by Joe Hearn | May 17, 2011 | Medicare, Social Security
Every year, the Social Security Board of Trustees reports to Congress on the fiscal health of the Social Security program. Not surprisingly, high unemployment and a wave of retiring baby boomers have put a heavy strain on the program. Benefits being paid already exceed tax revenues collected and in their 2011 report, the board estimated that the program will only be able to pay promised benefits through 2036 (one year earlier than previously estimated). At that point the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted and revenue from workers will only be able to pay about 75 percent of promised benefits.
As grim as that sounds, the problems with Medicare are worse. Thanks to higher health care costs and lower payroll taxes, the Medicare Board of Trustees now expects the Medicare trust fund to run dry in 2024 (five years earlier than previously thought). The difference between promised benefits and estimated funds available is roughly $37 trillion.
What does this mean for you?
In all likelihood, your taxes will be going up and your benefits will be going down. Those close to (or in) retirement, will see fewer changes than those with a decade or more to go, but in my opinion, no one will be immune. The problems are just too big. If you’re in your sixties you will probably receive most of what was promised to you. If you’re in your forties, you won’t be so lucky. Plan accordingly.
by Joe Hearn | Apr 13, 2020 | Health, Medicare, Social Security, Taxes
Hi everyone. Below is a quick summary of the COVID-19 legislation that affects retirees. Before jumping into that, a quick apology. Sorry I haven’t written much lately. January and February are normally very busy months for me as I meet with clients for annual reviews. Just as that was wrapping up, the world (and markets) went haywire with the pandemic and I’m just now coming up for air.
New Rules That Affect Retirees
The coronavirus stimulus packages contain something for (almost) everyone: businesses, individuals, students and yes, retirees. I won’t bore you with a comprehensive list, but I’ll give you a quick overview of the elements that impact retirees.
Changes to Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules: The CARES Act allows you to suspend RMDs for 2020 from 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs. If your IRA took a hit and you don’t need the money, it’s probably a good idea to skip your 2020 RMD. That will hopefully give your account time to recover from the recent downturn. If you have your RMD set to happen automatically each year, you’ll want to call your adviser or IRA custodian to stop it. If you’ve already taken it for the year, there is a provision that allows you to put it back. Certain restrictions apply, so check with your IRA custodian for details. Also keep in mind that Congress made another change to RMDs at the beginning of the year that pushed the required age from 70 ½ to 72.
Penalty waived for early retirement withdrawals: Normally, you have to pay a 10% penalty if you take a distribution from your IRA prior to age 59 ½. That penalty is waived for 2020 on amounts up to $100,000 for anyone affected by COVID-19 (e.g. sickness, job loss, reduced hours, etc.). You’ll still owe taxes on the distribution, but you can spread the taxes out over three years. And if you end up not needing some or all of the money, you can put it back into your IRA within three years and that contribution won’t count toward your annual contribution limit.
Stimulus checks: Even if you’re retired and not working, you may still be eligible for a stimulus check. The CARES act provides one-time payments of $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples. The benefit begins to phase out at adjusted gross income of $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for those married filing jointly. They phase out completely at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for married filing jointly. Initially, people were required to file a 2018 or 2019 tax return in order to receive the benefit, but many retirees are not required to file a tax return, so the government now says it will look at SSA-1099 benefit statements. If you are receiving Social Security and are eligible for the benefit, the government will send out your stimulus check automatically in the same manner that you receive your regular benefits (likely via direct deposit).
Expanded loans from qualified plans: If you have a 401(k) or other qualified plan, you can now borrow 100% of your vested account balance, up to a maximum of $100,000. The deadline to initiate the loan is September 23, 2020. If you already have a loan outstanding, you can delay repayments for up to one year.
Delayed tax filing deadline: The due date for filing federal income tax returns (and paying any balance due) has been moved from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020. This extension applies automatically to all taxpayers and you don’t need to file any additional forms to qualify. The delay applies to 2019 returns as well as estimated tax payments for Q1 of 2020 that would otherwise have been due on April 15. If you’re still unable to file by July 15, you can file for a normal extension using Form 4868. Keep in mind that the regular rules still apply to that second extension (i.e. it extends the due date of your filing, but not the due date of any taxes due). Not all states extended their filing deadline, so be sure to check your state’s deadline to make sure you file on time.
