Retirement In Sight for December, 2015

R E T I R E M E N T I N S I G H T
Presented by Rick Costner
 

MONTHLY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIREES

DECEMBER 2015

“Immature love says, ‘I love you because I need you.’ Mature love says, ‘I need you because I love you.’”
  

- Erich Fromm

GOLF TIP
Don’t just putter around

A consistent routine helps both the mechanics and confidence in putting. Avoid “paralysis by analysis” when you putt (and the yips that can stem from it) by taking no more than 6 seconds between your practice putting stroke and your actual putt.

BRAIN TEASER
A Timely Question.
It is in seconds, seasons, centuries, and minutes, but you won’t find it in years, decades or days. What is it?*

DID YOU KNOW?
Covert celebrities

Julia Child, Sterling Hayden, John Ford, and former CNN Crossfire host Thomas Braden all worked for the federal government’s Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the CIA) during World War II.4,5

ARE YOU GOING TO RETIRE NEXT YEAR?

If you are (and even if your retirement is a few years away), you should know the essential steps to take as you make the transition. Think about your workplace retirement plan – your last opportunities to contribute to it are coming up, and you must decide when you want to roll it over. If you are retiring in your fifties - whether from a civil service or private sector job – you may benefit from leaving the money in the plan a few more years, as early withdrawal penalties could cut into a plan distribution. Remember your RMDs if you are approaching your seventies, and decide when you want to claim Social Security.

Will your health coverage end when you leave work? Hopefully, you will retire at an age when you can enroll in Medicare. If you end your career after age 65, you need to enroll in Medicare within eight months of retiring (or the end of your group health coverage). If you fail to do so, you will have to pay markedly higher Part B premiums than other retirees for the rest of your life. If you aren’t yet eligible for Medicare when you retire, will need to search for private health insurance until that time arrives.

Lastly, take some time to relax. You deserve it after working for so long, and you may want time to reflect on what you really want to do next.1

THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE? THE WORST PLACES TO RETIRE?

Financial website WalletHub has ranked the retirement friendliness of 150 U.S. cities on criteria such as cost of living, weather, recreation, and percentage of people 65 or older (to name a few). Tampa, FL finished first, Scottsdale, AZ second, and Boise, ID third; two other Sunshine State cities, Cape Coral and Orlando, finished fourth and fifth. The bottom five: New York, NY at #146, Aurora, IL at #147, Providence, RI at #148, Jersey City, NJ at #149 and Newark, NJ at #150.

Laredo, TX boasted the lowest adjusted cost of living while Honolulu, HI had the highest. Anchorage, AK had the greatest percentage of people 65 and older working in some capacity, while Fontana, CA had the lowest. Finally, Glendale, CA was judged by WalletHub to have the best weather, while Buffalo, NY was determined to have the worst.2

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
In Fidelity Investments’ latest survey on New Year’s financial resolutions, 43% of the respondents who had made such resolutions last January said they were in better financial shape today than they were at the end of 2014.3

Rick Costner may be reached at
303-750-8500 or rcostner@g5financialgroup.com
www.rickcostner.com