Thursday, January 26, 2006
Retirement math -- when to walk away
If the mid-winter blahs have you recalculating your retirement benefits on an hourly basis, you're not alone.
The calculators posted on the Social Security Administration's Web site (www.ssa.gov) have become a popular online destination, drawing 1.3 million visitors in the last quarter of 2005. Now quicker and easier to use, they lay your expected benefit right out in front of you.
But the numbers are just a piece of the retirement decision. A vast array of books and articles urging elders to redefine retirement to include part-time work or a second career, coupled with the January 2000 elimination of the earnings test for most retirees, has led to a blurring of that decision.
The best way to approach it is to de-couple these two retirement questions: When do you want to quit work? And, when do you want to start taking your Social Security benefits? The answer may not be the same.
Retirement math -- when to walk away
Source: InsuranceBroadcasting.com
The calculators posted on the Social Security Administration's Web site (www.ssa.gov) have become a popular online destination, drawing 1.3 million visitors in the last quarter of 2005. Now quicker and easier to use, they lay your expected benefit right out in front of you.
But the numbers are just a piece of the retirement decision. A vast array of books and articles urging elders to redefine retirement to include part-time work or a second career, coupled with the January 2000 elimination of the earnings test for most retirees, has led to a blurring of that decision.
The best way to approach it is to de-couple these two retirement questions: When do you want to quit work? And, when do you want to start taking your Social Security benefits? The answer may not be the same.
Retirement math -- when to walk away
Source: InsuranceBroadcasting.com
Permalink posted by armandn @ 12:59 PM 
 |
 |  |
  |