Delayed mortgage payments: The CARES Act allows certain borrowers to delay their mortgage payments for up to a year. Be careful with this provision, however, because depending on who owns your mortgage (your bank or another servicer), you may be allowed to tack the payments onto the end of the loan or you may be required to pay all of your back payments in a lump sum at the end of the forbearance period. Check with your mortgage provider for details.
Medicare and COVID-19: Under earlier legislation (the Families First Coronavirus Response Act), health plans are required to cover COVID-19 testing at no cost to the patient. If you’re already on Medicare, it provides coverage as well. Medicare will cover COVID-19 testing and also covers hospitalization and treatment. In addition to these benefits, Medicare has expanded its coverage of telehealth benefits. For more information on all these things, visit https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-coronavirus.
These are definitely unprecedented times. Stay safe and touch base if you have any questions or if there’s anything I can do to help you.
Be Intentional,
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Sep 26, 2019 | Lifestyle Design, Retirement
To optimize something is to “make it as perfect, effective
or functional as possible.” That’s a
good goal for retirement. After all, you
only have one shot at it, so make it the best it can be. Here’s how to optimize your life for
retirement.
Control your time. Think of life as a pie chart that is divided into time you control and time controlled by others. The goal is to gradually shrink the piece of the pie that is controlled by others. The smaller that piece becomes, the more “retired” you are. The more time you control, the more you can focus on the things you want to do rather than the things you have to do. How do you control more of your time? The primary way is to be financially independent, so make sure your finances are on track.
Optimize your location. The American Enterprise Institute recently published a study on how location affects happiness. They concluded that people who live closer to the things they want to do are happier, more involved, more satisfied with life and less likely to be lonely. Kind of a no brainer, right? If you love to ski, live close to the mountains. If you want to spend time with your kids, live in the same city. And the study found that proximity works for small things too. If you live near a multitude of amenities—the coffee shop, gym, community center, restaurants—you’ll likely get out more, feel less isolated and be happier.
Hack your health. A hack is a trick or method that increases efficiency. I have a friend who recently started a physical therapy practice that focuses on prevention rather than recovery. I think the idea is a brilliant hack. Similar to the dentist, you go in twice a year for evaluation and a checkup. He takes some baseline measurements and looks for problems. Then he asks what types of things you like to do (e.g. hike, ski, golf, garden, run, tennis, etc.) and gives you exercises that will allow you to do those things for as long as possible. I like to hike, so we’re working on leg strength, balance, joints and endurance. The idea is to keep me healthy and active doing the things I want to do for as long as possible. How about you? What types of things do you want to be able to continue doing as you age? Schedule some time with a local physical therapist and ask them to help you optimize your health for the lifestyle that you want to live.
Be specific. At the risk of sounding obvious, you have a much greater chance of accomplishing a goal if you know exactly what it is you want to do. If you want your retirement to run smoothly, make specific plans.
Take some at bats. One of the biggest mistakes I see some people make is that they constantly defer their dreams. The best advice I can give you today is to start taking some at bats. Right now. Even if you’re not retired. Especially if you’re not retired. The worst that can happen is that things don’t work out and you get rolled a little bit, so you dust yourself off and try something different. Ironically, that’s also one of the best things that can happen, because that failure is feedback. It turns out we’re pretty terrible at knowing what’s going to make us happy. The more stuff you try, even if you don’t end up liking it, the better idea you’ll have of what’s important to you, who’s important to you, what you like, what you dislike, what makes you happy and what you’re passionate about. That makes you more self-aware so you can design an optimized life that takes you where you want to go.
Be a system thinker. Retirement has a ton of moving parts that need to work together to produce the results that you want. Those parts include things like money, relationships, pursuits, Social Security, Medicare, healthcare, distribution planning, tax planning, housing and insurance to name a few. Those parts work together in a complex system. If the parts work, the system works. If one or more parts isn’t functioning properly, the system breaks down. To optimize your life for retirement, make sure that each part of that system is working as it should. Some parts you’ll be able to handle on your own. For other parts, you’ll likely need to enlist the help of people like your accountant, financial adviser or doctor.
