The fact of the matter is that LTC insurance is something that nearly all of us are going to need. Whether we spend our later years in a nursing home, an assisted-living facility or live them out in our own home, we are probably going to need some sort of care.

What long-term care covers:
Long-term care insurance is specifically designed to fill in the gaps between what your care costs and what is actually available to pay for those costs. Keep in mind that Medicaid is probably going to pay a small fixed amount for your care and unless you have very limited assets, you may be ineligible for coverage for your care.

Who needs long-term care insurance?
Chances are if you are in your 20s or 30s, the last thing on your mind is worrying about long-term care as you approach your 70s or 80s. You can worry about it now, or you can worry about it as you approach your 50s and 60s though you will probably pay a lot more in out of pocket expenses if you wait. While you may be in great health today and not thinking about potential medical costs you may incur in the future, today is the time to consider long-term care insurance. Some of the factors that may impact your decision include:

• Family longevity – if your family has a history of living until a very old age, you may need to consider long-term insurance to protect your assets and provide for your care
• If you are female – overall, women tend to live longer than men meaning they are more likely to need long-term care
• Health of family – those who have family members who have suffered from heart disease, cancer or diabetes are more likely to require long-term care
• Singles – if you do not have children, you probably will require a third-party to provide care as you age

Cost considerations
While it is true that your age will have an impact on what you pay for long-term care insurance, there are other factors that will impact the cost including:

• Elimination periods – the younger you are, the elimination period can be longer. This is the amount of time required by the insurer before benefits will be paid for care.
• Benefit limits – daily, weekly and monthly benefit limits are another way of controlling the overall cost of a policy. Whether you use the basic nursing home care costs or the costs of getting care at home will determine what limits you will be subject to.

Pay attention to exclusions
Most long-term care policies have certain limitations including:

• Addiction – when you require long-term care for drug or alcohol addiction, long-term care policies may not be the right option.
• Mental health – many policies have mental health exclusions but will include long-term schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s provided you are not already suffering from Alzheimer’s.
• Family care – most policies will not pay if your family will be caring for you

Long-term care insurance is a safety net. These policies can protect your retirement income and your assets. While they may not be right for everyone, you will not know that unless you evaluate these policies today. It is important to carefully evaluate exclusions and benefit limits to ensure you get the policy that is right for your individual needs.

FED RAMPS UP ITS FINANCIAL SCRUTINY
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the central bank was now keeping close tabs on the “shadow banking” sector that bred the toxic assets associated with the last credit crisis. At the Chicago Fed’s banking conference, he noted that “careful monitoring for signs of emerging vulnerabilities” constituted “probably our best defense against complacency during extended periods of calm”. In widening its oversight, the Fed is also watching asset markets, consumers and businesses for signs of systemic risk in addition to banks.

OIL MOVES HIGHER, GOLD LOSES GROUND
COMEX gold retreated 1.76% last week, and that was mirrored by silver’s 1.25% weekly loss; the dollar gained 1.25% across five days. NYMEX crude rose 0.45% for the week. At Friday’s close, oil settled at $96.04 and gold at $1,443.30.

ANOTHER WEEK OF GAINS, MORE ALL-TIME HIGHS
The Dow went +0.97% last week to close at 15,118.49 Friday – a record high. The S&P 500 gained 1.19% last week to settle at another all-time peak of 1,633.70 Friday. After a 1.72% weekly gain, the NASDAQ ended Friday’s trading session at 3,436.58.

Saratoga Springs, NY. – May 8, 2013 – Bill Losey, author and retirement expert and advisor, recently published a blog discussing seven common assumptions that retirees often make. In this blog, found on his website http://www.BillLosey.com, titled “7 Retirement Assumptions Reassessed”, Bill explains how there is no such thing as a “typical” retirement, and that your retirement planning should reflect that, depending on your financial and lifestyle circumstances.

“Just as there is no routine retirement, there are no rote financial moves that should be made before or during this phase of life, and no universal truths about the retirement experience,” writes Losey.

Bill goes into details about seven commonly held assumptions, including:

1. You should take Social Security as late as possible
2. You’ll probably live 15-20 years after you retire
3. You should step back from growth investing as you get older
4. The way most people invest is the way you should invest
5. Going Roth is a no-brainer
6. A lump sum payout represents a good deal
7. Living it up in your 60s won’t hurt you in your 80s

About Roth IRAs being a no-brainer, Bill writes, “Not necessarily. If you are mulling a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) conversion, the big question is whether the tax savings in the end will be worth the tax you will pay on the conversion today. The younger you are – roughly speaking – the greater the possibility the answer will be “yes”, as your highest-earning years are likely in the future. If you are older and at or near your peak earning potential, the conversion may not be worth it at all.”

About living 15-20 years after you retire, Bill explains, “You may live much longer, especially if you are a woman. According to the Census Bureau, the population of Americans 100 or older grew 65.8% between 1980 and 2010, and 82.8% of centenarians were women in 2010. The real eye-opener: in 2010, slightly more than a third of America’s centenarians lived alone in their own homes. Had their retirement expenses lessened with time? Doubtful to say the least.”

Learn about the other five retirement assumptions by reading the entire blog at http://www.billlosey.com/blog/7-retirement-assumptions-reassessed.php

Bill Losey is a nationally known and respected retirement expert, specializing in 401k rollover advice, self-directed IRA rollovers, 401k direct rollovers, and many other investment and retirement strategies.  Bill’s company, Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, LLC, is an independent registered investment advisory firm that caters primarily to couples as well as divorced and widowed women nationwide (age 50-80) who demand objective financial and retirement advice; customized, fee-only investment management; attention to detail; and impeccable service.

Other recent blogs written by Bill Losey include “What To Do When a Family Member Dies”, “Saving for Retirement: Don’t be Afraid of Stocks”, and “Preventing Retirement Mistakes: 6 Key Dates To Remember,” among others.

Each issue of Bill Losey’s award-winning free weekly email newsletter, Retirement Intelligence®, reveals how-to-articles, secrets, investment ideas, a “Joke Of The Week”, fitness and diet tips, and promotes upcoming seminar dates to keep subscribers “in-the-know.”  Bill and his staff seek to provide informative and entertaining information readers can use to simply and confidently enhance their health, wealth and happiness.

To learn more about Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, please visit http://www.BillLosey.com and http://www.MyRetirementSuccess.com.

About Bill Losey, CFP®, CSA
America’s Retirement Strategist®

Bill Losey, CFP®, caters to women and couples (age 50-80) who seek to reduce post-retirement risk and generate a predictable, sustainable, increasing stream of retirement income they won’t outlive.  As a qualified professional in the areas of retirement strategies, personal finance and investment management, Bill has been seen and heard on hundreds of TV and radio stations such as FOX News, NPR, CBS News, CNBC, Business Week, TIME, AARP, U.S. News & World Report, and Oprah & Friends.

Bill has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry and is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and Certified Retirement Coach.  He is the owner of Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, LLC, a fee-based registered investment advisory firm serving a small nationwide clientele.  Bill is the author of Retire in a Weekend! The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Making Work Optional and he publishes Retirement Intelligence®, a free, weekly, award-winning newsletter that reaches over 5,000 subscribers worldwide.  Formerly, Bill was the “resident retirement expert” on CNBC’s “On the Money” television program.

