John HAAGA, Director, Division of Behavioral and Social Research, Division of Behavioral and Social Research (DBSR).

Years ago, when my oldest child was getting ready to leave for college, I was enjoying some family time with him and his two younger siblings, and wistfully said, There are so many things I should have told you and so much good advice I would have given you, but now youre leaving and I wont have the chance. To our surprise, our youngest piped up, Yeah, me too!

Now Im about to retire from federal service, and fortunately my friends who manage this blog gave me a chance to offer some appreciation and advice while Im still Inside NIA.

First, thanks to all of you for your essential contributions that make the NIH system work. Throughout my service, it has been deeply gratifying to see the care, thought and time that researchers provide, helping us to review applications, serving on advisory committees including the NIA council, and participating in workshops that we or the National Academies organized to inform our work. We all learned a lot from these discussions.

Next, I must express my appreciation for your research. Demographers have predicted the aging of the population quite accurately since the 1930s. We are now right in the middle of the big run-up of the oldest-old population those in their 80s and 90s to whom my predecessor Richard Suzman called the attention of researchers and policy makers.

Our readiness for aging, both as families and as a society, is due in large part to the contributions of researchers in the behavioral and social sciences who have done so much to overturn stereotypes and point out opportunities. An earlier director of DBSR, Matilda White Riley, developed the concept of structural lag, the tendency of institutions and policies developed under one demographic regime to persist into a changed situation to which they are no longer well adapted. We urgently need to reduce this lag to adapt to a new society, with more retirees, older workers, older taxpayers, older patients.older everyone.

Some advice: Please connect with your program officers you might check some of my earlier posts for ideas on how to do that efficiently! They are public servants who are here to serve. Also, please consider public service at NIH as part of your own scientific career. NIH, and NIA in particular, is comprised of a great group of people using their training and experience to advance an important mission: Turning discovery into health.

One regret: In recent years in the U.S., our discoveries are too often not bringing broader, better health. During my 16 years at NIA, U.S. life expectancy at birth improved by just one year and life expectancy at age 65 improved by a shade more than one year. In 2004, the U.S. tied on both measures with Portugal, a much poorer country, yet Portugal has gained more than four years of life expectancy since.

Life expectancy is a sort of average of death rates at all ages; the extra time is not tacked on at the end like injury time in soccer. If we could only keep up with Portugal (and Korea, Slovenia, Chile, the United Kingdom, etc.), Americans would have lower mortality rates better health at every age. For Americans without college degrees, members of racial minorities, and those living in Appalachia and nonmetropolitan areas, the score is even worse. We know something of the reasons, and something about what to do, but we need both to learn more and to act on what we already know.

As I say farewell, I now get to participate more intensively in many of the roles I have been reading about in NIA-funded research: grandparenting, working in bridge jobs, civic engagement and volunteering. I feel very lucky to have worked at NIA and with so many of you. Best wishes to all for a happy holiday season, and thank you again for the many good memories!

Stay tuned for an early 2020 blog from Dr. Haaga's successor.

Submitted by Kyriakos Markides on December 18, 2019

Many thanks John for all that you have done for so many people and for our field. Happy retirement. Kokos

Submitted by Shripad Tuljapurkar on December 18, 2019

You've got to be too young to retire! Pleasure having known you, best wishes for the next phase.

Tulja

Submitted by Eric Larson on December 18, 2019

John - many thanks for your contributions and especially these words in your farewell blog - - We need to pay attention to these unfortunate trends in the US Eric

Submitted by Jennifer Manly on December 18, 2019

John, the research community is lucky to have benefited from your leadership - specifically, thank you for prioritizing disparities in aging within BSR. You are leaving an impressive legacy, and I wish you a satisfying retirement with plenty of time for friends and family.

Jennifer

Submitted by Rachel Pruchno on December 19, 2019

Thanks for your support and candid thoughts over the years. You will be missed!

Submitted by Nancy on December 19, 2019

John - Thanks for your leadership and strategic contributions to the Health Economics Common Fund. I appreciated your calm demeanor and thoughtful consideration about issue on the table. Enjoy your new adventure and keep in mind how lucky you are.

