What You Can Do If Coronavirus Is Threatening Your Retirement

When you reach 50, you are able to make catch-up contributions to your 401(k) and IRA accounts. The amounts you can add change periodically. For 2020, you may contribute up to $6,500 annually to a 401(k) and, if you’re over 50, up to $1,000 above the $6,000 annual limit to either a traditional or Roth IRA. If you have more than one IRA account, the total contribution cannot exceed $1,000.

Also consider reducing or reducing your contributions. If you have credit card debt or a car loan or some other indebtedness, paying off that debt before retiring might be more important than building your nest egg. Remember that when you do retire, your savings would be your main source of income.

You may begin withdrawing funds from either an IRA or a 401(k) at age 59 and a half. If you are still working and your employer offers a 401(k), you can continue to contribute to it as long as you are eligible, but you must begin withdrawing funds when you reach 72. You cannot continue contributing to a traditional IRA once you reach 72. There are no similar age restrictions on Roth IRAs. Once again, the longer you can leave your savings untouched (or keep adding to them), the more you’ll have when those savings become your main source of income.

First, consider whether you need a new or fairly new car at all. If you decide to acquire a new vehicle, you will notice that the down payment on a lease is typically lower and so are the monthly payments. After the lease term is up (usually three years), you can get a lease on a new car and begin the process again. Considering it takes about five years to pay off a new car loan and you will be driving it payment-free for 10 or more years if you keep it for 15 years, buying an affordable vehicle may be a better choice.

When you turn 62, you can start collecting Social Security retirement benefits. You will get another opportunity at age 65 or later (depending on your birth year) and at 70, you have to take it. In 2020, if you begin collecting benefits at age 62, the maximum monthly payment is $2,265; at 65 or later, the monthly benefit is $3,011; and at age 70, if you waited that long, the maximum benefit is $3,790. The standard advice is to wait as long as you can to take the benefit because your monthly income will be higher when you need it most, i.e., when you’re older.

By federal law, lenders cannot discriminate against potential borrowers on the basis of age. If you are qualified for a loan and you need money, you should get it. Taking on new debt once you retire and are living on a fixed income can be risky.

Reverse mortgages are one option, but if your mortgage is paid off you might consider a home equity loan. If you still have a mortgage, a cash-out refinance is another option. While neither is technically a second mortgage, they serve the same purpose — turning the equity you have in your home into cash (actually new debt) that is secured by the house itself.

The average annual return for the S&P 500 from 1957 through 2018 was about 10%. Equities have been a good place to park retirement money. And as bond yields have dropped to near all-time lows, they have become very unattractive. All of that may have changed because of the economic fallout of the coronavirus.

In the last recession, stocks fell almost 50%, wiping out retirement savings for many. Investment bonds do not offer big returns, but are safe. People have complained for years that owning U.S. bonds was the top way to undermine retirement nesteggs. Now, they may be the best.

Reverse mortgages often get a bad rap, but there are circumstances where they may answer a need. If your home is your largest asset and you need cash and have no other way to get it, this may be your best option. To get one, your mortgage must be paid off (or nearly so).

Weigh the amount a cash sale would bring against the amount you could get from a reverse mortgage, including all fees. An additional consideration is that taking a reverse mortgage means you do not have to move and that you can meet the ongoing costs (heat, maintenance, etc.) of staying put. It also means you are not planning to leave your house as part of your estate.

More than a third of average American homeowners’ wealth is tied up in their homes. If you have fully paid off your mortgage, or nearly so, you might want to consider selling your home and purchasing something smaller. By downsizing, you might be able to pay cash for a smaller home and use the rest of the proceeds from the sale of your old house to pay off any remaining debt. Being debt free headed into retirement is (or should be) a top goal of any retirement plan. Of course, making a move will have to wait until regional stay-at-home orders have been lifted.

Cost of living varies widely from state to state — and there are several states which are popular with American seniors. In a very rough economy, a lower cost of living can help you make a dollar go farther. If the average cost of living in the U.S. is indexed to 100, the state with the lowest cost of living is Mississippi with an index of 86.1. Nations with good lifestyles and low costs of living include Ecuador and Panama.