In his leisure time, Billy, as his friends call him, loves to sing.  He is an accomplished vocalist and has performed the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden, the Pepsi Arena, and other sporting venues.  Currently Bill is the lead singer of a vocal duo called The New York Lounge Lizards. He has been married for nearly 25 years to his wife Tori.  Together they have three sons, two dogs, and one fish.

Learn more at www.BillLosey.com or by calling 518-581-1666.

QE3 has undeniably boosted the stock market and assisted the real estate recovery. Yet at some point, the Fed will decide to let the economy stand on its own and stop its aggressive easing of monetary policy. Wall Street is beginning to wonder how and when that will occur.

Will the Fed wind down QE3 in early 2014? Quite possibly – but it could happen sooner. Bloomberg recently polled 47 economists for their opinions, and 61% of them felt that the Fed would wrap up QE3 in the first half of 2014. Another 11% thought the central bank would halt its bond purchases in the fourth quarter.

What will the Fed’s first step be? Abruptly ending QE3 could be foolhardy. The median estimate in Bloomberg’s poll was for an initial cut to $50 billion in purchases per month, evenly split between mortgage-linked securities and Treasuries.

Does anyone think the Fed might increase its bond buying? That possibility is on the table. On May 1, the Fed said that it “is prepared to increase or reduce the pace of its purchases” depending on how “the outlook for the labor market or inflation changes.”

As the New York Times notes, Fed officials don’t see a whole lot of merit in increasing bond purchases. In the first quarter, the central bank already bought an amount of securities roughly equivalent to the volume of new mortgage bond issuance.

The latest indicators haven’t been great by any means: the jobless rate is still closer to 8% than 6.5% (the point at which the Fed would consider raising interest rates), the pace of manufacturing seems to have slowed this spring (the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index came in at 50.7 for March), and Q1 GDP was estimated at 2.5%. Is all this just another spring swoon, or should the Fed buy more assets in response to these indicators?

If the sequester truly damages the recovery and the Fed elects to buy more bonds instead of less, it certainly has the leeway to pull it off. The annual core inflation rate, as measured by the Commerce Department’s personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, was just 1.1% in March. The central bank has an inflation target of 2.0%.

The status quo may prevail into winter. The Fed has no compelling reason to stop buying securities in the near term. By gradually reducing its asset purchases, it could try to engineer a soft landing for the stock and real estate markets – and considering that the Dow pulled back about 2,000 points shortly after the end of both QE1 and QE2, there is every reason to strive for that outcome.

As JPMorgan Chase’s chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli noted last week, “In effect, the Fed signaled that the pace of asset purchases would be data-dependent in both directions, but that right now the data gives them little reason to change in either direction.”

CONSUMER SPENDING, OUTLOOK IMPROVE
Household spending increased 0.2% in March, the Commerce Department noted – part of a broader 3.2% advance for the first quarter. The Conference Board’s April consumer confidence index soared 6.2 points to 69.1, far exceeding the 61.0 consensus forecast of economists polled by Bloomberg.

STRONG SIGNALS OF A HOUSING COMEBACK
Home equity is definitely being restored: the latest 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index (February) shows a 9.3% year-over-year increase, the largest annual gain recorded in six years. The National Association of Realtors reported a 1.5% March gain in its pending home sales index, with the yearly gain at 7.0%.

IS MANUFACTURING COOLING DOWN?
The Institute for Supply Management’s April factory index came in at 50.7 last week, the weakest reading in nine months and down from 0.6 from March. ISM’s April service sector index also declined 1.3 points off the March reading of 53.1.

S&P TOPS 1,600, FED REASSURES INVESTORS
Last week brought major gains for the Dow (+1.78% to 14,973.96), S&P 500 (+2.03% to 1,614.42) and NASDAQ (+3.03% to 3,378.63). On May 1, the Federal Reserve said it would keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month for the near future, noting that the pace of asset purchases could even increase if needed.

EXISTING HOME SALES FALL; NEW HOME SALES RISE
While March brought a 0.6% dip in residential resales, the National Association of Realtors also noted the 10.3% gain in the pace of home buying from a year before. The Census Bureau reported a 1.5% gain in new home sales last month, with the year-over-year improvement in the sales pace at 18.5%.

CONSUMERS GROW MORE POSITIVE AS APRIL ENDS
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast April’s final consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan to rise mildly to 73.2. Instead, it jumped to 76.4. That was still underneath the final March mark of 78.6.

STOCKS KEEP ADVANCING
Across a volatile week, the Dow went +1.13% to settle at 14,712.55 Friday. The NASDAQ (+2.28% to 3,279.26) and S&P 500 (+1.74% to 1,582.24) also improved. At Friday’s close, about half of S&P 500 companies had reported quarterly results; just 42% had surpassed revenue forecasts, but 69% had beaten earnings expectations.

Here are some commonly held assumptions – suppositions that may or may not prove true for you, depending on your financial and lifestyle circumstances.

#1. You should take Social Security as late as possible. Generally speaking, this is a smart move. If you were born in the years from 1943-1954, your monthly benefit will be 25% smaller if you claim Social Security at 62 instead of your “full” retirement age of 66. If you wait until 70 to take Social Security, your monthly benefit will be 32% larger than if you had taken it at 66.

So why would anyone apply for Social Security benefits in their early 60s? The fact is, some seniors really need the income now. Some have health issues or the prospect of hereditary diseases influencing their choice. Single retirees don’t have a second, spousal income to count on, and that is another factor in the decision. For most people, waiting longer implies a larger lifetime payout from America’s retirement trust. Not everyone can bank on longevity or relative affluence, however.

#2. You’ll probably live 15-20 years after you retire. You may live much longer, especially if you are a woman. According to the Census Bureau, the population of Americans 100 or older grew 65.8% between 1980 and 2010, and 82.8% of centenarians were women in 2010. The real eye-opener: in 2010, slightly more than a third of America’s centenarians lived alone in their own homes. Had their retirement expenses lessened with time? Doubtful to say the least.

#3. You should step back from growth investing as you get older. As many investors age, they shift portfolio assets into investment vehicles that offer less risk than stocks and stock funds. This is a well-regarded, long-established tenet of asset allocation. Does it apply for everyone? No. Some retirees may need to invest for growth well into their 60s or 70s because their retirement savings are meager. There are retirement planners who actually favor aggressive growth investing for life, arguing that the rewards outweigh the risks at any age.

#4. The way most people invest is the way you should invest. Again, just as there is no typical retirement, there is no typical asset allocation strategy or investment that works for everyone. Your time horizon, your risk tolerance, and your current retirement nest egg represent just three of the variables to consider when you evaluate whether you should or should not enter into a particular investment.

#5. Going Roth is a no-brainer. Not necessarily. If you are mulling a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) conversion, the big question is whether the tax savings in the end will be worth the tax you will pay on the conversion today. The younger you are – roughly speaking – the greater the possibility the answer will be “yes”, as your highest-earning years are likely in the future. If you are older and at or near your peak earning potential, the conversion may not be worth it at all.

