Will there be anything left when I retire? Will my benefits get cut? These are some of the most frequent questions I get when it comes to someone’s retirement plan. And the media loves to talk about the Social Security problems.

Fortunately, there is data to answer these questions. Every year the Board of Trustees for Social Security reviews the financial status of the trust fund that pays out Social Security benefits. Recently, the board released its 2022 report, and below is my summary…

For many retirees, where they live plays a significant role in their overall happiness and well-being. Deciding where to live can be a significant challenge, especially for those that have lived in the same area for most of their working years.

The AARP Livability Index is a useful tool that can help retirees make more informed decisions about where to live during retirement. The Index provides a score out of 100, with 50 being the national average…

Oftentimes as retirees head into retirement there is some uncertainty about what monthly expenses will be. Pre-retirees may assume their spending will drop, at least to some extent. That may be the case for the average US retiree because they don’t have the income to support their pre-retirement lifestyle. But a retiree who has saved a nice nest egg may want to spend in a similar fashion, if not more.

The data shows that most retirees with $1-$3M in a nest egg spend 100% of their pre-retirement spending until roughly age 75. It then begins to decline by 20-30% until age 85, at which point it may decline by an additional 10% but there may be increased healthcare costs to consider…

There’s an old financial planning joke about asking a retiree when they would like for us to plan their funeral. It’s a bad joke but the reality is that when we are planning for a lifetime, we do have to make an educated guess on when that life might end.

I often get pushback when I suggest as late as 90 or 95. That pushback is fair given that the average life expectancy is about 77 – 15 to 20 years less than I would typically plan for. But average life expectancy can be deceiving. ..

For years when you would open your Social Security estimate, there would be a big number in the top right corner – the amount per month you were estimated to get at “full retirement age” (FRA).

There was a tremendous focus on this specific age, which resulted in many people assuming that was the ideal date to claim benefits…