New Guide to Reverse Mortgages

What are reverse mortgages? They are a special kind of home equity loan for homeowners aged 62 and older. The homeowners receive a portion of their home equity as cash. The loan is repaid when borrower either dies, sells his home, or moves out of the home. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends that you get HUD-approved housing counseling before you decide to get a reverse mortgage. The USA.gov blog reported that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has recently updated its guide to reverse mortgages. This update was needed due to new government rules concerning reverse mortgages. The changes are:

• first year payout limits - there are now limits on how much money you can get from the loan during the first year.
• new protections for the non-borrowing spouse.

You can learn more about reverse mortgages by reading the guide here.

Retirement Resources

Do you need information to plan your retirement? The federal government has many resources that can help. First, there is the Retirement Toolkit from the  the Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This toolkit has links to information about 401Ks, social security, and Medicare. 

The United States Department of Labor also has created a publication called "Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement". This publication provides a lot of good information, such as "Almost 20% of retiree income will be spent on healthcare". This publication also states that after age 50, you can begin making catch-up contributions to 401(k) and other retirement accounts.

In addition, the Social Security website has a Retirement Estimator, so that you can get a good idea of what your Social Security benefits will be when you retire. You can use this estimator if you have enough social security credits to qualify for Social Security (at least 40 credits), but you are not currently receiving Social Security benefits.

It is not too late to start saving for retirement. Here is a link to a helpful article from usa.gov, "Retirement Saving Strategies for Late Starters", which has good tips for retirement planning.

New Retirement Toolkit

The Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have partnered to publish a "Retirement Toolkit". This toolkit includes both links to publications and to interactive tools which can help you plan your retirement. It includes a timeline for retirement, information to help you decide what age you want to retire, and information about how to avoid paying a Medicare Part D late enrollment penalty. 
Some of the links from this toolkit include:

• Taking the Mystery Out Of Retirement Planning (for people who are within 10 years of retirement)
• Estimate your retirement benefits
• Medicare & You
• Extra Help with the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

These resources are also available in Spanish.You can read the entire Retirement Toolkit here.

Online Social Security Changes

The Social Security Administration changed their online account system on January 5, 2013. The new system is called "My Social Security" and it can be accessed here. If you had an account on the previous system, you will need to set up a new account. To set up the account, you will need to verify some information about yourself and you will need the following: 

• valid E-mail address
• a Social Security number
• a U.S. mailing address
• To be at least 18 years of age.

What can you do with this online account? You can get your verification letter, earnings record, benefit information, change your address or phone number, change your direct deposit information. If you do not yet receive benefits, you can review your earnings record and estimate your retirement benefits. Note that Social Security is switching to electronic payments for benefits. The Social Security Administration states that you must sign up for direct deposit of payments by March 1, 2013. You can do this online (see above) or at your bank.

Best Retirement Destinations

 Portfolio.com has ranked the attractiveness of 157 retirement destinations.  Criteria for rating these destinations included: 

• the percentage of residents age 65 or older
• the median age of residents
• the number of seniors born out of state
• the percentage of seniors who moved to this area in the last 12 months

This data was taken from the 2009 American Community survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The top three retirement destinations were: Bradenton-Sarasota; Prescott, Arizona; and Lake Havasu City, Ariz.  Other Florida areas on the list included: Cape Coral-Fort Myers (4th), Naples (5th), Palm Bay Melbourne (6th), Homosassa Springs (7th), Ocala (8th), Punta Gorda (9th), Port St. Lucie (10th), and Tampa (11th).  The full list can be found here.

Here are some statistics about the Bradenton-Sarasota area:

• the median age is 48.1
• 27% of residents are are 65 or older
• 95% of the seniors in this region moved here from out of state

For more information, you can read the entire article here.

New Books to Help You Manage your Finances in Tough Times

Here are some new library books that can help you to save money, find a job, manage your finances, and plan for retirement:

The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches: a Practical (and fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less by Jeff Yeager.

J.K. Lasser's Guide for Tough Times: Tax and Financial Solutions to See You Through by Barbara Weltman.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey.

AARP Crash Course in Finding the Work You Love: the Essential Guide to Reinventing Your Life by Samuel Greengard.

The Social Security Answer Book: Practical Answers to over 200 Questions on Social Security by Stanley A. Tomkiel.



The Retirement Challenge: Sink or Swim: A Complete Do-It-Yourself Toolkit to Navigate Your Financial Future by Frank Armstrong, III and Jason R. Doss.



The Estate Planning Toolkit: The Ultimate guide to Planning Your Estate by Daniel Sitarz.

How is the Economy Affecting Older Adults?

The Urban Institute has several recent reports about how the economy is affecting Older Adults. Here are the reports and some of their highlights:

How is the Economic Turmoil affecting Older Americans? - Oct. 1, 2008

• 49% of households 50+ own retirement accounts.
• During the past 12 months, retirement accounts have lost $1.6 trillion, 18.3% of their value. (p. 2 of report)
  
• Housing prices decreased between 4 % to 20% from January 2007 to May 2008, depending on the part of the country. However, from 1998 - 2006 the inflation-adjusted median home equity for adults aged 55+ increased by 41.5%.
  

How is the Recession Affecting Older Workers? - December 17, 2008

• More older adults are working or looking for work now, compared to past recessions - the share of adults age 65- 69 participating in the labor force has risen from 20.2% in 1982 to 29.7% in 2007.
  

Senior Unemployment Rate Hits 31-Year High - January 14th, 2009

• December 2008 unemployment rate for ages 65 and older was 5.1%.
• This unemployment rate has increased 1.7% since November 2007.
  

The Urban Institute is a nonpartisan economic and social research center founded in 1968 (for more information click here).

New Social Security Retirement Estimator

The Social Security Administration has just recently provided online access to a retirement benefits calculator. This calculator "is tied to a person’s actual Social Security earnings record and eliminates the need to manually key in years of earnings information." (Mark Lassiter, press release). This calculator is easy to use and can be used to compare retirement options. It gives expected benefits, based on different ages of retirement. Click here for the benefits calculator.

Senior Retirement Workshop

Are you interested in planning for your retirement? You may want to attend the Senior Retirement Workshop at the New River Branch on Wednesday, May 7th, from 12:30pm - 5:00 pm. Mr. Rocco Canora will be discussing new options for Medicaid, Social Security, wills, trusts, and how to protect your money. To register for this program, please call: 1-877-349-4207.


[New River Library address: 34043 State Road 54, Zephyrhills, Fl.]