Social Security Archives - Page 4 of 10 - Jerry Golden on Retirement

Good decisions, good timing improve retirement (Part I)

January 20, 2017 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Two-stage retirement Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, retirement income, Social Security

I read two books over the holidays that, while written for a general audience, can provide crucial insights into retirement planning. The first was a biography of two brilliant psychologists called “The Undoing Project,” by Michael Lewis. The second was “Time Travel: A History,” by James Gleick.

How are books about psychologists (Kahneman and Twersky) and time travel related to retirement plans?

My own insight is that a successful retirement is mostly about making decisions in the present – a lot of them financial – combined with a vision of how you want your future to look. If people understood how the decisions they made today influence their future, they would create a more secure and financially rewarding retirement for themselves and their families.

Lewis’ book suggested that people often make less-than-rational decisions, especially when comparing alternative choices. And when it comes to money, it’s even more challenging.

How People Make Decisions

How Trump and Congress can fix Social Security

January 10, 2017 By Jerry Golden in Interesting Articles, Social Security 5 Comments Tags: Baby Boomers, Congress, Donald Trump, retirement income, Social Security, solutions

This column first ran Dec. 15, 2016, in The Hill, a daily journal that covers the federal government and related policy issues.

As the federal government’s largest entitlement program, Social Security faces the possibility of having to reduce payouts for millions of new retired workers after 2037. To prevent what would be a political and social disaster, I hope the new administration works with Congress to fashion a non-partisan solution.

An examination of the Republican and Democratic parties’ pre-election platforms, however, suggests that the parties are pretty far apart. The Republican platform position would allow us to invest some of our Social Security savings in the stock market while making unspecified reforms to address the increasing longevity of the population.

The Democratic platform advocates higher taxes on those with incomes above $250,000 along with adjustments to cost of living payments that would more accurately reflect the spending pattern of retirees. Of course, we all understand that platforms do not always indicate how policy actually gets implemented.

Insure your insurance

January 3, 2017 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, Insurance, retirement income, Social Security

Here’s a story I heard at a convention of disability insurance sales professionals:

A woman answers a knock on her front door late on a stormy night only to find a police officer standing there, water dripping from his rain gear.

“Oh my,” the woman says. “My husband was in a car crash!”

When the officer confirms her fears, she asks, “Is he dead?”

The cop answers: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but it’s worse. He lived.”

Worried about year-end financial decisions? You’re late!

December 15, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Annuities, Baby Boomers, Guaranteed Income, retirement income, Social Security, Year-end finances

Some people read tons of articles for year-end guidance to deal with retirement planning decisions. Lots call their accountant, money manager or advisor for advice.

My advice is no advice – it’s too late.

Too many of us spend the final month of the calendar year assembling our files of financial documents and making sure we take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from our 401(k) or rollover IRA accounts. We figure out our realized capital gains from mutual funds or stocks to date, and see if we should realize more gains or losses. We estimate our taxes for the year and consider converting a rollover IRA to a Roth IRA. Then we squeeze in tax-reducing donations to charity or the kids, along with any number of additional important actions. More

Where does lifetime guaranteed income come from?

December 7, 2016 By Jerry Golden in Annuity, Social Security Tags: Annuities, Guaranteed Income, Pensions, retirement income, Social Security

“Guaranteed income for life” is a powerful phrase. It conveys a promise of a specific level of cash deposited monthly into your bank account – for the rest of your life. It’s not dependent on market results or swings in interest rates. And that income can continue to be received by a spouse once you’re gone or, in some cases, go to a separate beneficiary.

But while each method of acquiring guaranteed lifetime income – Social Security, a defined benefit pension, and an income annuity — has a different source, everyone planning for retirement can create plans based on one, two or all three of these reliable and irreplaceable sources of money.

How is it possible to guarantee a monthly paycheck for life? More