Guaranteed Income Important to Americans | AGT The Safe Money People

In the past, employer-sponsored pensions were much more common, and employees were encouraged to save more thanks to contribution matches. Now, 401(k)s are the leading retirement savings vehicle in the workplace, and self-directed savings, with varying degrees of employer matches, leave retirees’ financial futures all over the board.
As a result, more people lack the savings to last a lifetime when they leave the workforce. According to John Huff, the 2016 President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, four out of 10 baby boomers have no retirement savings. None at all.

As you can imagine, this poses a challenge for financial professionals working with clients who have little to no assets but still need retirement income solutions. And it’s not just an issue for people who didn’t save. Others may have experienced losses in the securities markets or had to make substantial withdrawals during the recession.
To find a retirement income strategy that may be successful, financial professionals have gotten resourceful. Some financial professionals who once eschewed annuities are now taking a second look.

Just because people don’t have a lot of money saved for retirement doesn’t necessarily mean they have no assets. For example, some boomers may be out of cash but living in an oversized house they no longer need. In this scenario, homeowners who downsize before retirement could use some of the proceeds to purchase an annuity that will provide a guaranteed stream of income during retirement.

Others may have either received, or expect to receive, a modest inheritance and can use an annuity to convert that fixed amount into a lifetime of retirement income.
While it’s becoming more common for financial professionals to recommend annuities, employers are still warming up to the idea. Eight in 10 U.S. employees say they’d like to have a guaranteed income option in their defined contribution plan, but only 50 percent of employers understand this — and less than 1 percent offer it.

The appeal of pensions was that they did more for retirees than just provide retirement income; they provided peace of mind. The same can be said of annuities. In fact, nine out of 10 affluent households with annuities say they’re confident in their retirement.

Consider Going Back-to-School Post-Retirement - AGT The Safe Money Poeple

This fall, young people aren’t the only ones who are going back to school. Many colleges and universities have made it easier for older folks to get a degree, and retirees across the country are taking advantage.

People aged 65 and older currently make up a little more than 13 percent of the U.S. population and as the Baby Boomers age into senior-dom, that number will surely rise. 

While retirement may bring the promise of a warmer climate and all-day golf outings, many seniors are opting to go back to school either for their own personal enrichment or to work towards a degree.

According to an article recently published in the Chicago Tribune, Shimer College, is opening up it’s classrooms to people over the age of 60 for free. A small liberal arts school in Chicago, the hundred or so students at Shimer have the option to participate in a Great Books program that includes the works of Shakespeare, Kafka, Marx, Einstein, and Nietzsche.

“One of the things that is important to make that happen is to have a lot of different perspectives in the classroom,” said Shimer spokeswoman Isabella Winkler. “It is always valuable to have generational differences. We wanted to open the classes to senior residents who might have a desire to get involved in this sort of conversation. It would benefit our students as well.”

Shimer isn’t the only college that sees the benefit in class discussions having generational differences. All of the public universities and colleges in Texas now offer a tuition reduction program for people 55 or older. And the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board provides a tuition exemption for Texas residents who are older than 65 years of age and want to audit classes at a public university. Aside from having to be a Texas resident and enroll at a participating university, this program requires that seniors “enroll in a class that is not already filled with students who are paying full price for their courses. (If the class is too small to accommodate both regular students and senior citizens, the regular students must be given priority.)”

A similar program is offered at on both campuses of Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton and Jupiter) called the Lifelong Learning Society. The program was created in 1980 in Boca Raton and then extended to the Jupiter campus in 1997. The LLS program is offered from October through June and FAU professors teach all the courses, which range in subjects from foreign policy, music, art, philosophy, current events, and more.

According to the FAU website, “This community of learners with no age threshold enjoys a diverse and creative curriculum, along with concerts and entertainment. In establishing this program, FAU recognized the still unfulfilled demand for educational and intellectual stimulation for adults who are beyond the traditional university years.”

And in the entire state of California, you can attend one of the 23 state universities for free, regardless of income, through their Over 60 Program. Of the roughly 433,000 students who attend a public university in California, only about 1000 of them are participants in the Over 60 Program.

