Will Your Money Last as Long as You Do?

Too many people determine how long they think they’ll live based on arbitrary factors.

And nearly half of pre-retirees and retirees underestimate how long they’ll live by five years or more, according to surveys by the Society of Actuaries.

That’s a big problem when it comes to making sure your money lasts as long as you do.

And very few people surveyed understand how variable life expectancy can be: Whatever the statistics say is the average life span for someone of your age and gender, you have a 50% chance of living longer than that age.

In other words, planning for living to an “average life expectancy” is a recipe for disaster!

By age 65, men in average health have a 40% chance of living to age 85, and women have more than a 50% chance.

And if you’re healthier than average, well now you’ve got a 50% chance of living to age 85 if you’re a man, and a 62% chance if you’re a woman.

Of those turning 65 today, 25% will live past 90, and one out of 10 will live past 95, according to the Social Security Administration.

What if you’re the lucky one who hangs on until 100 or longer? You don’t know for sure, do you? But just how “lucky” will you feel if you can’t provide for yourself in those final years?

My 95-year-old mother-in-law lives in an assisted-living facility in Arizona. When her husband died, she got a life insurance settlement and has been receiving a nice pension payout every year. [Read more…] “Will Your Money Last as Long as You Do?”

How to Pay Zero Taxes in Retirement – Without Being Broke

Do you have money in a tax-deferred retirement account such as a 401(k), IRA or 403(b)? If so, you’re sitting on a tax time bomb.

I’m going to reveal the tax traps you face and show you how to move toward a 0% tax bracket in retirement (legally!) – but not by doing it the way most people do it, which is by being broke!

Conventional wisdom says, “Maximize your contributions to tax-deferred plans. Your money compounds without being reduced by taxes, and you’ll end up with more money during retirement.”

But like much conventional wisdom about personal finance, it’s not true…

The Society of Actuaries says if the tax rates are the same,

It doesn’t make any difference whether [the taxes] are taken away from you at the beginning (tax-exempt) or at the end (tax-deferred). It’s the same fraction of your money that is left to you.”

But most people look at their savings and think it’s all theirs. You may have forgotten you’ll owe Uncle Sam the taxes he let you defer all those years – on every penny you’ve put in and every penny of growth.

And according to Boston College’s Center for Retirement director, Alicia Munnell,

It’s a very big deal when people realize they only have two-thirds or three-quarters of what they thought they had.”

If the tax rates are actually lower during your retirement, you might come out ahead by deferring your taxes. But where do you think tax rates are headed long term? You must consider what tax rates might be during a retirement that could last 30+ years.

Most people we talk to think taxes ultimately must go up due to the aging demographics of our country and our unsustainable national debt. (Recently the debt passed $21 trillion for the first time.) If tax rates do go up, and you’re successful in growing your nest-egg, you’ll simply end up paying higher taxes on a bigger number. [Read more…] “How to Pay Zero Taxes in Retirement – Without Being Broke”