4 Reasons to Relocate in Retirement - Motley Fool

Many seniors wind up retiring in the same place they lived during their working years. And if the city or town you lived in throughout your career is filled with amenities, family members, and friends, then you may want to stay put during your golden years. At the same time, relocating in retirement could make for a more relaxed, stress-free lifestyle. Here are a few reasons to consider making a move.

1. You live somewhere with a high cost of living

Some cities are more expensive than others across the board. Often, living in a pricey city gives you access to better jobs and a higher paycheck, but once you stop working, that's no longer a motivating factor to stay. Therefore, if you live someplace where the overall cost of living is high, moving could allow you to better stretch your limited income.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

2. You live in an area with high income or property taxes

High taxes can be a source of financial stress in retirement, even if you live someplace that isn't all that expensive. Though you won't be collecting a paycheck from a full-time job, you'll still have income from Social Security, retirement savings (hopefully), or maybe a part-time job or business. The less tax you pay on that income, the more money you'll have left over to spend.

The same holds true for property taxes. Many seniors enter retirement with their mortgages already paid off, but even if you own your home outright, high property taxes can be brutal when you're on a fixed income. Moving someplace where it's cheaper to own a home could therefore help you better manage your limited income.

3. You live in a state that taxes Social Security

Most states do not impose a tax on Social Security benefits, but there are 13 that do:

1. Colorado
2. Connecticut
3. Kansas
4. Minnesota
5. Missouri
6. Montana
7. Nebraska
8. New Mexico
9. North Dakota
10. Rhode Island
11. Utah
12. Vermont
13. West Virginia

The good news is that most of these states also offer exemptions for low-income to middle-income households, so if your retirement income isn't particularly high, you may avoid taxes on your Social Security benefits. The only states that don't offer an exemption at all are Minnesota, North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia. Still, it pays to consider moving someplace where you won't have to worry about state taxes on your benefits.

That said, some of the above states may offer a lower cost of living on a whole, so don't let taxes on Social Security benefits be the sole factor that informs your decision. Also, keep in mind that even if you manage to avoid Social Security taxes at the state level, you may be taxed on those benefits at the federal level, especially if they're not your only source of retirement income.

4. You live someplace where you absolutely need a car

Living in a walkable city, or one with public transportation, could save you a significant amount of money during retirement by allowing you to get by without a car. It costs $8,849 a year, on average, to own a vehicle, according to AAA.

Meanwhile, walking is free, and public transportation can be relatively cheap compared to automobile ownership, especially since many cities offer discounts to seniors. Living someplace walkable can also help keep you in shape, thereby saving you some money on healthcare.

Relocating in retirement isn't an easy thing to do. It costs money to pack up your life and move, but if you make that investment, it could make your golden years easier from a financial perspective. And who knows? You may find that your new city offers more activities and social opportunities than you had access to previously.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/09/01/4-reasons-to-relocate-in-retirement.aspx

2019-09-01 10:18:00Z
52780368215006

The 3 Best Ages to Claim Social Security Benefits - Motley Fool

Whether you're already retired or plan to retire at some point in the future, the data doesn't lie: Social Security has a good chance of helping you to make ends meet.

According to data from the Social Security Administration, more than 3 out of 5 retirees lean on the program to account for at least half of their monthly income. Meanwhile, two separate polls from Gallup found that 90% of current retirees, and 83% of future retirees, will rely on Social Security as either a "major" or "minor" source of income. This means that deciding when to take Social Security just might be the most important decision seniors make.

Image source: Getty Images.

Your claiming age has a big impact on how much you'll receive from Social Security

Although there are a number of factors that can affect how much seniors are paid by Social Security, including your work history, earnings history, and birth year, it's your claiming age that can have the biggest impact on your monthly and lifetime payout.

As you may already be aware, Social Security allows eligible retirees to begin taking their benefit at age 62, or any point thereafter. The catch is that the program incents patience. For each year an individual holds off on taking their payout, it'll grow by approximately 8%, up until age 70.

All things being equal -- work history, earnings history, and birth year (which determines your full retirement age) -- a person claiming at age 70 could receive a monthly payout that's up to 76% higher than someone claiming as early as possible at age 62. The trade-off being that the person claiming at 62 could receive a (reduced) payout for up to eight years before the individual at age 70 receives their first payout.

Trying to figure out which claiming strategy works best for your situation isn't easy, especially given that we don't know our expiration date, and there's no concrete guide that works for everyone.

Image source: Getty Images.

The three best ages to take your Social Security benefit

However, there is a new study from United Income that took a hard look at Social Security claiming data from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to determine the ages where taking Social Security benefits was optimal. The results showed an almost perfect inversion of when people are taking benefits versus when they should be taking them.

