Talking Retirement

Moving Through Retirement Phases

I found an informative article about retirement planning on Deleware Online this morning. It was apparently orignially published in USA Today, but I must have missed it there. The article is entitled Move Smoothly Through Phases Of Retirement, and it offers very practical advice on what you should be thinking about and doing 15 years from retirement, 6 years from retirement, and so on. Check it out.

Should Bamboo The Elephant Retire From The Zoo?

Protesters in Seattle are urging the Woodland Park Zoo to allow Bamboo, a 39 year-old Asian elephant, to retire at an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. Read the story on the Seattle Post Intellegencer site.

Retirement Planning: Catch-Up For Women

We’ve posted several articles over the past year about how women in the US may face difficulty in retirement. Lower lifetime earnings and longer lifespans both contribute to this scenario. Sandra Block has a piece in USA today about how women can start to be better prepared. Here’s a top-level view of her recommendations:

1. Consider working longer—but have a back-up plan
2. Delay Social Security benefits
3. If you divorce, don’t give up your retirement security
4. Don’t be afraid to take risks with investments
5. Consider annuitizing some of your investments

Read more in USA Today.

Retirement Planning: 3 Roads

Hope Nelson Pope has written a nice inspirational article for The Motley Fool entitled 3 Roads To Retirement. It suggests that you basically can go down one of three roads planning your retirement:

Road 1. Retire broke
Road 2. Retire like the average American
Road 3. Retire like a pro

Personally, I would like to be on Road 3. Read how you can get there as well.

4 Retirement Planning Thoughts

Robert Powell has written another insightful article for MarketWatch. It’s entitled Antidepressants: Four Ways To Deal With A Dreary Retirement Picture. Set against the backdrop of recent findings showing how woefully ill-prepared many Americans are for retirement, the piece offers four interesting ways to think about getting ready:

1. Be prepared for change
2. Take advantage of resources
3. Assume nothing
4. Don’t put off till tomorrow what you should do today

Read the article for details.

Retirement’s Emotional Roller Coaster

USA Today has an interesting article about the emotional phases many people can expect before and during retirement. They range from the anticipation we feel before we retire, to liberation immediately after, to a phase where reality has set in. It’s an interesting piece. Check it out.

Waking Up To The New Retirement Reality

Humberto Cruz has an interesting opinion piece in the L.A. Times today. He describes his observation (based on letters he receives from readers) that more and more Americans are coming to terms with the notion that we have to take responsibility for our own retirement planning and savings. He also references a recent study of worldwide attitudes about the future retirement that was commissioned by HSBC bank. You can learn more about that study here.

Chicago Tribune Begins Retirement Series: The Journey

In this column we will explore the issues facing readers as they plan for, and live in, retirement. We’ll pair top financial experts with readers who have specific retirement-planning questions. We’ll try out financial products and opportunities geared toward Boomers in the second half of life. We’ll discuss Americans’ savings patterns and offer strategies for both feathering the nest egg today and tapping it after retirement.

The initial article introduces us to Mary Jane Good, who, at 71, still isn’t ready for a traditional retirement and continues to work. Happily, she has a job she enjoys. That’s the new retirement, at least for her. We’ll keep an eye on this series as it develops. I wish them luck with it. Read the first article here.

Hurricanes’ Heavy Toll On Florida’s Retirees

I found an interesting article on a site called Insurance Journal. It offers a glimpse at how heavily Florida’s recent severe hurricanes have affected its retired population. Apparently, around 80% of Florida’s population over the age of 60 lives in hurricane-vulnerable coastal communities. And the recent hurricanes have left them dealing with insurance woes, unscrupulous contractors and property that’s hard to sell. Read the article.

Retirement’s Unexpected Complications

Albert Crenshaw, author of The Washington Post’s Cash Flow column, is retiring. He is devoting his last few articles to some thorny issues he and his wife are facing in terms of retirement planning. Overall, they are in great shape: they both have pensions, they have lots of savings, etc. But they do face some tricky decisions. This week (among other things) he talks about how property taxes may influence where they decide to live. It’s a great column. Check it out.