In developing a retirement plan there are several factors to consider in addition to the amount you need or want to save.

1. Income Taxes.

The above discussion did not take into consideration income taxes. You might have to save more if you have to pay income taxes on all or part of your retirement benefit or your contributions. Distributions from qualified employer plans are always subject to retirement income tax. (more…)

As early as age 62, spouses can collect either on their own career benefits, or take 50 percent of their spouses’ benefits, whichever is greater. The non-working spouse can begin to collect on the other’s record only if the working spouse has already begun receiving social security spousal benefits, a small but very important point. If the non-working spouse is taking care of a child under the age of 16 or who is disabled, then those benefits can begin before the earliest retirement age of 62 under other circumstances. (more…)

In just a few years, the first of an estimated 77 million Baby Boomers will become eligible for benefits and will have to make that decision. A full 32 percent of the workforce has no retirement savings set aside and 80 percent have no private pension. About two thirds of retirees receive 50 percent of their income from Social Security. Today about 20 percent of Social Security recipients rely on their checks as their sole source of income. Taking the Social Security check early at age 62 versus age 65 currently costs recipients 24 percent of their monthly social security benefits and that penalty is going up to 30 percent. Unexpected taxes and additional penalties can literally take away the rest. (more…)

Once your Average In­dexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) is calculated, the Social Security Administration applies a percentage, called a Replacement Rate, to arrive at your monthly social security statement of benefits amount. The average Replacement Rate is 40 percent. However, the rate tends to be higher for low-income workers and lower for higher income workers. In this progressive way, lower-paid workers—who in theory would have less opportunity to save—get proportionally more of their incomes replaced by Social Security. (more…)

In 1999 the Social Security Administration (SSA) began mailing Social Security statements annually to all adults 25 and over about three months prior to their birthdays. In the statement, you receive an estimate of your benefits under the most current laws, and a record of your social security statement of earnings upon which your benefits are based. If you do not have this statement, you need to get one. Call 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov and request a statement order form. Because this is sensitive personal information, it is not available online. You have to mail a form to the SSAand wait for a response in four to six weeks. (more…)

In the late 1980s, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the government agency that calculates the Consumer Price Index, was directed by Congress to calculate an experimental Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI E). This experimental index for Americans 62 years old and older is based on existing data, re-weighted to reflect expenditure patterns in the older population. A comparison with published CPIs found that older adults experienced a higher rate of inflation from 1983 through 1999 than the rates reported for either the CPI W or the CPI U. However, it is important to remember that the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly is an experimental index and is not regularly published by the BLS. (more…)

As U.S. longevity increases and health care costs soar, many older Americans face the prospect of outliving their retirement resources. Personal health and maintenance expenses are escalating, and more of America’s older adults have little recourse but to use credit for purchasing necessary medicines and even groceries. Moreover, many seniors who had planned on living in a mortgage-free home are finding that rising tax assessments, escalating insurance premiums, and other home maintenance–related costs are claiming a growing portion of their fixed incomes. (more…)

Once the cash flows to be financed are determined, whether via a detailed version of the determination of planned expenditures or the simpler “rule of thumb approach,” the question of how each $1 of assets will be turned into an income flow must be addressed. How much income will each dollar generate, and for how long? This is the basic issue of longevity risk (the risk that a person will live either beyond, or not until, their “life expectancy”). This source of uncertainty presents perhaps the most significant challenge for cash flow planning in retirement. (more…)

So now you are planning your retirement thoroughly. You are sure that you still get your income to maintain your retirement lifestyle.

Here’s a rough breakdown of where your retirement income will likely come from when you retire: (more…)

How much do you need? How much do you already have? How much time do you have to save? These are the questions that lead you to a successful retirement saving plan. A well-thought out and diligently followed plan leads you to your goal. This section walks you through the major steps in planning for your post-retirement financial needs. (more…)