According to the Social Security Administration, if you were a 62-year-old male in 2016, your life expectancy is just over 82. A 62-year-old woman can expect to live until she is 85. For the purposes of retirement income, it might be wise to determine how much you and your partner will need assuming you live to be 90. How does that match up with the expected annual income from all your retirement plans? Do not forget to add inflation, both to your Social Security benefits and the cost of living.

Even people with modest incomes often leave money to their children or grandchildren. Laws about inheritance taxes can change at the federal level and can vary from state to state. One of the most popular ways to move money to future generations is the annual gift exclusion, which allows you to give your children or other relatives $15,000 a year per person. Neither the person giving the gift or the person receiving it needs to pay taxes on it.

Long-term senior care can be terribly expensive — one year in a private room at an assisted living center costs more than $48,000, and the average cost at a nursing home is more than $100,000.

Long-term care insurance can help with the costs but itself can be costly. Most financial advisers recommend looking for a plan between the ages of 60 and 65. The premiums could double or more if you wait until you are 70. And unlike Medicare, if you have serious health issues, long-term care insurers may turn you down for coverage.

If you carry credit card debt, try to pay it off before you retire. The same goes for student loans and any outstanding medical bills. Whether or not you pay off your mortgage depends on how long you have until your retirement and how much you owe.

For example, if you plan to retire at 65 and have 15 years left on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, refinancing at 50 into a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage will raise your monthly payment a little but your home will be yours free and clear when you retire. As mortgage rates have fallen during the crisis, now might be a good time to consider refinancing.

As of 2019, the average age of a car on the road in America was 11.8 years. That is up from 6.9 years in 1980. Without question, the quality of cars and light trucks sold in America has improved significantly. Still, lots of people were buying cars last year when total sales hit 17 million. However, buying a new car usually means a car loan. Some of these stretch as long as seven years, locking people into multi-year obligations. That can be a major drag on income. If you have a car that is less than five years old, keep it in good shape and drive it five more years.

Jobs will likely become more and more difficult to find in the next several years. People about to retire may want to keep a steady job if they have one. Even an extra year or two would allow an increase in savings. Also, some jobs have extremely valuable benefits — from health care to pensions. Companies often like to retain older workers because of their extensive training and experience that may date back decades.

AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is open for membership to anyone over 50. It has 38 million members. A membership costs $12.50 a year. Because of its membership size, AARP regularly lobbies the government for better benefits for seniors.

More important to most members is the leverage the association has with companies that provide discounts to services that range as widely as eye glasses to Medicare supplement insurance to pharmacy. AARP also offers discounts for the more daily costs, including cell phone service discounts and food shopping deals.

People often don’t review their electric bills, heating bills, cable, or even home insurance, but finding ways to reduce the costs of these bills can help at any time, and especially now. For example, lowering the thermostat a few degrees for about a third of the day can cut electric bills by 10%.

It is not unusual for people to have a cable TV service that dates back decades. Ending those subscriptions and watching TV over the internet can save as much as $100 a month. Free energy audits can also be a way to give you information on how to save money.

People of all ages ignore the costs of cellular phone subscription plans. They also often upgrade to new phones when they are available. There are several ways to cut a bill by as much $100 a month. One change that is easy to make and can cut charges sharply is using Wi-Fi when possible. It is a less expensive way to connect to the internet. People should also track their data use. Finally, don’t upgrade to that expensive new iPhone if you can’t afford it.

Many discounts for seniors are available at all kinds of places. People who qualify for these are usually 60 or older. Huge movie chain AMC offers discounts of as much as 30% on ticket prices. Utilities companies like Georgia Power offer some seniors discounts on their energy bills. Big retailers, including Walmart, CVS, Home Depot, and Target, regularly have discounts on popular items.

A funeral can cost people money long before they die. So called “final expense insurance” covers the cost of coffins and burials among other expenses. Like most insurance, payments are based on what the insurance company will have to pay out. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the median cost of a funeral is $7,200. By sticking to the essentials and forgoing the limos, flowers, and food, the cost of the insurance declines. It is worth noting that a cremation costs $1,000 less than a traditional burial.