U.S. Retirement Confidence Soars Despite Grim Realities

From: wealthmanagement.com

Denial is said to be the first emotional stage of grief – and that may be where many Americans are at right now in their attitudes about retirement security.

The 2015 edition of the longest-running national survey of retirement confidence, released on Tuesday by the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), reveals a second consecutive annual jump in the percentage of workers…

Social Security: How To Get What’s Yours

From: hereandnow.wbur.org

Today, like every day, some 10,000 baby boomers will reach retirement age and become eligible to receive Social Security benefits. A new book explains that how and when you tap into Social Security benefits can dramatically alter how much money you get. It’s called “Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.”

The authors of the book are Laurence Kotlikoff, a…

How Big a Role Should Social Security Play in Your Retirement?

From: msn.com

NEW YORK – Social Security is still a huge part of U.S. workers’ retirement plans, but they aren’t happy about it.

As a Bankrate survey points out, Americans are getting a bit more pragmatic about Social Security’s role in their eventual retirements. Just 13% expect it to account for all or most of their retirement income. Meanwhile, another 14% expect…

The safest way to make your retirement savings last

From: money.cnn.com

Whenever I read about annuities, I wonder why you can’t create one on your own without an insurance company. Just invest your money conservatively and then watch your expenses so you don’t blow through your savings too soon. Wouldn’t that plan work just as well, if not better, than an annuity? – Mike J., New Jersey

In theory, it should be…

Using Annuities for Long-Term Care Planning

From: elderlawanswers.com

Insurance agents and financial institutions often advertise annuities as the perfect way to generate retirement income. While annuities can be a valuable retirement tool, if you are buying an annuity as part of a Medicaid planning strategy, you need to fully understand what you are getting. And whether an annuity makes sense as part of Medicaid planning may depend on whether you are married…

The Long And Short Of It

From: fa-mag.com

Americans are living longer than ever before. And to make sure their retirement income goes the distance, they’ve turned to a number of alternatives, including one whose entire reason for being is to solve this problem: the longevity annuity.

A type of deferred-income annuity—as opposed to an immediate annuity—the longevity annuity was developed more than a decade ago to help retirees hedge against outliving their…

The Golden Years have lost their shine for a crucial group of older men.

From thinkadvisor.com

Retirement may be dangerous to your health — especially if you’re a man.

A growing body of research has found that retirement significantly increases the risk of clinical depression and even suicide among men.

As an advisor working with retirees, you may be a witness—and sometimes an unwitting accessory—to lives whose joy is sapped by depression. If these afflicted…

By Ian Salisbury

It’s no secret that women live longer than men. But a new study by the Wharton School’s Pension Research Council suggests that some professional financial advisers neglect to take that fact into account when they tell clients how to time their Social Security benefits.

The mistake could cost women who outlive their husbands—and who might benefit from a significant monthly check into their 80s or 90s.

Slightly more than half of women…