FiGuide » Retirement

The Ultimate Social Security Do Over

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:37:47 +0000

If you don’t know about this tactic, you can read the article The Ultimate “Do Over” by clicking the link. Briefly, this tactic provides a way for you to file for your Social Security benefit and then later, after your benefit would have been potentially increased had you not filed, you can re-pay what you’ve received and start over at your new age. (Read the article at the link above, it’s explained much better there…) I didn’t tell the complete the story in that article though: there are a few items ...

Here’s What You Need to Know For the 2010 Required Minimum Distribution

Jean Keener, CRPC®, CFDP® — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:46:35 +0000

Required minimum distributions, often referred to as RMDs, are amounts the federal government requires you to withdraw annually from traditional IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans after you reach age 70½ (or, in some cases, after you retire). RMDs are also required if you inherit an IRA (traditional or Roth) or employer plan account.

When Husband and Wife Receive Social Secuirty: Coordinating Benefits

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:24:44 +0000

You know that there are quite a few components to keep in mind as you and your spouse plan for your Social Security retirement benefits. It can be quite a challenge to work through all of them on your own. I recently ran across some old notes that I had from a seminar I attended that included a guideline that you might find helpful as you plan. The point of this rule of thumb is to attain the highest benefit for the longest surviving spouse. The Spousal Coordination ...

Calculating Your Earnings For Social Security

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:51:19 +0000

The question is this: will her earnings test be based upon her “individual” earnings, or on the higher combined earnings of the two of us (I am still working, earning in excess of the earnings test amount)?

How Much is Enough For Retirement?

Cathy Curtis, CFP® — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:54:00 +0000

None of us knows how long we will live. But you can be sure that the longer you live the more money you will need – unless – you’re willing to reduce your lifestyle in retirement. According to IRS issued life expectancy tables, the life expectancy for a 25 year old is 83.2, for a 50 year old 84.2 and for a 75 year old it’s 88.4. The older you get the more years you are expected to live. We can thank medical science and our ...

Avoid the RMD When Rolling Your IRA into a 401(k)

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:18:38 +0000

In a recent article I pointed out a few additional reasons that might make you want to rollover your old 401(k) plan into an IRA – but there are also good reasons, in particular circumstances, that it might make sense to move your IRA funds into a 401(k) plan. One of those reasons might be [...]

7 Steps to Planning Your Own Retirement

Fern Alix LaRocca CFP® EA — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:50:12 +0000

Everyone would like to retire early and retire rich. But what does that look like to you? Some people think of old folks in rocking Retirement Planning is step 6 of 7 in your do it yourself financial plan. Everyone would like to retire early and retire rich. But what does that look like to you? Some people think of old folks in rocking chairs while some think of the freedom to do whatever they want. You need to have [...]

When it Makes Sense to Take Social Security Early

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:01:28 +0000

In the past, we’ve discussed how beneficial it can be to delay receiving Social Security benefits as long as you can. You can see this discussion in the article Ah, Sweet Procrastination – it makes good financial sense to delay receiving your benefit to age 70 in many cases, but of course not all.

Post-Death Options for Directing a Retirement Plan to a Spouse

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:48:49 +0000

There are many cases where an IRA or other retirement plan owner has directed his or her account to someone other than his or her spouse – such as the estate, a trust, or other person(s), or – the owner may not have named a beneficiary at all. It could be that the original owner [...]

Calculating the Spousal Benefit

Jim Blankenship, CFP®, EA — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:03:38 +0000

The Spousal Benefit is one of the more confusing aspects of the Social Security retirement benefit system. It’s vaguely familiar that the spouse with the lower wage base is eligible for 50% of the higher wage base spouse’s benefit, or something like that… How is the Spousal Benefit actually calculated?