The biggest surprises I found in retirement

What’s the biggest surprise about retirement?

I get that question a lot. I retired in September 2015 after 33 years with The Wall Street Journal, the final decade of which I spent editing, and writing for, Encore, the Journal’s guide to retirement planning and living. As such, I didn’t expect many, if any, surprises in my first year outside the office.

So much for expectations.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

 

Dealing With Retirement's Strange Sense of Humor

Retirement’s a funny thing… if you understand its weird sense of humor. People often enter retirement with one set of ideas and perceptions but they can quickly change when retirement pulls out many of its gags. For those who can catch on and learn to accept its ironic and sometimes cynical lessons, they transition with a smile and glass half full attitude. While those who miss the punch line can feel mocked, out-of-sorts, and even regret their decision to call it quits. Here’s a short list of cruel jokes that retirement may throw at you.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

Three Ways To Save A Lot More For Retirement

Unlike the great American gymnast Simone Biles, you don’t need to do flying somersaults to be good at retirement savings. There are already tools available for what you need to do.

As the U.S. economy continues to improve, retirement savers are pumping more money into their long-term savings. Some 21 percent of Americans surveyed, according to a recent bankrate.com report, say they are saving more for retirement—the highest level over the past five years.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement  Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Retirement Or College Funding? What To Do Now

For millions of American families, one of the most vexing financial questions is: Should I save for retirement or fund college? Can we do both?

The question is not an easy one, because of course, you need to do both. Yet the right answer is often a simple one when you consider the financial liability of choosing one over the other.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions 

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Here's How Much The Average Single Person Saved For Retirement

"Even among those approaching retirement (age 56-61), most single men and women do not have any retirement account savings," the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported.

Specifically, 43 percent of single men and 42 percent of single women have retirement account savings, compared with 65 percent of married couples.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

Yes, You Can Start A Business In Retirement

Entrepreneurship is often viewed as an elite venture reserved for superstars of Silicon Valley and other risk takers blessed with a rare combination of youth, insight, pluck and luck. So if you’ve toyed with the idea of starting a part-time business in retirement, you might have concluded: Nahhh.

The reality about entrepreneurship, however, is largely a mirror image of the stereotype. Older Americans are actually well suited to join the start-up culture, whether they are pushed into starting a business in retirement (a layoff, age discrimination) or pulled into it (pursuing a dream, wanting to be the boss). And it’s getting easier, as I’ll explain below.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

You're Going to Work Well Into Your Retirement

Get used to working: you're going to have to do so for much longer than you'd imagined if you're ever going to retire.

As the folks at Bankrate.com discovered in a recent survey, 70% of non-retired Americans plan to work as long as possible during retirement. Only 25% say they have no plans to work during retirement. Of those who plan to work as long as possible during retirement, 38% are planning to work because they like to work, 35% need the money and 27% say it's a mix of both.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Not your grandma's retirement home: Check out this luxe living

Jeff and Sharon Kay Brown are not retired yet, but they moved into an active adult community in Broomfield, Colorado, just outside Denver, less than a year ago. After living in several different cities over the years, they wanted a social atmosphere with people their own age, but they didn't want to skimp on the luxuries.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Top 7 hacks for saving more for retirement

Worrying about having enough retirement savings can keep you up at night. If you've barely put anything away, it's easy to panic or give up on saving altogether. But there's a third option: You can find ways to funnel a few extra bucks into your 401(k) account or your IRA. If you're ready to put more effort into saving, here are seven easy ways to fill your retirement accounts.

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Damian Sylvia 

Retirement Income Solutions 

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

Ask Larry: ​I Got Hit By Deeming. Can I Undo The Damage?

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits.

Today’s column examines examines the deeming provision, by which you might be deemed to file for both your spousal and your retirement benefit, spousal and widow(er)’s benefits and other topics.

You can submit a question by clicking on the link below. Questions submitted to Ask Larry are answered by Social Security experts.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Is your retirement ready for a natural disaster?

Retirement planning is most often defined as achieving financial security against a backdrop of long lazy days enjoying sun, sea and sand. Unfortunately, finances are only one element of safety and security in retirement. The recent torrential rains targeting the Gulf Coast, particularly Louisiana, have resulted in six deaths and nearly 20,000 people being rescued from the flood waters, putting weather-related disasters back in the news. If you are retired and such an unfortunate event happens, are you prepared?

