Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Clients are advised to have considerable savings for their future health care expenses, as most bankruptcies are caused by staggering medical costs, according to this article on MarketWatch. Even middle-class households who have health insurance are at risk, as a researcher points out that they are the ones who filed for the most bankruptcies. “Most of us have policies with so many loopholes, copayments and deductibles that illness can put you in the poorhouse. And even the best job-based health insurance often vanishes when prolonged illness causes job loss — just when families need it most.”
As couples engage in financial planning, women should take an active part to ensure that their retirement will be secured, according to this article from Kiplinger. Women are more often compelled to leave their jobs to take care of children and other members of the family, and they tend to live longer than their spouses, meaning they will need a bigger nest egg to support a longer retirement horizon. Wives also face a wage gap that curtails their ability to save, and they are likely to pay bigger healthcare expenses than their husbands.
Seniors can expect their Social Security benefits to be lower than the full retirement amount if they file early or they fail to post 35 working years, according to this article from U.S. News & World Report. Their benefits will also be reduced if Medicare has withheld their Part B premiums or increased their Part D premiums, or a a portion of their benefits is subject to federal income taxes as a result of having considerable income from other sources. Those who filed for the benefits before reaching their full retirement age and opted to continue working can also expect a reduction in their monthly benefit payouts.
Workers are advised to create a “my Social Security” account in the Social Security Administration website to determine the amount of Social Security benefits that they will get in retirement, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. The amount of retirement benefits that clients earning $100,000 a year will receive depends on various factors, such the year they were born and the age they will file for the benefits. Based on an online calculator, the annual benefits of seniors born in 1959 will be $27,081 if they retire at age 62, $36,108 if they file at 67, or $47,918 if they start collecting at 70.