In a blog post on the San Jose State University website, Timothy Fitzgerald, 67, who, while living on Social Security and disability benefits has completed five degrees and three Master’s degrees at SJSU, was quoted as saying:

“I see it as a benefit that the state can offer older citizens, helping us pursue a life of the mind. I never would have had an opportunity to go to school unless there was support for tuition. I do not want to sit on the sidelines.”

And thanks to the many public programs that promote education for older adults, no one has to sit on the sidelines during their post-retirement years.

To see what your state might have to offer check out the Senior Citizen Guide for College blog.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilary-young/consider-going-back-to-sc_b_3894493.html

4 Steps to Building an Emergency Fund - AGT The Safe Money People

Ben Franklin once declared, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Yet, equally enlightening are his thoughts on expenses: “Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.”

And there are plenty of “leaks” that can scuttle an already-tight budget. For instance, a spouse idled by the sour economy, a fender bender with the family car, or an unexpected hospitalization. That’s why financial advisors recommend that you have a rainy-day fund—enough liquid assets to cover three to six months’ worth of emergency living expenses. In case of financial emergency, access to additional money will save you from relying on credit cards or loans that simply compound the problem.

When starting an emergency fund, here are a few tips to abide by:

1.    Determine what amount is best for you. Most experts agree that you should keep between three and six months worth of your living expenses set aside in your emergency fund. Your specific situation – whether you have children, carry substantial debt and types of insurance coverage you have – will determine what amount is best for you. Examine your situation — your income and your needs — to decide how much you should save.

2.    Start small. Starting an emergency fund can be as simple as depositing $100 into your high-interest savings account. But before you begin, be sure that you’re meeting your basic living expenses. And as you build your emergency fund, be sure you’re also reducing your spending and avoiding debt.

3.    Stick to a schedule. Get into the habit of making regular deposits. Whether it is weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, create a schedule and stick to it. Once you make saving automatic, you won’t even have to think about it.

4.    Consider an online savings account. In many cases, an “online” savings account may make more sense than an account at a traditional, bricks-and-mortar bank. That’s because many traditional banks are not currently offering a savings option with interest rates high enough to meaningfully beat inflation. In addition, an online savings account is a reliable way to manage your money.

Source:http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com/newsusa/4-steps-to-building-an-emergency-fund/

A Guide to Enrolling in Medicare When You Become Eligible

You know you’ll be eligible for Medicare when you turn 65, but what does that mean? More than 10,000 people age into Medicare eligibility every day, but many have questions about how to enroll and which plan will best meet their health and budget needs. Medicare provides important benefits for people who qualify, including preventive care, hospital care and even prescription drug coverage. While there are multiple plan choices available, selecting the right Medicare plan may be easier than you think. It’s important to note that people who are recently disabled — and haven’t turned 65 — may also qualify to enroll in Medicare. The disabled segment of the population is growing.



According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the disabled now total some 5 million Medicare beneficiaries. To determine if you or a family member may be newly eligible for Medicare, visit www.medicare.gov or call toll-free 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY: 1-877-486-2048) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Enrolling in a timely manner is also important in order to avoid potential financial penalties. Equipped with the correct information, people qualifying for Medicare can select the plan that best suits their lifestyle and health care needs. Here’s what you need to know: Anyone who has legally lived in the United States for the past five years qualifies for Medicare at the age of 65. People eligible for Medicare have three options: Original Medicare,


Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage. Original Medicare is broken into two parts — A and B. Medicare Part A helps cover hospital expenses, and Part B helps cover everyday health care costs like doctor visits, outpatient care and some Part B prescription medications. Both Parts A and B have a deductible, as well as coinsurance once the deductible is met. Medicare Supplement insurance plans, sold by private insurers, can help pay some of the health care costs that Original Medicare doesn’t pay, like copayments, coinsurance and deductibles. If you have Original Medicare and you buy a Medicare Supplement plan, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare-approved amount for covered health care costs. Then, your Medicare Supplement plan pays its share. Medicare Supplement plans, however, do not cover prescription drug costs. Medicare Advantage plans are run by private insurance companies, and all plans cover everything Original Medicare plans pay, as well as extra benefits and services.