#6. A lump sum payout represents a good deal. Some corporations are offering current and/or former workers a choice of receiving pension plan assets in a lump sum payout instead of periodic payments. They aren’t doing this out of generosity; they are doing it because actuaries have advised them to lessen their retirement obligations to loyal employees. For many pension plan participants, electing not to take the lump sum and sticking with the lifelong periodic payments may make more sense in the long run. The question is, can the retiree invest the lump sum in such a way that might produce more money over the long run, or not? The lump sum payout does offer liquidity and flexibility that the periodic payments don’t, but there are few things as economically reassuring as predictable, recurring retirement income. Longevity is another factor in this decision.

#7. Living it up in your 60s won’t hurt you in your 80s. Some couples withdraw much more than they should from their savings in the early years of retirement. After a few years, they notice a drawdown happening – their portfolio isn’t returning enough to replenish their retirement nest egg, and so the fear of outliving their money grows. This is a good argument for living beneath your means while still carefully planning and budgeting some “epic adventures” along the way.

Your retirement plan should be created and periodically revised with an understanding of the unique circumstances of your life and your unique financial objectives. There is no such thing as generic retirement planning, and that is because none of us will have generic retirements. The bottom line: What makes financial sense for some baby boomers may not make sense for you.

SURPRISE DIP FOR LEADING INDICATORS
After six straight months of advances, the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators unexpectedly retreated 0.1% for March. It had risen 0.5% across January and February. As for anecdotal evidence of the economy’s health, the latest Fed Beige Book noted “moderate” expansion, adding that household spending “grew modestly” even with the payroll tax hike and higher gas prices.

HOUSING STARTS UP 7.0% IN MARCH
The Commerce Department noted that they reached a 1.04 million annual rate last month, a pace last seen in June 2008. While single-family projects dipped 4.8% in March, apartment starts jumped 31.0% to their highest level since January 2006.

VOLATILITY KEEPS STOCKS IN CHECK
The CBOE VIX rose 24.13% last week, and the DJIA (-2.14% to 14,547.51), NASDAQ (-2.70% to 3,206.06) and S&P 500 (-2.11% to 1,555.25) basically gave back the gains realized from April 8-12. NYMEX crude lost 3.1% last week to settle Friday at $88.01; COMEX gold fell another 7.1% last week to $1,395.60 at Friday’s close.

Saratoga Springs, NY. – April 16, 2013 – Bill Losey, author and retirement expert and advisor, recently published a blog offering tips on how to prevent retirement mistakes – specifically, six important dates to remember. In this blog, found on his website http://www.BillLosey.com, titled “Preventing Retirement Mistakes: 6 Key Dates To Remember”, Bill explains how a few errors in judgment, or a failure to plan can result in mistakes that cost you valuable retirement dollars.

Bill focuses on six important dates to keep in mind to help make sure you do not get caught in some typical retirement planning mistakes: Bill gives insight into where you should be at these ages: Age 55, 59½, 62, 65, 66-67 and 70½.

About age 55, Bill writes, “People who leave their job for one reason or other can elect to take funds from their 401 (k) without penalty if they are age 55 or older. This ‘separation from service’ clause comes along with a requirement to pay income taxes on the funds, but rolling funds over into another retirement plan is often allowed, keeping the tax man away from the door for a longer period.”

About ages 66-67, Bill explains, “This is the age people can now qualify for full Social Security benefits, called Full Retirement Age (FRA) or Normal Retirement Age (NRA). The precise age depends upon the year in which a person was born. These benefits can come to recipients whether they are still on the job or not. Some people elect to delay filing for these benefits to receive approximately 8% increase each year they wait from their FRA until the age of 70.”

Learn about the other age milestones by reading the entire blog at http://www.billlosey.com/blog/preventing-retirement-mistakes-6-key-dates-to-remember.php

Bill Losey is a nationally known and respected retirement expert, specializing in 401k rollover advice, self-directed IRA rollovers, 401k direct rollovers, and many other investment and retirement strategies.  Bill’s company, Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, LLC, is an independent registered investment advisory firm that caters primarily to couples as well as divorced and widowed women nationwide (age 50-80) who demand objective financial and retirement advice; customized, fee-only investment management; attention to detail; and impeccable service.

Other recent blogs written by Bill Losey include “What To Do When a Family Member Dies”, “Saving for Retirement: Don’t be Afraid of Stocks”, and “The Latest Info On Social Security,” among others.

Each issue of Bill Losey’s award-winning free weekly email newsletter, Retirement Intelligence®, reveals how-to-articles, secrets, investment ideas, a “Joke Of The Week”, fitness and diet tips, and promotes upcoming seminar dates to keep subscribers “in-the-know.”  Bill and his staff seek to provide informative and entertaining information readers can use to simply and confidently enhance their health, wealth and happiness.

To learn more about Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, please visit http://www.BillLosey.com and http://www.MyRetirementSuccess.com.

About Bill Losey, CFP®, CSA
America’s Retirement Strategist®

Bill Losey, CFP®, caters to women and couples (age 50-80) who seek to reduce post-retirement risk and generate a predictable, sustainable, increasing stream of retirement income they won’t outlive.  As a qualified professional in the areas of retirement strategies, personal finance and investment management, Bill has been seen and heard on hundreds of TV and radio stations such as FOX News, NPR, CBS News, CNBC, Business Week, TIME, AARP, U.S. News & World Report, and Oprah & Friends.

Bill has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry and is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and Certified Retirement Coach.  He is the owner of Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, LLC, a fee-based registered investment advisory firm serving a small nationwide clientele.  Bill is the author of Retire in a Weekend! The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Making Work Optional and he publishes Retirement Intelligence®, a free, weekly, award-winning newsletter that reaches over 5,000 subscribers worldwide.  Formerly, Bill was the “resident retirement expert” on CNBC’s “On the Money” television program.

In his leisure time, Billy, as his friends call him, loves to sing.  He is an accomplished vocalist and has performed the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden, the Pepsi Arena, and other sporting venues.  Currently Bill is the lead singer of a vocal duo called The New York Lounge Lizards. He has been married for nearly 25 years to his wife Tori.  Together they have three sons, two dogs, and one fish.

Learn more at www.BillLosey.com or by calling 518-581-1666.

As baby boomers leave their careers behind, long term care insurance will become very important in their financial strategies. The reasons to get an LTC policy are very compelling.

Your premium payments buy you access to a large pool of money which can be used to pay for long term care costs. By paying for LTC out of that pool of money, you can preserve your retirement savings and income.

The cost of assisted living or nursing home care alone could motivate you to pay the premiums. Genworth Financial conducts a respected annual Cost of Care Survey to gauge the price of long term care in the U.S. Here is a summary of the 2013 survey’s key findings:

*In 2013, the median annual cost of a private room in a nursing home was $83,950 or $230 per day – up 3.6% from 2012. In the past five years, the cost has risen about 4.5% annually.

*A private one-bedroom unit in an assisted living facility has a median cost of $3,450 a month, or $41,400 annually. It was 4.5% cheaper last year.

*The median payment to a non-Medicare certified, state-licensed home health aide is $19 an hour in 2013, up 2.3% from 2012.

Can you imagine spending an extra $40-85K out of your retirement savings in a year? What if you had to do it for more than one year?

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services estimates that about 70% of Americans will need some kind of long term care during their lifetimes. Additionally, 69% of Americans older than 90 have some form of disability – often a direct cause for long term care.

