Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.
Taxes and penalties are among the considerations that clients need to make if they consider tapping into their 401(k) plan, according to this article on CBS Moneywatch. The best reasoning for such a decision would be if it were the “lesser of two or more evils,” said one financial expert quoted in the article. “But those would have to be pretty evil evils," he said. "No matter how you slice it, it is a permanent setback to your retirement plan. You lose the tax efficiency, you pay a penalty, and you can't put the money back in later."
Retirement FOMO, or fear of missing out on the exciting things in life in the golden years, is an anxiety that many baby boomers experience as they approach retirement, writes a Forbes contributor. To address this fear, clients should engage in comprehensive retirement planning that accounts for activities and lifestyles that will keep them socially engaged, writes the expert. "We should consider not only the big photo-worthy events that punctuate our lives, ... but the daily grind of retirement: staying connected with old friends and making new ones, learning and trying new things, and ensuring that there are several good reasons to get up every morning—such that others fear missing out on what you are doing in retirement."
Many retirees fear outliving their nest egg, so they tend to underspend and deprive themselves of the comfort that they deserve, according to this article on MarketWatch. They are advised to have a retirement plan to enjoy their golden years without running out of cash. They may also evaluate their financial standing every two years with the help of software or a financial adviser, and start planning if they are at risk of outliving their savings. “The older you get…the fewer years you have left to live. Not to be morbid, [but] you can loosen up the purse strings a bit more,” says a financial adviser.
People should look forward to retirement with excitement and should not spend the transition looking back to their past, writes an expert on Money. "Retirement isn’t the end of the road…it’s assuredly a new beginning," writes the expert. "To be sure, this is a totally unfamiliar road and one you have to learn to drive on. But as we do that, our focus is decidedly not on looking in the rear-view mirror!"