Medicare Advantage plans often include coverage for prescription drugs, vision and dental benefits, along with fitness programs and comprehensive preventive care. More than 16 million Americans have signed up for Medicare Advantage plans. Medicare Part D provides prescription drug coverage for people with Medicare. These plans are available as standalone plans or as part of an all-in-one Medicare Advantage plan. Some Medicare Advantage plans, however, are sold without Part D included. Enrolling in the right Medicare plan is an important decision, and by understanding the facts, you can navigate the process with ease.


For more information about Medicare plans and their coverage, visitwww.Medicare.gov orwww.Humana.com/medicare or call a licensed Humana sales agent toll-free at 1-844-663-8090 (TTY: 711) between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.


Source: http://www.copyrightfreecontent.com/tips-and-how-to/a-guide-to-enrolling-in-medicare-when-you-become-eligible/

Retirement - It Just Might Be Good For Your Health | AGT The Safe Money People

If you’re contemplating retirement, you’ve probably given a lot of thought to its impact on your finances. But have you considered how retiring might affect your health? The latest in the debate over whether retirement improves or worsens health appears in the current issue of The Journal of Human Resources. Its conclusion: “Results indicate that the retirement effect on health is beneficial and significant,” writes Michael Insler, an assistant professor of economics at the U.S. Naval Academy. The boost to your health is comparable to reducing the risk of being diagnosed with diabetes by 25%, for those of retirement age, Insler concludes. Better Health Behaviors In an interview with Next Avenue, Insler acknowledged that his conclusion “in some sense is counterintuitive,” since, he says, a common notion is that “oh, people retire and they kind of lose their will to go on.” If retirement does benefit health, why is that so? “I think the obvious hypothetical answers to that question are health behaviors,” says Insler. Retirees have more time to invest in their health, he writes in the Journal. “It may be easier for them to quit smoking or to be more physically active when not burdened by the work-week grind.” Insler based his findings on an analysis of data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, which surveys a representative sample of 26,000 Americans over age 50 every other year. He found that of the respondents who ever reported smoking, about 69% reported doing so in the survey that took place two to four years before they retired. But only about 56% said they were still smoking two to four years after they retired. Insler also found that people were more likely after retirement to exercise vigorously for at least 30 minutes three or more days a week. Two to four years before retirement, about 48% of survey respondents said they exercised that much; that proportion increased to nearly 52% two to four years into retirement. Same Data, Different Conclusions But what if you really love your work? Might not retirement make you “lose your will to go on,” as Insler put it? “Job satisfaction isn’t really something that I looked closely at,” he says. “It could be part of the story.” But, Insler says, “It’s less about your stress and satisfaction and more about the time you devote to your health upkeep.” Although Inas Rashad Kelly and her co-authors used the same Health and Retirement Study data as Insler did, their analysis reached a different conclusion. In a paper published in 2008, they found that retirement affected health adversely. The fact that their conclusions based on the same data set diverged from Insler’s “points to the complex and multifaceted nature of the issue at hand,” Rashad Kelly, an associate professor of economics at Queens College, part of the City University of New York, told Next Avenue. Social Security Age Retirement’s negative effect on health was especially strong among people who were forced, or encouraged, to retire and those who said they weren’t particularly enjoying their spouse’s company, Rashad Kelly and her co-authors found. But the effect was weaker among retirees who said they voluntarily retired, had stressful jobs, remained physically active and continued to socialize. Economists trying to assess the ramifications of raising the age at which retirees can begin collecting Social Security are especially interested in whether health improves or declines in retirement. If retirement exacerbates common, expensive health problems, then raising the eligibility age for Social Security might make sense. Such a move could help encourage people to work longer, reducing the strain on Social Security and Medicare. If health tends to improve after retirement, however, then getting people to continue working by raising the eligibility age for Social Security might reduce expenditures for that program but shift them to Medicare. “We conclude that raising the retirement age for Social Security purposes may not have been such a bad thing,” Rashad Kelly says. “Yet we certainly do not propose altering the age one begins to receive much-needed health care through Medicare, and our results do not suggest that Medicare costs will go up on average if people work longer.” Insler emphasized that it’s difficult to predict the health effects of retirement on individuals. “I’m trying to calculate an average impact for a population,” he says. “Does it mean it will necessarily happen to them? No.”

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