Why procrastinate? The earlier you opt for LTC coverage, the cheaper the premiums. This is why many people purchase it before they retire. Those in poor health or over the age of 80 are frequently ineligible for coverage.

What does it pay for? Some people think LTC coverage just pays for nursing home care. That’s inaccurate. It can pay for a wide variety of nursing, social, and rehabilitative services at home and away from home, for people with a chronic illness or disability or people who just need assistance bathing, eating or dressing.

How much will your DBA be? DBA stands for Daily Benefit Amount – the maximum amount that your LTC plan will pay per day for care in a nursing home facility. You can choose a Daily Benefit Amount when you pay for your LTC coverage, and you can also choose the length of time that you may receive the full DBA on a daily basis. The DBA typically ranges from a few dozen dollars to hundreds of dollars. Many plans offer you “inflation protection” at enrollment, meaning that every year your policy benefit will increase (usually up to 5%) – so your pool of money can grow.

Medicare is not long term care insurance. Some people think Medicare will pick up the cost of long term care. That is a misconception. Medicare will only pay for the first 100 days of nursing home care, and only if 1) you are getting skilled care and 2) you go into the nursing home right after a hospital stay of at least 3 days. Medicare also covers limited home visits for skilled care, and some hospice services for the terminally ill. That’s all.

Now, Medicaid can actually pay for long term care – if you are destitute. Are you willing to wait until you are broke for a way to fund long term care? Of course not. LTC insurance provides a way to do it.

Why not look into this? You may have heard that LTC insurance is expensive compared with some other forms of coverage. But the annual premiums – in the vicinity of $2,000-2,500 for the typical policy right now, depending on your age – are cheap compared to real-world LTC costs.

Ask an insurance or financial professional about some of the LTC choices you can explore. While many Americans have life, health and disability insurance, that’s not the same thing as long term care coverage.

CONSUMER SENTIMENT SLIPS
The University of Michigan’s overall index of consumer sentiment came in at 72.3 in its preliminary April reading – down significantly from the final March mark of 78.6. Last month’s imposed federal budget cuts may have had an effect.

PRODUCER PRICE INDEX DOWN 0.6%
Cheap gasoline was the big factor. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.2% retreat in the PPI for March, but the decline in pump prices made more of an impact. Core PPI (with food and energy costs subtracted) rose 0.2% last month.

GOLD ENTERS A BEAR MARKET
Friday, the precious metal settled at $1,501.40 on the COMEX after a 4.1% one-day plunge. Futures fell 4.7% across last week. The April 12 settlement price was 20.5% below the record close of $1,888.70 notched on August 22, 2011.

STOCKS CLIMB 2% IN A WEEK
Unfazed by soft economic indicators, Wall Street was in a buying mood last week. After a 2.29% gain in five days left the S&P 500 at 1,588.85 at Friday’s close, investors wondered if the index would top 1,600 soon. The Dow (+2.06% to 14,865.06), NASDAQ (+2.84% to 3,294.95) and Russell 2000 (+2.12% to 942.85) all advanced impressively on the week.

Age: 55
People who leave their job for one reason or other can elect to take funds from their 401 (k) without penalty if they are age 55 or older. This “separation from service” clause comes along with a requirement to pay income taxes on the funds, but rolling funds over into another retirement plan is often allowed, keeping the tax man away from the door for a longer period.

Age: 59 ½
Hallelujah! At age 59 1/2, savers can withdraw funds from a retirement account without incurring penalties. Income taxes will be due on withdrawn funds from most of these retirement accounts.

Age: 62
Although it may not be the best option, people — other than those who are disabled — may begin to collect Social Security payments. Benefits will be roughly 25% less than if they had waited until full retirement age. For some, the income may be a lifesaver.

Age: 65
To begin receiving Medicare benefits, those who aren’t already receiving Social Security should apply for Medicare three months before their 65th birthday. A visit to a local Social Security office will provide additional help.

Age: 66-67
This is the age people can now qualify for full Social Security benefits, called Full Retirement Age (FRA) or Normal Retirement Age (NRA). The precise age depends upon the year in which a person was born. These benefits can come to recipients whether they are still on the job or not. Some people elect to delay filing for these benefits to receive approximately 8% increase each year they wait from their FRA until the age of 70.

Age: 70 ½
At age 70 1/2, it is mandatory that people begin withdrawing from their tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Special considerations apply for people who are still working, and different rules apply for those with Roth IRA accounts. If you don’t take out the required minimum amount the IRS will assess a 50% penalty on the amount that should have been withdrawn.

The bottom line is this: each financial, retirement, and investment decision usually has a tax ramification. Please consult with your trusted advisors before making a choice that could squander your hard earned money.

ISM: BUSINESS ACTIVITY SLOWED IN MARCH
In another disconcerting development, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing and service sector PMIs both retreated last month. ISM’s manufacturing PMI fell to 51.3 from the previous 54.2, while its non-manufacturing PMI dipped 1.6 points to 54.4. On the upside, the Commerce Department did note a 3.0% rise in factory orders in February.

OIL & GOLD MOVE LOWER FOR THE WEEK
NYMEX crude settled at $92.70 a barrel Friday, representing a 4.7% five-day loss. COMEX gold gained 1.5% Friday to end the week at $1,575.90 an ounce but still slipped 1.2% last week.

CAUTION ON WALL STREET
The jobs report and North Korea’s ongoing threats gave investors pause last week, and so the Dow (-0.09% to 14,565.25), NASDAQ (-1.95% to 3,203.86) and S&P 500 (-1.01% to 1,553.28) all lost ground. Still, it was only the second down week in the past seven for the Dow.

If you fear probate, consider a living trust. If you worry about your will being contested or your heirs fighting over your assets, a revocable living trust may be your best option.

You fund a revocable living trust with all, or largely all, of your assets during your lifetime. The trust owns the assets, yet you can still use these assets while you live. Once you die, the revocable living trust becomes irrevocable and the trust assets are distributed according to your wishes by designated successor trustees, exempt from probate.

In addition to giving you more control and privacy, a living trust may save your heirs time and money. An AARP survey finds that it takes roughly 18 months to distribute the typical estate because of probate. Settlement costs from probate may eat up as much as 5% of an estate.

Living trusts do not reduce taxes. Assets within a living trust are fully taxable at the federal and (generally) state level. Unless someone has drafted the trust to include tax-saving provisions, it will offer no particular estate or income tax advantages to the grantor or the beneficiaries.

Living trusts lead to a lot of paperwork. As the trust has to become the legal owner of your assets to be effective, the title needs to be changed on those assets. That means filling out myriad forms and revising others. Expenses may be incurred along the way.

Living trusts do not relieve trustees of their duties. When a grantor of a living trust passes away, the language in the trust document will not magically “do all the work” for the successor trustee. While a successor trustee will usually not have to deal with probate, other responsibilities remain. Titles will need to be changed and appraisals may be necessary.

A living trust is not necessarily inexpensive. A lawyer may charge you $1,500 or more to create one. If you have significant assets and fear a dispute over your will, it may be worth it.

There are living trust solutions available on the Internet, or via books or software. However, when cutting and pasting boilerplate language and filling in some names here and there, what kinds of legal and financial risks are you taking?

