Retirement Advice Corner

Factors to consider when choosing a place to retire

  • Affordable housing—Many cities have costs that’s equal to or below the national median housing price of $161,600.
  • Culture and entertainment — Museums and opera to shopping and sports events.
  • Access to good medical facilities—With aging, medical care becomes a necessity.
  • Taxes – State and local taxes, real estate and sales taxes
  • Ease of getting around— Public transportation, traffic, access to an airport.
  • Access to outdoor recreation — From skiing and biking to walking and hiking.
  • Safety—Personal and property safety, and a generally secure feeling.
  • Colleges or universities — For continuing education and a multi generational vibe.
  • Sense of community— Locations with a vibrant and accessible downtown.
  • Good public high schools — Since many boomers still have teens at home.
  • Availability of jobs — Many retirees continue to work beyond age 65.
  • Reverse mortgage — Many retirees have accumulated sufficient equity that they can access to supplement their retirement income.
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Advice Corner

Full Retirement Age

Social Security is part of the retirement plan of almost every American worker. If you are among the 96 percent of workers who are covered under Social Security, you should know how the system works and what you should receive from Social Security when you retire.

The “full retirement age” is 65 for people who were born before 1938. But because of longer life expectancies, the Social Security law was changed to gradually increase the full retirement age until it reaches age 67. This change affects people born in 1938 and later. The following table provides you with your full retirement age.
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Age to receive full Social Security benefits
Year of birth Full retirement age
1937 or earlier 65
1938 65 and 2 months
1939 65 and 4 months
1940 65 and 6 months
1941 65 and 8 months
1942 65 and 10 months
1943-1954 66
1955 66 and 2 months
1956 66 and 4 months
1957 66 and 6 months
1958 66 and 8 months
1959 66 and 10 months
1960 and later 67
NOTE: People who were born on January 1 of any year should refer to the previous year.

Early retirement. You can get Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but if you retire before your full retirement age, your benefits will be permanently reduced, based on your age. For example, if you retire at age 62, your benefit would be about 25 percent lower than what it would be if you waited until you reach full retirement age.

Sometimes health problems force people to retire early. If you cannot work because of health problems, you should consider applying for Social Security disability benefits. The amount of the disability benefit is the same as a full, unreduced retirement benefit. If you are receiving Social Security disability benefits when you reach full retirement age, those benefits will be converted to retirement benefits.

Delayed retirement. You may choose to keep working even beyond your full retirement age. If you do, you can increase your future Social Security benefits in two ways. Each additional year you work adds another year of earnings to your Social Security record. Higher lifetime earnings may mean higher benefits when you retire.

Also, your benefit will increase automatically by a certain percentage from the time you reach your full retirement age until you start receiving your benefits or until you reach age 70. The percentage varies depending on your year of birth. For example, if you were born in 1943 or later, Social Security will add 8 percent per year to your benefit for each year that you delay signing up for Social Security beyond your full retirement age.

NOTE: If you decide to delay your retirement, be sure to sign up for Medicare at age 65. In some circumstances, medical insurance costs more if you delay applying for it.

Visit the Government website at www.ssa.gov for more information about Social Security and retirement.

Investing and Retirement Planning: Certificates of deposit are one of the safest forms of saving money for the long term. Use this Bank CD Calculator to visually show you the long term return on investment you can expect based upon current bank CD rates. In addition, retirees and users planning for retirement can take advantage of our 401k Calculator.

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