, it’s time we start thinking of retirement as the next stage of financial planning, and not the end of it. Careful consideration at retirement age as to the next phase of investment can really improve returns and increase the longevity of income after retirement.
Nov
29
If you are thinking about retiring in the near future, but are worried about how to pay the mortgage, then maybe you should consider selling, paying the mortgage off and downsizing?
With more and more people stepping on to the property ladder later in life, it has become common to carry mortgages well into retirement. Paying off your mortgage and moving is a good idea if you feel that you can’t keep up with the monthly payments after your working wage stops.
Before you make the transition into retirement, you must assess your savings. If you think you’ve got enough savings to last you through retirement comfortably making mortgage payments then it’s probably best that you don’t budge. .
However, if the interest rate on your mortgage overshadows the growth potential of your savings then paying off your home loan quickly by selling your house may be the best idea for you.
For some, retirement promises a debt-free life, eliminating monthly payments and bills. If you want to say goodbye to your mortgage for good but don’t have the available funds. you could cash in your pension.
However, this should not be taken lightly, carefully consider the consequences if you are thinking of taking this step.
Instead of eradicating your mortgage completely, you could always consider downsizing your property and moving the mortgage on to a different building.
Sell your current property to pay off the existing mortgage. Then move to a smaller property where the mortgage payments are much less. You could even apply for a reverse mortgage, available for the over 65s, which converts part of the equity of the home into cash so that the mortgage provider pays money to the borrower.
Home equity
If you are hoping to use your home equity to cover some of your living expenses, then selling up is probably not the option for you. Keeping your existing mortgage will be cheaper than paying off the rest of your housing debt and taking out a home equity loan.
The process behind making a solid retirement plan may seem daunting, and every aspect should be carefully considered before any drastic decisions are made. What is right for some retirees, may not be the right thing for you to do, but it’s good to know that you do have options.
Sep
24
Everyone should take care of personal health but when you reach the retirement age the issue of health maintenance comes to the fore. The government provided its citizens with the opportunity to use a variety of customized health insurance plans. With that purpose Affordable Care Act was issued but it doesn’t mean that Medicare ceased to exist. Though the act doesn’t determine health insurance programs for retirees it determines changes in plans which occur after retirement.
You have several healthcare options after your retirement and you are free to choose the most appropriate one. If you were covered by an employer, through a self-funded program you may leave that Medicare plan as basic but there are different additional available plans that may complement your primary health coverage or even substitute it. You may choose the simplest and the most inexpensive plan if you feel that you can do well without doctors. There are many people who take care of their health since youth and they don’t need to waste money neither on expensive health insurance nor on visiting doctors. And in emergency cases they always can use cash loans and still it will be much cheaper than having an advanced health insurance.
And here is some information about different health insurance plans for people at the retirement.
Basic healthcare for retirees
Government provides and finances Medicare program which covers people after retirement and some invalid people. It covers fundamental health care costs which are common for people from these groups. Medicare doesn’t cover the full cost of medication and there are some conditions which determine who and how much coverage will get. There are three different directions of costs which are covered by Medicare.
1. The first plan covers traditional hospitals and specializing hospitals stays. It is called the primary hospitalization plan.
2. The second plan is the main health coverage and it includes medical advisers, ambulant clinics, laboratory studies, and so on.
3. And the last plan covers medicines costs.
You can have one of these plans in your health insurance program or all three at once if it is needed. You will not have to pay any money for the first plan if you have stayed with Medicare and Social Security for 10 employable years. For the second part consumers have to pay from $105 to $150 depending on your annual income. And the last part may be acquired through private insurers and its price varies depending on the provider.
Advantage Plans
Such health insurance comes from Medicare but it is provided by private insurers. Some people find that it is more beneficial to use Medicare Advantage rather than the conjunction of three previous plans. Different providers of Medicare Advantage Plans suggest various prices which depend on the state rules where the consumer lives as well as it depends on services which are included in the plan. That is why it is better to visit several providers and to choose the most appropriate one.
Supplemental Insurance
Consumers may also purchase “Medigap” – a Medicare Supplemental Insurance provided by private insurers which covers costs that are not included into the first and second plans. Medigap doesn’t provide long-term insurance that is why it should be purchased separately.