Simplify. As you take more control of your time and plan your transition into retirement, make a “Stop Doing” list. Certain things will no longer be relevant to your new plans. Go through all your activities, obligations and commitments and decide what needs to go. Once finished, your schedule will be much less cluttered and you will be able to use your time more efficiently. Do the same thing with the physical clutter in your life.
Retirement is not a one size fits all proposition. By focusing on the items mentioned above and
tailoring them to your unique situation, you can optimize your life for the
retirement that you want.
Be Intentional,
Joe
by Joe Hearn | May 17, 2019 | Lifestyle Design, Retirement
I’ve worked with many clients over the years who decided to retire early. Sometimes that was a great decision, other times it resulted in some unexpected challenges. Below are some of the pros and cons I’ve seen with early retirement. Consider them carefully as you decide when to retire.
Pros
Time control. During your working years, you don’t control large chunks of your day. If you retire early, however, you shed those demands and have much more flexibility and opportunity to use your time to do the things you really want to do.
Health. Generally speaking, the younger you are, the healthier you are. If you retire early, you get to take advantage of the fact that you’re still healthy and active.
Open doors. In The Funny Thing About Time, I discussed how time closes doors as we get older. The kids grow up and move away. You lose a spouse or other loved one. Your physical health changes and you’re not able to do that trip you always wanted to do. Retiring early means that more of those doors are still open.
Better relationships. One of the advantages of having more time is that you can prioritize relationships. During our working years, we’re less proactive with relationships. It’s a side effect of less time and more obligations. Early retirement changes that calculus. And since relationships are key to a happy life, retiring early can be a huge advantage.
Less stress. This one is pretty self-explanatory.
Potential opportunity for a second career or passion project. Some retire early because they are ready to leave work/career behind. Others still want to work, they just want to do something they enjoy or are passionate about without having to worry about what it pays. Retiring early can give you that opportunity.
Cons
Age difference with other retirees. I have a client who retired early and moved to a private community in Florida. He was the youngest resident by several decades. You can feel a little out of place if you’re 50 and everyone around you is 70. This is obviously more of an issue if you move to a destination geared toward retirees.
Guilt. I wrote about this in 4 Unexpected Emotions in Retirement. If you retire early, you can sometimes feel guilty because you’re doing fun stuff while your friends and family are still working. This can make conversations awkward as you talk to each other about your day, priorities, etc.
Money. The sooner you retire, the less time you have to save and the longer your nest egg needs to last. If you are considering early retirement, be sure to work with a trusted adviser to create a detailed retirement plan with a high probability of success.
Comparison with peers. Alas, comparison with others continues even in retirement. Your friends and co-workers will likely be a little jealous of your newfound freedom and you’ll likely feel a bit green when you hear about their promotions and raises. You might even second guess your decision to walk away from the challenge and status your career. The best way to guard against this is to do things in retirement that provide purpose and meaning.
Social Security. Your Social Security benefits are based on the assumption that you will continue to work until full retirement age. If you retire sooner, your benefits will be a little lower. Likewise, if you decide to claim your benefits early (rather than waiting until full retirement age) they will be reduced. You can retire early and still wait to claim your benefits, but that means that your portfolio will need to do the heavy lifting until you file (see my point on money above).
Health insurance. If you retire before becoming eligible for Medicare at age 65, you’ll need to get a health care policy that bridges the gap between your employer policy and Medicare.
Timeline vs. Pie Chart
Regardless of when you retire, you’ll be faced with tradeoffs. If you wait, you get more money, but you lose time and health. If you retire early, you sacrifice a bit of money, but you’ll be healthier and have a much longer runway to enjoy retirement. You need to decide what’s most important to you.
One piece of advice I can give you: Don’t save the best for last. Retirement should not be a timeline where youth is 0-20, working years equal 20-65 and retirement is 65 plus. Instead it should be a pie chart divided between time you control and time you don’t. Retirement is using whatever time you control now (whether that’s 10%, 50% or 90%) to live the life that you want to live.
Be Intentional,
Joe
by Joe Hearn | Jul 21, 2018
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