While having a living trust drawn up with the help of an attorney is certainly advisable, paying a fee is no guarantee of competence; amending simple errors could cost you another $300-500.

A living trust is not a will. You still need a will when you have a living trust. In fact, you are probably going to need a “pour-over” will down the road, assuming you will keep accumulating assets after the trust is drawn up. A pour-over will place these stray assets into the trust.

Additionally, you need a will if you want to make charitable bequests or gifts to friends or relatives upon your passing. A living trust cannot carry out these gifts on your behalf, nor can it name a guardian for any minor children.

A living trust is not a living will, either. A living trust does not function as a health care directive or a power of attorney. These are separate estate planning documents. While some families ask attorneys to create them concurrently with a living trust, a living trust won’t stand in for them.

While living trusts are highly touted and can be highly useful, that does not mean every family should get one.

You may not need a living trust to begin with. If your financial life has been largely free of “creditors and predators” and your estate isn’t complex, a thoughtfully drafted, well-executed will could prove sufficient when the time comes. For some middle-class families, a living trust can be like a fifth wheel on a car, seeming to provide stability, but actually unnecessary.

After all, not all assets are subject to probate when someone passes away: IRA, Keogh and pension plan savings, life insurance death benefits, checking and savings accounts that have POD beneficiaries, Treasury bonds, and property owned jointly with the right of survivorship.

In terms of time, often there isn’t much difference between distributing assets via probate and through a living trust. In terms of savings, the filing and court fees that come with a probated will may not be that onerous. While the fees may total a small percentage of the value of the estate, the executor may decline a commission if he or she is a family member and require only hourly legal advice.

A living trust isn’t the only type of trust out there. Some families opt for the testamentary trust. Assets move into this basic, irrevocable trust as directed in a grantor’s will. As the grantor’s will directs the assets, the estate still proceeds through probate but more expediently than usual. Other families opt for more complex and specialized trusts.

As a reminder, this article is intended as an overview of living trusts, and not any kind of legal advice. If you are considering a living trust or another kind of estate planning vehicle, the best “first step” is to talk to an estate planning attorney before you proceed further.

CONSUMER POLLS TELL DIFFERENT STORIES
The University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment survey for March came in at 78.6, improving by a full point from the end of February. The Conference Board’s March survey of consumer confidence presented a strikingly different result: it dropped to 59.7 from February’s 68.0 mark. The CB said the sequester had a negative influence, while the University of Michigan cited stock market highs, March’s lower gas prices and the housing recovery as positive factors.

SMALLER INVENTORY MAY HAVE CURBED HOME SALES
New home sales fell 4.6% in February, according to the Census Bureau; the National Association of Realtors noted a 0.4% decline in pending home sales for that month. Reduced inventory appears to have been a factor. The January S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed a one-month gain of 1.0%.

FINAL Q4 GDP +0.4%; HARD GOODS ORDERS JUMP
This last estimate from the Commerce Department still makes Q4 2012 growth the smallest in any quarter since 2011. More big ticket items were ordered in February: durable goods orders soared 5.7% in that month after falling 3.8% in January.

A RECORD CLOSE FOR THE S&P 500
A terrific quarter wrapped up Thursday with the S&P settling at 1,569.19, the Dow at 14,578.54 and the NASDAQ at 3,267.52. March was the fifth straight positive month for both the S&P and NASDAQ. Last week’s gains: Dow, 0.46%; NASDAQ, 0.69%; S&P, 0.79%. Gold ended the quarter at $1,595.70, losing 4.8% in three months; oil settled Thursday at $97.23, rising 5.9% in the quarter.

The passing of a loved one irrevocably alters family life. After a death, there is so much to attend to that addressing financial matters related to a family member’s passing may be put on hold. This should be done, though, and it is better to do it sooner rather than later. Here, then, is a list of what commonly needs to be looked after.

Request copies of the death certificate. Depending on where you live, you have two or three places to turn to for this document. You can phone, email or personally visit the office of the county recorder (or county clerk, as the term may be). You can alternately contact your state’s vital records department (sometimes called the state registrar or department of health), though it may take a little longer to get the document this way. In addition, some large and mid-sized cities maintain their own registrars of births and deaths.

Call advisors, executors & business partners as applicable. The deceased’s lawyer and CPA should be quickly notified, along with any business partners and the executor of his or her estate. You must have a say in the decision-making that follows. The goals of protecting family assets, carrying out your loved one’s bequests, and determining the next steps for a business will follow.

Call your loved one’s current or former employer(s). Notify them even if he or she left the work force years ago, as retirement savings or pension payments may be involved. As the conversation develops, it is perfectly appropriate to ask about pertinent financial matters – say, 401(k) or 403(b) savings that will be inherited by a beneficiary or what will happen to unused vacation time and/or unpaid bonuses.

Funds amassed in a qualified retirement plan sponsored by an employer (or an IRA, for that matter) commonly go to the primary beneficiary who has been named on the most recent beneficiary form filled out by the account owner. That sounds simple enough – but certain rules and regulations can make things complicated.

As a general rule, if the late 401(k) or 403(b) account owner was your spouse, then you are the presumed beneficiary of the 401(k) or 403(b) assets. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), workplace retirement plans are directed to abide by this guideline. If someone else has been named as the primary beneficiary of the account with your consent, then the assets will go that person.

If the late 401(k) or 403(b) account owner was single, the assets in the account will go to whoever is designated as the primary beneficiary. The beneficiary designation will override any wishes stated in a will (for the record, the Supreme Court ruled so in 2009).

To arrange and confirm the transfer or distribution of such assets, the beneficiary form must be found. If you can’t locate it, the employer and/or the financial firm overseeing the retirement plan should provide access to a copy. The financial firm should ask you to supply:

*A certified copy of the account owner’s death certificate

*A notarized affidavit of domicile (a document certifying his or her place of residence at the time of death)

If the named beneficiary of the retirement plan assets is a minor, his or her birth certificate will be requested. If the named beneficiary is a trust, the financial firm will want to see a W-9 form and a copy of the trust agreement.

As to what to do with the retirement plan assets, there are really only three courses of action: you can a) transfer the assets into an IRA, b) transfer them into an IRA you own if the account owner was your spouse, or c) take the assets as a lump sum and pay the resulting income tax on that money, with the possibility of moving into a higher tax bracket.

The value of these assets will be included in the estate of the deceased, unless the named beneficiary is a spouse or a charity.

If you have been widowed, call Social Security. If you already receive benefits, you may now be eligible for greater benefits.

If your spouse received Social Security and you did not, you may now qualify for survivors benefits – and you should let Social Security know as soon as possible, as these benefits may be paid out relative to your application date rather than the date of your loved one’s death.

If this is the case, you may apply for survivors benefits by phone or by visiting a Social Security office. You will need to have some extensive paperwork on hand, specifically:

*Proof of the death (death certificate, funeral home documentation)

*Your late spouse’s Social Security #

*His/her most recent W-2 forms or federal self-employment tax return

*Your own Social Security # & birth certificate

*Social Security #s & birth certificates of any dependent children

*Your marriage certificate or divorce papers, as relevant

*The name of your bank & the number of your bank account for direct deposit purposes

If you have reached full retirement age, you will likely get 100% of the basic benefit amount that your late spouse was receiving. If you are in your sixties but haven’t yet reached full retirement age, you may receive anywhere from 71-99% of that amount. If you have a child younger than 16, you will get 75% of your late spouse’s basic benefit amount and so will your child.

