A news and educational resource pooling excerpts from various news and information sources from the web for the Federal Retiree.
Article Excerpt: "...Military retirees, those who receive disability or other benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, federal retirees and social security recipients will see a 1.6% increase in their monthly checks for 2020..."
Article Excerpt: "...the news on the COLA front isn't so encouraging going into 2020: Seniors will only be getting a 1.6% boost in their benefits, which pales in comparison to the 2.8% COLA they received going into 2019..."
Article Excerpt: "...There are a lot of factors to consider for a great retirement strategy -- such as your expected healthcare costs, living expenses in retirement, life expectancy, savings, investments, and retirement accounts such as a Roth IRA. The list of questions below can help you approach them all, as you aim for maximum retirement income..."
Article Excerpt: "...If you're going to be depending on your benefits to make ends meet in your golden years, it's crucial to do your best to maximize those checks. And there are a few Social Security rules you need to understand to truly make the most of your benefits..."
Article Excerpt: All TSP participants must have validated contact information and use two-step authentication to log into My Account before the end of 2019. You can avoid interruption to your account access by adding these security features in your My Account Profile Settings now. Download instructions (pdf)PDF file. Two-step authentication helps protect your account against fraud. This login process is more secure because it means that online access to your account requires something you know (your account number or username and password) and something you have (the one-time code you receive in your email or on your phone). Someone who tries to log into your account fraudulently won’t be able to gain access without the code. We recommend that you include at least one contact method on your account that will stay with you through career, such as a personal email.
Article Excerpt: "...These days, more retirees are carrying mortgage debt into retirement. About half of all retirees ages 65 to 69 were mortgage-free in 2015, down from nearly 60% in 2000, according to mortgage giant Fannie Mae..."
Article Excerpt: "...Since we don't know what the reading for July through September will be, 2020's COLA remains undetermined at this point. However, most forecasts have called for a COLA of perhaps 1.7% to 1.8% next year, which would lead to an increase pay for the average retired worker of about $25 a month, based on the average payout of $1,471 a month, as of June 2019..."
Article Excerpt: "...Social Security isn't meant to sustain seniors by itself. Those benefits will replace about 40% of an average earner's pre-retirement income. For higher earners, it'll replace an even smaller percentage...The average Social Security recipient today collects $17,532 a year in benefits..."
Article Excerpt: "...A stock-laden portfolio designed for growth may be too risky when there's less time to wait out downturns and no fresh money going in. And the safe-looking alternative of switching to short-term bonds and cash could backfire if inflation takes a toll in a long retirement..."
Article Excerpt: "...the Chained index would result in a six percent income decrease over 30 years for COLA recipients..."
Article Excerpt: "...Forget the numbers, and focus on these non-financial indicators of retirement satisfaction to help ensure you’ll find fulfillment later on in life..."
Article Excerpt: "...Roughly a third of Baby Boomers have saved less than $25,000 while just over a fifth of all American have no savings at all, according to a study by Northwestern Mutual. However, the good news is that it is never too late to start saving for retirement, or to make decisions that will help create more financial stability when it comes time to retire..."