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When Are People Claiming Social Security?

One of the hottest topics in retirement income planning over the past several years has been how to help individuals strategize on their Social Security claiming decisions.

Calculating Social Security Retirement Benefits

I will discuss the philosophy of claiming strategies later, but first, it is meaningful to first consider how retirement benefits are calculated.

The Social Security Administration has now followed the same approach for calculating benefits since 1979.

Introducing the Social Security Claiming Decision

For the vast majority of Americans, Social Security benefits serve as the core of a retirement income strategy. As a government-backed, inflation-adjusted monthly income for life, Social Security benefits help to manage longevity risk, inflation risk, and market risk.

Annuity Pricing Sensitivity

With all of my discussions of annuities lately, it is worthwhile to also consider the sensitivity of annuity pricing to interest rates, gender and age-related mortality factors. Relationship Between Payout Rates and Interest Rates Figure 1 estimates the relationship between annuity payout rates and interest rates for 65-year old males, females, and opposite-gender couples with […]

Annuity Pricing 102

In today’s scenario, we’ll see what happens to the price of an annuity if:
1. We guarantee income will be provided for at least 10 years, regardless of whether the annuitant lives.
2. We provide a cash refund if the annuitant dies before at least receiving their full principal payment.
3. We include a cost-of-living adjustment for annuity payments.

Income Annuity 101

How are different types of annuities priced? It’s not as hard as you might think, as the basic recipe requires just three ingredients:

Withdrawal Sequencing: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Retirement Distribution Order

Withdrawal Sequencing Avoiding the Pitfalls of Retirement Distribution Order

Taking retirement income from your investment portfolio in retirement is like walking through a minefield. Most people don’t think about it, but your distribution strategy in retirement – how you actually take money out of your portfolio – and the resulting taxes can have a significant impact on how long your money lasts and how much you’ll be able to spend throughout retirement.

The Value of Financial Advice

I am often asked whether it is worth the cost to hire a financial advisor. After all, they charge you money to make you money. People say they can listen to the news and know where and how to invest, so, “Wouldn’t I be better off just keeping that fee for myself?” That is an excellent question with an answer that depends on many factors.

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