Call the insurance company. Assuming your loved one had some form of life insurance, contact the policyholder services department of that insurer and confirm the steps for claiming the death benefit. A claimant’s statement will have to be filled out, signed and presented to the insurance company (one for each named beneficiary of the policy), and a certified copy of the death certificate must be attached to said statement(s). Some insurers also want you to fill out a W-9 form, which tells the IRS about any interest paid on the value of the policy.

Death benefits are generally paid out within days of a claim. Presumably, they will be paid out in a lump sum. If that is the case, they won’t be taxable. Occasionally, insurers will allow the beneficiary to receive the payout as a stream of monthly income.

It isn’t unusual for people to own multiple life insurance policies. The AARP, AAA and myriad banks and non-profits market group life coverage to members/customers, and mortgage lenders and credit issuers offer forms of life insurance for borrowers. Tracking all of this coverage down is the problem, and canceled checks and bank records don’t always provide ready clues. Not surprisingly, companies have appeared that will help you search for obscure life insurance policies (for a fee, of course), and you should be able to locate these businesses through your state insurance department.

If the family member was a veteran, call the VA. Your family may be entitled to funeral and burial benefits. In addition, the Veterans Administration offers Death Pensions and Aid & Attendance and Housebound Pensions to lower-income widows of deceased wartime veterans and their unmarried children.

These pensions are needs-based. To be eligible for the Death Pension, a widow or child’s “countable” income must fall below a certain yearly limit set by Congress. (A “child” as old as 22 may be eligible for the Death Pension.) The deceased veteran must not have received a dishonorable discharge, and he or she must have served 90 or more days of active duty, at least 1 day of it during wartime. If he or she entered active duty after September 7, 1980, then in most cases 24 months or more of active duty service are necessary for a Death Pension to eventually be paid. The Aid & Attendance and Housebound Pensions provide some recurring income to pay for licensed home health aide or homemaker services.

It is wise to contact a Veterans Services Officer before you file such a pension claim, as he or she can be a big help during the process. You can find a VSO through your state veterans’ affairs department of or through the VFW, the Order of the Purple Heart, the American Legion or the non-profit National Veterans Foundation.

A final individual income tax return may be required for the deceased. You or your tax advisor should consult IRS Publication 17 for more detail. Also, search for “Topic 356 – Decedents” on the IRS website. Deductible expenses paid by the deceased before death can generally be claimed as deductions on such a return.

If you have been widowed, consider the future. In the coming days or weeks, you should arrange a meeting to review your retirement planning strategy, and your will, beneficiary designations and estate plan may also need to be updated. The passing of your spouse may necessitate a new executor for your own estate. Any durable powers of attorney may also need to be revised.

ANOTHER GAIN FOR THE CONFERENCE BOARD LEI
Seemingly reflective of the economy’s momentum, the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index advanced for a third straight month. Its 0.5% February gain comes on the heels of an 0.5% rise in January and an 0.4% improvement in December.

FED WILL KEEP EASING FOR THE NEAR FUTURE
Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank would keep up its monthly bond-buying effort until the economy showed more than “temporary improvement,” while noting that it might soon vary the size of those purchases in response to the pace of job growth. Bernanke reaffirmed that interest rates will stay at historic lows unless the jobless rate dips below 6.5%.

RALLY WANES AS CYPRUS CRISIS BUILDS
On March 19, the Cypriot government turned down a European Central Bank offer to rescue its banking system. (The plan would have taxed depositors.) So the Dow lost 0.01% last week, the S&P 500 0.24% and the NASDAQ 0.13%. Friday, the Dow closed at 14,512.03, the S&P at 1,556.89 and the NASDAQ at 3,245.00. On the NYMEX, gold wrapped up the week at $1,607.10 and oil at $93.91.

No matter what your age, here are some things you may want to accomplish this year with regard to estate planning.

Create a will if you don’t have one. Many people never get around to creating a will, even to the point of buying a will-in-a-box at a stationery store or setting one up online.

A solid will drafted with the guidance of an estate planning attorney may cost you more than a will-in-a-box, and it may prove to be some of the best money you ever spend. A valid will may save your heirs from some expensive headaches linked to probate and ambiguity.

Complement your will with related documents. Depending on your estate planning needs, this could include some kind of trust (or multiple trusts), durable financial and medical powers of attorney, a living will and other items.

You should know that a living will is not the same thing as a durable medical power of attorney. A living will makes your wishes known when it comes to life-prolonging medical treatments, and it takes the form of a directive. A durable medical power of attorney authorizes another party to make medical decisions for you (including end-of-life decisions) if you become incapacitated or otherwise unable to make these decisions.

Review your beneficiary designations. Who is the beneficiary of your IRA? How about your 401(k)? How about your annuity or life insurance policy? If your answer is along the lines of “Mm … you know … I’m pretty sure it’s…” or “It’s been a while since …”, then be sure to check the documents and verify who the designated beneficiary is.

When it comes to retirement accounts and life insurance, many people don’t know that beneficiary designations take priority over bequests made in wills and living trusts. If you long ago named a child now estranged from you as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, he or she will receive the death benefit when you die – regardless of what your will states.

Time has a way of altering our beneficiary decisions. This is why some estate planners recommend that you review your beneficiaries every two years.

In some states, you can authorize transfer-on-death designations. This is a tactic against probate: TOD designations may permit the ownership transfer of securities (and in a few states, forms of real property, vehicles and other assets) immediately at your death to the person designated. TOD designations are sometimes referred to as “will substitutes” but they usually pertain only to securities.

Create asset and debt lists. Does this sound like a lot of work? It may not be. You should provide your heirs with an asset and debt “map” they can follow should you pass away, so that they will be aware of the little details of your wealth.

* One list should detail your real property and personal property assets. It should list any real estate you own, and its worth; it should also list personal property items in your home, garage, backyard, warehouse, storage unit or small business that have notable monetary worth.

* Another list should detail your bank and brokerage accounts, your retirement accounts, and any other forms of investment plus any insurance policies.

* A third list should detail your credit card debts, your mortgage and/or HELOC, and any other outstanding consumer loans.

Think about consolidating your “stray” IRAs and bank accounts. This could make one of your lists a little shorter. Consolidation means fewer account statements, less paperwork for your heirs and fewer administrative fees to bear.

Let your heirs know the causes and charities that mean the most to you. Have you ever seen the phrase, “In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to …” Well, perhaps you would like to suggest donations to this or that charity when you pass. Write down the associations you belong to and the organizations you support. Some non-profits do offer accidental life insurance benefits to heirs of members.

Select a reliable executor. Who have you chosen to administer your estate when the time comes? The choice may seem obvious, but consider a few factors. Is there a stark possibility that your named executor might die before you do? How well does he or she comprehend financial matters or the basic principles of estate law? What if you change your mind about the way you want your assets distributed – can you easily communicate those wishes to that person?

Your executor should have copies of your will, forms of power of attorney, any kind of healthcare proxy or living will, and any trusts you create. In fact, any of your loved ones referenced in these documents should also receive copies of them.

