As much as I believe in the value of incorporating housing wealth into improving retirement outcomes, there are always caveats when using these tools. I have written extensively on the use of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM). You can easily find previously written articles here. One has to balance two issues when determining whether or not to implement the HECM and the timing of pulling the trigger: 1.  Delaying the implementation of the HECM mortgage can have the … [Read more...]

There can be a lot of confusion about the impact of taking Social Security benefits before full retirement age. In this article, we will look at three issues that can impact these benefits and, hopefully, clear up some of the misunderstandings by directing you to articles dedicated to each one. The first issue relates to the amount of your Social Security benefit if it is claimed before full retirement age., The amount of your Social Security benefit will be reduced permanently if you take it … [Read more...]

For part three of our series of how the new SECURE ACT may have impact on retirees, we move to the topic of Stretch IRAs. Before the Act, non–spouse beneficiaries could take required minimum distributions over their younger life expectancy, requiring less to be distributed and taxed each year. Now, these same beneficiaries must make IRA distributions by the end of a 10 yearr time period. This new law impacts accounts in which the death of the owner occurs after December 31, 2019. For a … [Read more...]

The SECURE legislation — which stands for “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement”  was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month as part of the government’s spending bill. In this second installment, we will discuss another provision that can have a positive impact in your retirement planning. Before the SECURE ACT, there was no parity between account holders of company retirement plans and account holders of IRAs in regard to making contributions after the … [Read more...]

The SECURE ACT (The Act) legislation — which stands for “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement”  was signed into law by President Trump earlier this month as part of the government’s spending bill. Over the next three weeks, we will talk about three key changes that may impact you and your retirement planning. In this article,  we want to talk about the new required minimum distribution (RMD) rules. Before the SECURE ACT, required minimum distributions for … [Read more...]