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Savings and Investment Updates

The American College of Financial Services recently posted some surprising results from its Retirement Income Literacy Quiz. Nearly three-quarters of respondents ages 60 to 75 failed the test with a score of 60 percent or less.

The quiz included topics such as which expenses are covered by Medicare and long-term care insurance and what age people should start drawing benefits from Social Security. If you’re not familiar with the answers to questions such as these, we invite you to schedule a consultation so we can help you delve into retirement planning. There are many factors to consider beyond where to invest and how much you’ve saved. Retirement is about preserving and distributing assets, as well as understanding the impact of longevity.

Let’s take a look at some other retirement-oriented questions that are important to answer. For example, do you know how long you have to work for your company before you can keep matched contributions to your 401(k) plan? Some companies that sponsor a 401(k) require employees to work around two to three years before employer-matching contributions are vested. If you leave the company before then, those matches won’t be added to your account balance — even if you maintain the plan with that employer after you go to work for another one.

It’s worth noting that 401(k) and other employer-sponsored retirement plans may be considered for tax reform. Recent discussions have included eliminating the tax-deferred status of retirement plan contributions, which represent a four-year tab of $583.6 billion that Congress could spend elsewhere. The discussions are in the very early stages, but things can happen quickly in Washington these days, so it’s an issue worth watching.

For those in the military, on Jan. 1, 2018, the military’s new Blended Retirement System goes into effect. Starting that day, all military personnel whose length of service spans one to 12 years will have one year to make an irrevocable choice between the old and new retirement plans. Service members who started before 2006 will automatically remain in the old plan, which offers a generous pension complete with inflation adjustments. However, anyone joining the military starting next year gets enrolled automatically in the new program, which combines reduced pension benefits with up to a 5 percent match of personal contributions to the government’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).

If you haven’t saved enough money to retire yet, you may be thinking you’ll just keep working until you have enough. However, according to a recent survey of 1,002 retirees, 60 percent said the timing of their retirement was unexpected, citing reasons such as health issues, job loss or the need to care for a loved one. While working longer is a worthy goal, it’s good to develop a financial plan that helps provide for possible contingencies just in case you have to pivot to “Plan B.”

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Danielle Christensen

Paraplanner

Danielle is dedicated to serving clients to achieve their retirement goals. As a Paraplanner, Danielle helps the advisors with the administrative side of preparing and documenting meetings. She is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict, with a degree in Business Administration and began working with Secured Retirement in May of 2023.

Danielle is a lifelong Minnesotan and currently resides in Farmington with her boyfriend and their senior rescue pittie/American Bulldog mix, Tukka.  In her free time, Danielle enjoys attending concerts and traveling. She is also an avid fan of the Minnesota Wild and loves to be at as many games as possible during the season!