My Retirement Blog

My Retirement Blog

  • Managing Your Budget on Fixed Income

    If you are retired and living on a fixed income, it’s very important for you to manage your expenses so that they don’t exceed your income. This underscores the importance of budgeting because you have a smaller room for error. A classic budgeting strategy is to establish a baseline by recording everything you spend (using…

  • 6 Social Security Myths

    A week wouldn’t be complete without a nice myth busting post like the one put out by Rich White and Investopedia today. This week, it’s the top six myths about Social Security Benefits and some of these aren’t even myths I believe but here are the ones I think are worth noting. Myth #1: Take…

  • Last Will and Testament Advice: Have One!

    It’s never too early and never too late to draft a Last Will and Testament, if you don’t have one… get one! When it comes to Wills, you can make it as complicated or as simple as you needs require. It can be as simple as bequeathing all your worldly belongings or as complicated as…

  • Restarting the Social Security Clock

    *The strategy discussed in this post no longer works since Social Security has changed their rules. You can start receiving Social Security payments as soon as you turn 62 but you pay a penalty for taking payment so early. If you wait until full retirement age, which varies with the year of your birth, you…

  • Contribution to Non-Deductible Traditional IRA

    In 2010, the income rules for Traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversions will be lifted. It’s known as the 2010 Traditional IRA conversion loophole and it will let anyone get themselves a Roth IRA if they are patient and willing. The current rule states that anyone with income greater than $100,000 cannot convert a Traditional…

  • Vallejo, CA Declares Bankruptcy to Avoid Pensions

    Usually a debt obligation, such as a bond, by the federal government, state, or city is reliable and dependable. In fact, it’s so reliable that there’s a suit being raised against bond rating agencies over that very issue. Well, a pension is essentially a debt obligation and while we expect companies to potentially go bankrupt,…

  • Roth IRA: No Required Minimum Distribution

    If you have a Traditional IRA or 401(k), you are required by tax rule to start taking required minimum distributions (most of the major brokerages have tools to help you manage this) by April 1st of the year after you turn 70 1/2. One of lesser known benefits of a Roth IRA is that there…

  • Tax Underpayment Penalty on Roth IRA Conversions

    If you’re considering converting your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, remember that you will need to pay taxes on the conversion amount and you may be subject to an underpayment penalty because of it (if you fail to file estimated tax payments). The federal tax law regarding underpayment is straightforward. If you pay more…

  • Automatic 401(k) Participation

    I have no idea why 401(k) participation wasn’t automatic in the first place and why it took the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to make it possible. The benefits of the law are already being seen as Nationwide Financial Services reported that 96% of employees are now saving for their retirement versus 74% in 2006.…

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