Talk to the professionals. Do-it-yourself estate planning is not recommended, especially if your estate is complex enough to trigger financial, legal and emotional issues among your heirs upon your passing.

Many people have the idea that they don’t need an estate plan because their net worth is less than X dollars. Keep in mind, money isn’t the only reason for an estate plan. You may not be a multimillionaire yet, but if you own a business, have a blended family, have kids with special needs, worry about dementia, or can’t stand the thought of probate delays plus probate fees whittling away at assets you have amassed … well, these are all good reasons to create and maintain an estate planning strategy.

According to Money magazine, if you had invested $10,000 in a money-market account 20 years ago, you’d have almost $19,000 today. That’s a safe bet, but not a tremendous amount of growth. Avoiding retirement strategies that involve stock investment can drastically affect your standard of living upon retirement. On the other hand, no one can give you 100 percent assurance that stock investments will flourish. How can you strike a balance? Consider the following tips.

• Keep it simple. Trying to predict the unpredictable will lead to disappointment. Those who trade often and constantly analyze irrelevant data points will experience unpleasant surprises. Instead, keep things simple. Look for economically stable companies or a broadly based index fund, and invest with a long-term goal in mind. No stock investment is guaranteed, but your odds of success are certainly increased
• Be realistic. Set up your stock portfolio or retirement investment plan in a way that respects that risk is involved, but recognizes that higher gains are also possible. Stocks are able to generate higher returns because of the risk involved. If you remove the risk, you also remove the potential for a higher yield. Balance your feelings of distrust with a realistic outlook.
• Offset risk by diversifying. Regardless of what kind of investing you are doing, placing all your eggs in one basket is never a good idea. Invest a portion of your savings in stocks with the balance in bonds and cash. Diversification also applies to your stock investments themselves. Get a good mix of investments based on your risk tolerance. Consider large cap, mid cap, and small cap funds that are both growth and value oriented.  If you are young, decades away from retirement, you can afford a riskier portfolio more heavily weighted to stocks. As you near retirement, you may want to decrease your stock exposure and the overall risk of your entire portfolio.
• Invest in different industries and countries. Having a variety of industries in your portfolio helps to insulate you from disaster. When one industry tanks, you have others to make up the difference. Also, invest in different countries to reduce risk.  For example, my Private Clients have exposure to nearly 100 different countries by investing in only two different mutual funds.
• Get help. A good financial advisor is a valuable asset. Be wary of anyone who promises a fool-proof stock investment. No such thing exists. Look for someone who will speak openly, make wise suggestions and respect your risk tolerance. Do your research about the firm and don’t be afraid to ask for references.

NO SURPRISE: HIGHER GAS PRICES PROMPT CPI GAIN
February’s 0.7% gain in the Consumer Price Index was heavily influenced by the rising cost of fuel – minus food and energy costs, the core CPI rose just 0.2%. The Labor Department also reported a 0.7% rise in the Producer Price Index last month, compared with 0.2% for January.

MORTGAGE RATES HIT A 7-MONTH PEAK
In its March 14 national survey, Freddie Mac estimated the average interest rate on a conventional 30-year home loan at 3.63% (the highest since August). Average rates for 15-year fixed mortgages were at 2.79%.

HOUSEHOLD CONFIDENCE FLAGS
The University of Michigan’s preliminary March survey of consumer sentiment fell to 71.8, down 5.8 points from its final February mark. This was the lowest reading since December 2011.

DOW LOGS FOURTH STRAIGHT WEEKLY ADVANCE
The DJIA rose 0.81% from March 11-15, settling Friday at 14,514.11. (A down Friday broke a 10-day winning streak for the index.) The S&P 500 (+0.61% to 1,560.70) posted its third straight weekly gain, as did the NASDAQ (+0.14% to 3,249.07). Gold settled Friday at $1,591.30 on the COMEX, oil at $93.58 on the NYMEX.

KEY INDEX SHOWS HEALTHY SERVICE SECTOR
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing PMI came in at 56.0 for February – the best reading in 12 months, up from 55.2 in January. ISM noted a 3.8% increase in new orders, a 5.5% rise in backlogs of orders and a 3.7% gain in prices last month.

BEIGE BOOK ENCOURAGES, BUT FACTORY ORDERS DIP
The Federal Reserve’s latest “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions noted modest growth in most of its 12 districts since January, with increased hiring a major factor. Last week, the Commerce Department reported a 1.2% rise in wholesale inventories and a 2.0% drop in factory orders for January.

MORE HISTORY IS MADE
A 2.18% weekly gain brought the DJIA to a new record close of 14,397.07 Friday. The S&P 500 (+2.17% to 1,551.18), NASDAQ (+2.35% to 3,244.37) and Russell 2000 (+3.04% to 942.50) also had terrific weeks. As for the CBOE VIX, it dropped 17.84% in five days to finish last week at 12.62. Gold ended the week at $1,577.7o per ounce on the COMEX, oil at $91.88 a barrel on the NYMEX.

Saratoga Springs, NY. – March 6, 2013 – Bill Losey, author and retirement expert and advisor, recently published a blog discussing some of the recent changes to Social Security and how these changes could effect your retirement income planning. In this blog, found on his website http://www.BillLosey.com, titled “The Latest Info On Social Security”, Bill explains how Medicare, the sequester and taxes could affect social security income and offers several solutions that America lawmakers could implement to help fix the problems found within the system.

Bill explores six main points in this blog:

• Medicare premiums are eating into COLA
• Social Security’s retirement earnings test amounts have also risen
• Part of your Social Security benefits may be taxed
• The Social Security wage base is 3.3% higher for 2013
• How will the sequester cuts affect Social Security?
• What about Social Security’s projected long-range shortfall?

On the sequestration question, Bill writes, “There will be no reduction in Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans Affairs or SNAP benefits under such circumstances. However, the Social Security Administration may suffer budget cuts that result in reduced hours (or closed doors) at its offices and an even longer wait to process disability claims. The sequester cuts will not affect Medicare or Medicaid benefits either, though Medicare payments to doctors face a 2% cut.”

Bill explains some of the problems that lie ahead for the Social Security program: “Social Security projects that it can tap its surplus of roughly $2.7 trillion to pay 100% of scheduled retirement benefits through 2032. Yet in 2010, it began paying out more than it took in, a condition that may last for decades thanks to the aging of the baby boomer demographic. Because of this reality, Social Security’s trustees have forecast a $623 billion deficit for 2033, expanding to $1 trillion by 2045 and almost $7 trillion by 2086.”

How does America fix that? Bill discusses many of the proposed solutions throughout the blog. Learn what these are and more by reading the entire blog at http://www.billlosey.com/blog/the-latest-info-on-social-security.php

Bill Losey is a nationally known and respected retirement expert, specializing in 401k rollover advice, self-directed IRA rollovers, 401k direct rollovers, and many other investment and retirement strategies.  Bill’s company, Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, LLC, is an independent registered investment advisory firm that caters primarily to couples as well as divorced and widowed women nationwide (age 50-80) who demand objective financial and retirement advice; customized, fee-only investment management; attention to detail; and impeccable service.

Other recent blogs written by Bill Losey include “Is Now The Time To Refinance Your Mortgage?”, “The Right Beneficiary”, and “Common Deductions Taxpayers Overlook,” among others.