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Why Trump and Clinton Need to Join the Conversation on Retirement Security

Aging is the forgotten megatrend.

This presidential election cycle, perhaps the closest watched in history, has lacked any meaningful discussion of the pressing issues related to longevity and retirement. That’s a shame because issues that candidates choose to talk about can move the needle on public awareness, which is a step toward action.

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Damian Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

10 Tips to Live Rich While Saving for Retirement

Planning for your financial future while living a full and rich life is a juggling act. Between the financial demands of mortgage payments, kids' activity fees, the car payment and, of course, trying to save for retirement, sometimes the here and now can get lost.

The sad fact is that many people compromise things they truly value, like spending time with the people they care about, out of fear they will come up short one day, says Mark Ciucci, senior vice president of advice at United Capital, a financial advisory firm in Newport Beach, California.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Buckle up: It's Not Your Father's Retirement

It is something you should be planning for decades, reaching your Golden Years -- the day on which you leave the workforce and have enough financial resources to last for the rest of your lifetime. However, they may not be as close as they appear. As today many Americans are working later into their 60s and 70s – while some are concerned they may never be able to retire.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Quick Way to Give Your Retirement Portfolio a Midyear Checkup

Answer these three questions, and you'll be good to go.

Wimbledon is over, the All-Star game’s history and Brexit hysteria seems to be winding down. Which leaves you with a short window before the arrival of the next bigsummer event—the Olympic games—to perform a quick midyear checkup to ensure your retirement plan is on track. Answering these three key questions will allow you to do just that.

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Damian Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Meet the "feel free" retirement spending plan

How much can you safely spend each year from your retirement savings without worrying about running out of money? Do you really have enough money saved for retirement? These are critical questions for older workers and retirees to answer, particularly those who don't have substantial pension benefits and are relying on Social Security, 401(k) balances and IRAs for retirement income.

There's evidence that many people are struggling with these questions. For example, a recent survey showed that more than half of all respondents were too optimistic about a safe withdrawal rate. Almost one-third of were wildly overoptimistic and would spend their savings at a rate that would ensure they would almost surely deplete it during their lifetime.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

Want To Retire Early? 5 Reasons It May Not Happen For You

Many people seek our financial planning services to get a better handle on their over all financial situation and to better understand what they need to do to better meet their future goals.

A very common goal is to retire early and lead the “easy, good life”! Normal retirement age is defined by Social Security as the full retirement age for those born after 1960 would be age 67. Many of these folks are disappointed to learn that an early retirement may not be in their future and here are the 5 most common reasons:

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

 

 

Self-employed? Here’s How to Save for Retirement

Working for yourself comes with lots of perks: setting your own hours, your own dress code and your own workload. That’s probably part of the reason nearly a quarter of workers freelance, either full- or part-time. They make good money, too. Almost half earn six figures.

The downside is making up for all the benefits that employers typically provide. That means figuring out health care coverage (which at least is now easier — if not cheaper — than it was before Obamacare) and setting up retirement accounts.

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Damian Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755 

One in Three Americans Have Nothing Saved for Retirement

Nothing was more important to Winnie than her young children. The married mother of three took care of their needs but seldom took care of her own. As Winnie neared retirement, she divorced her spouse without a pension, 401-k or any significant savings. Because of an illness, she was forced to retire early and take reduced Social Security benefits. Her story is not uncommon.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755

5 ways to avoid retirement rip-offs

Federal regulators are cracking down on advisers who profit from providing venal advice to retirement savers with new rules that demand that the industry adhere to a so-called fiduciary standard. Officials estimate that imposing this standard, which requires advisers to act in the client's best interest, will ultimately save American consumers $17 billion annually lost to conflicts of interest -- in other words, where the adviser pockets the profit instead of you.

While consumer advocates lauded the soon-to-be-enacted rules on Wednesday, some acknowledged that the battle may not be over. Financial services companies, complaining that the rules are overly burdensome, have threatened to sue. In the past, they've also persuaded members of Congress to throw language into pending legislation to derail the rules.

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Damian J. Sylvia

Retirement Income Solutions

220 Monmouth Road

Oakhurst, NJ 07755