The Retirement COLLAB Blog

For the recently widowed, there are many painful questions that have to be answered. Unfortunately, many of those questions are about money. When you should be focusing on family and saying goodbye, you instead have to deal with questions about loss of income and the decisions that need to be made. 

For widows and widowers approaching retirement, many of the money-related questions have to deal with Social Security. Because a spouse has spent his or her entire life working and paying into the system, it doesn’t seem right for it all to go to waste. Shouldn’t the widow be entitled to the Social Security benefits of the deceased?

For married couples, filing for Social Security comes with several options. Depending on the situation of the couple, there are different strategies that couples can employ to maximize their life-time benefits. We’ll cover each of these in more detail below but, for now, here is a brief overview to get you started. 

First, for couples that have a long life expectancy, the best strategy is to wait as long as possible before filing. Because waiting to file (up until age 70) increases the monthly size of your Social Security payments, a couple that expects to live a long time can earn more over the course of their retirement by waiting to file.

There are many perks to retirement, such as freedom, traveling, spending more time with friends and family, and for most, becoming Medicare eligible. Most seniors become eligible for Medicare when they reach age 65. Though, some seniors believe they do not need Medicare due to retiree or Veterans Affairs (VA) coverage. 

That is not always the case, so it’s important to know the facts when you approach your Golden Years. Here’s why you should have Medicare in retirement.

If you want to save money for retirement, you need to start doing it right now, no matter how old (or young) you are. While there are multiple methods for building a nest egg, one of the most reliable is contributing to an individual retirement account (IRA). 

There are two primary types of IRAs available - traditional and Roth. Both options have benefits and downsides, so it’s crucial to understand the differences between them. Here is what you need to know. 

According to a recent study, over two-thirds of Americans (69 percent) have less than $1,000 saved in a bank account. This statistic is troubling for many reasons, particularly when it comes to having an emergency fund or saving for retirement. 

If you’re one of these individuals, you may be struggling with the idea of saving money. However, what if you could stash up to $5,000 within a year? It might seem far-fetched right now, but it is possible. We’re going to show you how. 

As you get older, there’s a possibility that your health will decline to the point where you need assistance. This assistance can range from part-time help all the way to full-time assisted living. 

This long-term care is expensive, and without proper planning can financially devastate a person or couple. Paying for care with your own dollars will erode your nest egg and, depending on how big it is, it might even dwindle it all down before Medicaid swoops in.

As you get closer to retirement, it’s crucial to plan for every detail. While your primary concern will be whether you’ve saved enough, one element that can come into play is life insurance. 

Typically, most individuals believe that life insurance coverage is only necessary when they have dependents. However, it can be a valuable asset at any stage of life, including retirement. In this article, we’re going to outline the steps you should take to determine whether you need life insurance in retirement or not. 

If you’re like 69% of Americans, you may have less than $1000 saved. Putting money away is a struggle for many individuals, but part of the problem may be how they’re doing it. 

One possible way to make saving easier is to utilize multiple accounts. Today, we’re going to look at the various reasons you should be saving and the types of accounts you can use to reach your goal. 

This post was last updated on January 15, 2021, to reflect all updated information and best serve your needs. 

When you retire, you deserve to enjoy years of relaxation and stress-free time doing the things that make you happy with the people you love. One of the best ways to make sure this happens is by paying off your mortgage before entering your retirement years. In this article, we’ll show you the freedom that not having a mortgage in retirement brings, and we’ll also tell you how to get there.

If you’re saving for retirement, chances are that you are putting money away into an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan. According to a recent study by the Investment Company Institute, Americans put away over $5.8 trillion in assets in 2019. By comparison, that number was only $3.1 trillion in 2010. 

While 401(k) and 403b accounts are by far the most widely utilized saving plans, you may not be aware of the various costs and fees that come with them. In fact, if you’re like 37% of savers, you may not realize that you pay anything at all.