My Retirement Blog

My Retirement Blog

  • 2010 Income Tax Brackets

    Every year in mid-September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases inflation data for the last year and tax mavens get to calculating how much all the various tax numbers will move. It turns out inflation was a mere 0.19%, meaning most of the figures won’t change at all. For referential purposes, the 2010 IRS Tax…

  • 2010 401(k) Contribution Limits Could Fall

    The current 2009 limit for employee contributions to a 401(k) is $16,500, with employees over 50 able to contribute an additional $5,500 as a catch-up. When the IRS announced the 2010 contribution limits in October, we may find that the limit will be lowered because there is a provision in the law that requires that…

  • Kiplinger’s Retiree Map

    Kiplinger’s has published a retiree map that might be helpful for you if you’re nearing retirement. It gives you a visual representation of states with favorable tax (or unfavorable) tax situations for retirees. It will show you: 7 states with no income tax 4 states with no sales tax 5 states with the lowest overall…

  • Most Affordable Places to Retire

    These days, the idea of retirement can be a little scary. With the stock marke’s fall last year, taking 401(k) and IRA account balances with them, and the cost of everything going up, the thought of going onto a fixed income and retiring from your job is very daunting. Fortunately, one thing you can do…

  • When Does a Reverse Mortgage Make Sense?

    Reverse mortgages have recently come into the spotlight as a band aid for seniors with cash flow problems. Unfortunately, the media attention has been generally negative, focusing on a small set of shady brokers that give the entire niche a bad name. Despite working in the mortgage industry, I’ll be the first to tell you…

  • Take Lump Sum or Monthly Pension Payments?

    This was the subject of a recent question to Money Magazine senior editor Walter Updegrave. The choice came down to whether you wanted the security of a monthly check for the rest of your life (monthly pension payments) or the freedom of investing the lump sum however you chose, with a few wrinkles. Updegrave says…

  • Social Security & Medicare in Financial Distress

    Earlier this week Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner revealed that the Social Security trust fund might be exhausted as early as 2037, which is four years earlier than the estimate last year! The main reason for this adjustment comes from the rising unemployment rate, which affects how much is being paid into the trust fund, tax…

  • No COLA Adjustment for Social Security in 2010

    There’s a great US News & World Report article on the 5 Big Financial Changes for Retirees in 2010 and the first one listed is a doozy. It’s widely believed that there will be little to no near term inflation which means that Social Security cost of living adjustments will likely be zero in 2010…

  • 401(k) Fee Disclosure Bill

    This week the House Education & Labor Committee introduced the Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009, a bill that would require your 401(k) plan to clearly state all fees that it charged. Currently, the law doesn’t require your plan administrator to disclose all the fees and it’s often very difficult to find this…

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