According to the analysis from United Income, just 6.5% of the senior households that were included via the HRS would have made an optimal claiming choice by taking their payout at ages 62, 63, or 64. Yet, close to 4 out of 5 senior households that were analyzed had taken their payouts prior to reaching age 65. In layman's terms, these early claimants wound up leaving a lot of money on the table, at least in hindsight.

On the other end of spectrum, United Income was able to identify a handful of ages that maximized what claimants received over their lifetime. The data showed that 57% of seniors would have been better off waiting until age 70 to take their payout, with around 10% benefiting from an age 67 claim, and just shy of 10% from an age 69 claim. And yes, if you're curious, age 68 was the fourth-most optimal claiming age. In effect, more than 4 out of 5 seniors would be best off waiting until age 67 or later to begin taking their benefit. And, as a reminder, age 67 is the full retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later.

Image source: Getty Images.

Your claiming strategy is a bit of science and luck

While the data is pretty clear that seniors would overwhelmingly be better off waiting to take their Social Security benefit, the fact remains that this suggestion won't work for everyone. That's because none of us knows (thankfully) our expiration date in advance, which is an important piece of information if we're going to maximize our lifetime payout from the program.

In order for seniors to have the best chance at maximizing their lifetime benefit, they'll need to really think about the variables that matter most to them. This involves taking into consideration your health history, financial situation (i.e., need for immediate income), and marital status, to name a few factors.

For example, if you're in excellent health; have no chronic health conditions; and have immediate family members, such as parents, who have lived well into their 80s, if not longer, science would suggest that you have longevity on your side. That would mean a later Social Security claim should give you the best chance to maximize your monthly and long-term payout.

However, some luck is involved, too. Without knowing our expiration date, we simply won't know if we made an optimal claiming decision until well after the fact. All we can say with certainty, at least from United Income's analysis via the HRS, is that far too many seniors claim Social Security benefits early, and it's resulted in a lot of money being left on the table.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/09/01/the-3-best-ages-to-claim-social-security-benefits.aspx

2019-09-01 10:06:00Z
52780368215006

Wall of worry: Why the rest of the year could be a wild ride for stocks - The Globe and Mail

Lower taxes, more government regulation? Experts weigh in on gas price inquiry - CBC.ca

CRTC launches review into carriers' 36-month device financing plans - MobileSyrup

Twitter CEO account hacked - Business News - Castanet.net

Photo: The Canadian Press

FILE - In this June 7, 2019, file photo, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey leaves after his talk with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Dorsey's official account was hacked Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, and sending racist and vulgar tweets to his 4.2 million followers. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

Hackers briefly gained control of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's account Friday, sending racist and vulgar tweets to his 4.2 million followers.

Some of the tweets were up for about 30 minutes before Twitter took them down.

The tweets included messages such as "Hitler is innocent" and, using a vulgarity, asked "bald skeleton head tramp," apparently referring to Dorsey, to unsuspend certain accounts.

Twitter says it's investigating.

The San Francisco-based company suspended accounts that the hacker or hackers retweeted while they had control of Dorsey's account. It also suspended the account that appeared to be responsible for the hack.

Based on some of the tweets sent from Dorsey's account, a group called Chuckle Squad was likely responsible. Other than getting accounts unsuspended, the group has not said why it hacked Dorsey's account.

The answer may be simply that it could. Even if Dorsey used two-factor authentication for his Twitter account, hackers have learned how to get around this extra security measure. Twitter declined to comment when asked if Dorsey used a two-factor login for his account.

The incident comes as Twitter and Dorsey have promised to improve the "health" and civility of discourse on the social media service, cracking down on hate speech and abuse. Long criticized for allowing bad behaviour to run rampant, Twitter has been trying to rein in the worst offenders, banning accounts that violate its terms and making others less visible.

While Twitter says it is making progress, it has met with criticism both from those who say it's not doing enough and from others who say it's going too far in limiting speech. Conservatives also complain of bias. Last year, the company permanently banned right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars show, citing abusive behaviour.

This is not the first time Dorsey has been hacked. In 2016, his account was taken over by the hacker group OurMine, which also attacked other high-profile social media leaders, including the Facebook account of CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2Zvc83J
via IFTTT
August 31, 2019 at 07:17AM

Gut Check Time for Treasuries After Biggest Rally Since 2008 - Bloomberg

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Gut Check Time for Treasuries After Biggest Rally Since 2008  Bloomberg

The rally that swept through the Treasury market in August is the strongest since the depths of the 2008 crisis. This insatiable demand for the safety of bonds ...

View full coverage on Google News
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-01/gut-check-time-for-treasuries-after-biggest-rally-since-2008

2019-09-01 04:46:00Z
CAIiEDzi-QXd-iLpKtvVsyDaCOgqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow4uzwCjCF3bsCMIrOrwM