Each issue of Bill Losey’s award-winning free weekly email newsletter, Retirement Intelligence®, reveals how-to-articles, secrets, investment ideas, a “Joke Of The Week”, fitness and diet tips, and promotes upcoming seminar dates to keep subscribers “in-the-know.”  Bill and his staff seek to provide informative and entertaining information readers can use to simply and confidently enhance their health, wealth and happiness.

To learn more about Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, please visit http://www.BillLosey.com and http://www.MyRetirementSuccess.com.

About Bill Losey, CFP®, CSA
America’s Retirement Strategist®

Bill Losey, CFP®, caters to women and couples (age 50-80) who seek to reduce post-retirement risk and generate a predictable, sustainable, increasing stream of retirement income they won’t outlive.  As a qualified professional in the areas of retirement strategies, personal finance and investment management, Bill has been seen and heard on hundreds of TV and radio stations such as FOX News, NPR, CBS News, CNBC, Business Week, TIME, AARP, U.S. News & World Report, and Oprah & Friends.

Bill has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry and is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and Certified Retirement Coach.  He is the owner of Bill Losey Retirement Solutions, LLC, a fee-based registered investment advisory firm serving a small nationwide clientele.  Bill is the author of Retire in a Weekend! The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Making Work Optional and he publishes Retirement Intelligence®, a free, weekly, award-winning newsletter that reaches over 5,000 subscribers worldwide.  Formerly, Bill was the “resident retirement expert” on CNBC’s “On the Money” television program.

In his leisure time, Billy, as his friends call him, loves to sing.  He is an accomplished vocalist and has performed the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden, the Pepsi Arena, and other sporting venues.  Currently Bill is the lead singer of a vocal duo called The New York Lounge Lizards. He has been married for nearly 25 years to his wife Tori.  Together they have three sons, two dogs, and one fish.

Learn more at www.BillLosey.com or by calling 518-581-1666.

With that in mind, here are some things to think about.

What do you absolutely need to accomplish? If you could only get four or five things done in retirement, what would they be? Answering this question might lead you to compile a “short list” of life goals, and while they may have nothing to do with money, the financial decisions you make may be integral to achieving them. (This may be the most exciting aspect of retirement planning.)

What would revitalize you? Some people retire with no particular goals at all, and others retire burnt out. After weeks or months of respite, ambition inevitably returns. They start to think about what pursuits or adventures they could embark on to make these years special. Others have known for decades what dreams they will follow … and yet, when the time to follow them arrives, those dreams may unfold differently than anticipated and may even be supplanted by new ones.

In retirement, time is really your most valuable asset. With more free time and opportunity for reflection, you might find your old dreams giving way to new ones. You may find yourself called to volunteer as never before, or motivated to work again but in a new context.

Who should you share your time with? Here is another profound choice you get to make in retirement. The quick answer to this question for many retirees would be “family”. Today, we have nuclear families, blended families, extended families; some people think of their friends or their employees as family. You may define it as you wish and allocate more or less of your time to your family as you wish (some people do want less family time when they retire).

Regardless of how you define “family” or whether or not you want more “family time” in retirement, you probably don’t want to spend your time around “dream stealers”. They do exist. If you have a grand dream in mind for retirement, you may meet people who try to thwart it and urge you not to pursue it. (Hopefully, they are not in close proximity to you.) Reducing their psychological impact on your retirement may increase your happiness.

How much will you spend? We can’t control all retirement expenses, but we can control some of them. The thought of downsizing may have crossed your mind. While only about 10% of people older than 60 sell homes and move following retirement, it can potentially bring you a substantial lump sum or lead to smaller mortgage payments. You could also lose one or more cars (and the insurance that goes with them) and live in a neighborhood with extensive, efficient public transit. Ditching land lines and premium cable TV (or maybe all cable TV) can bring more savings. Garage sales and donations can have financial benefits as well as helping you get rid of clutter, with either cash or a federal tax deduction that may be as great as 30-50% of your adjusted gross income provided you carefully itemize and donate the goods to a 501(c)(3) non-profit.¹

Could you leave a legacy? Many of us would like to give our kids or grandkids a good start in life, or help charities or schools – but given the economic realities of retiring today, there is no shame in putting your priorities first.

Consider a baby boomer couple with, for example, $285,000 in retirement savings. If that couple follows the 4% rule, the old maxim that you should withdraw about 4% of your retirement savings per year, subsequently adjusted for inflation – then you are talking about $11,400 withdrawn to start. When you combine that $11,400 with Social Security and assorted investment income, that couple isn’t exactly rich. Sustaining and enhancing income becomes the priority, and legacy planning may have to take a backseat. In Merrill Lynch’s 2012 Affluent Insights Survey, just 26% of households polled (all with investable assets of $250,000 or more) felt assured that they could leave their children an inheritance; not too surprising given what the economy and the stock market have been through these past several years.²

How are you planning for retirement? This is the most important question of all. If you feel you need to prepare more for the future or reexamine your existing plan in light of changes in your life, then confer with a financial professional experienced in retirement planning.

TERRIFIC REAL ESTATE DATA HELPS BUOY STOCKS
New home buying accelerated 16% in January – the biggest monthly rise in almost 20 years, according to the Commerce Department. Pending home sales rose 4.5% in January, the National Association of Realtors said; that was far above the 1.0% gain forecast by economists polled by Briefing.com. Finally, the December edition of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed a 6.8% yearly gain across 20 metro markets, bettering November’s 5.5% impressive annualized increase.

MANUFACTURING PMI RISES IN FEBRUARY
The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI improved 1.1% in February to 54.2. While the Commerce Department noted a 5.2% overall retreat in durable goods orders in January (the first decline in four months), new orders rose 1.9% when the volatile transportation category was factored out.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE & SPENDING HOLD UP
The Conference Board’s February consumer confidence poll soared to 69.0 from January’s 58.4 mark, and the University of Michigan’s final February consumer sentiment survey came in at 77.6, topping the Reuters consensus forecast of 76.3. The federal government revised Q4 GDP north slightly to +0.1% last week; consumer spending rose 0.2% in January, even as consumer incomes fell 3.6%.

NO CHANGE IN CPI, BUT PRODUCER PRICES ADVANCE
The Consumer Price Index was flat for a second straight month in January, with annualized inflation at just 1.6%. Core CPI (minus food and energy prices) advanced 0.3%, however – the biggest monthly gain since May 2011. The Producer Price Index rose 0.2% in January, with overall yearly wholesale inflation at 1.4%.

SEQUESTRATION SEEMS IMMINENT
On March 1, $85 billion in federal budget cuts are set to occur – and with Congress on recess last week, not much more than talk emerged about delaying them further. Friday, President Obama said he did not believe that the cuts were “inevitable” and commented that “this is not a smart way for us to reduce the deficit”. At the end of last week, no bipartisan effort to reschedule them was underway.

STOCKS STAGE FIRST WEEKLY RETREAT OF 2013
Pronounced volatility returned to Wall Street last week due to earnings surprises and the January Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes, which raised concerns over the longevity of QE3. How did the key indices do last week? The numbers: Dow, +0.13% to 14,000.57; S&P 500, -0.28% to 1,515.60; NASDAQ, -0.95% to 3,161.82.