The rest is here:
Retirement: A chance to share gratitude, advice, regrets from my time at NIA - National Institute on Aging

Dec. 19, 2019, at 2:44 PM

North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows announced on Thursday he will not seek reelection in 2020.

On Thursday, North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows announced he wont be seeking reelection in 2020, making him the 21st pure GOP retirement this cycle (in other words, excluding those who are leaving Congress to seek another office). But unlike many other GOP retirees, Meadowss motivation for leaving Congress isnt because he had reelection concerns, disagreements with President Trump or feared the loss of institutional clout if the GOP doesnt retake the House in 2020.

In fact, Meadows is one of the most powerful and highly influential members of the GOP caucus and is thought to have the presidents ear. And it might be that sway that is now taking him on to bigger and better things. In his announcement, Meadows hinted that he might soon take a job working for the president, although its unclear what that role might be.

Weve been tracking retirements over the past few months now, and although Meadowss retirement is different than many of the retirements weve seen so far, one thing that is readily apparent is just how lopsided the GOP retirements are. With Meadowss exit, roughly 10 percent of the 197 Republicans currently in the chamber are retiring and not running for something else. And since the start of December, five Republicans have announced their retirement, tying it with July for the busiest month this cycle. (By comparison, there have only been six pure retirements among the 233 Democrats in the House.)

Republicans who declined to seek reelection in the 2020 cycle, excluding those leaving to run for another office, as of Dec. 19, 2019

Highlighted names announced their retirements in December.

Sources: ABC News, U.S. House of Representatives, Media Reports

In terms of what we know about the recent spate of GOP retirements in December, one major factor is North Carolinas new House map, which was finalized in earlier this month. Along with Meadows, Republican Reps. George Holding and Mark Walker are also retiring, and for those two congressmen, its because the new district lines meant their formerly Republican-leaning seats were much more Democratic and they risked losing reelection. Meadows seat, on the other hand, didnt change all that much. About three-fourths of the voters in his old district are also in the new North Carolina 11th and its still 17 points more Republican than the country as a whole, according to FiveThirtyEights partisan lean metric.

As for the other two GOP members who retired in December, their retirements had nothing to do with redistricting, and, in fact, their departures were a bit of a surprise, considering how often they have both voted in line with the president. Georgia Rep. Tom Graves, in particular, was unexpected, considering he is young (49 years old) and according to FiveThirtyEights Trump Score one of the presidents most ardent backers. Graves had been floated to possibly fill Sen. Johnny Isaksons Senate seat, but he didnt officially apply for the post, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ended up appointing businesswoman Kelly Loeffler instead. Florida Rep. Ted Yoho also has one of the highest Trump scores of any Republican in the 116th Congress, but his retirement was a bit less of a surprise as he had pledged to serve only four terms when he was first elected in 2012. Although, it wasnt entirely clear Yoho would stick to his pledge he actually filed with the Federal Election Commission for a 2020 bid but in the end, he decided to move on, even though at 64 he isnt that old by Congresss standards and hails from a safe Republican seat.

But considering how influential Meadows has been since he won his House seat in 2012, his exit is definitely the most notable of the December retirements (so far). Its worth mentioning, though, that Meadowss departure may not end up counting as a pure retirement and thats because he could end up resigning before his term is over. He told Politico that he might not serve out the remainder of his term in order to take a position in Trumps administration or join the presidents reelection campaign. And if Meadows does resign, that could precipitate a special election.

For now, though, the North Carolina 11th is in line to be an open seat next November, but that might change by the time the general election rolls around. After all, its not unheard of for a representative to announce a retirement but later resign early to do something else Republican Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania did this last cycle, for example. The real question will be whether this spate of GOP retirements is a final flurry of sorts or if more are coming. With the count now at 21, the 2020 cycle is closing in on the 23 pure Republican retirements that happened ahead of the 2018 midterms, and as most state filing deadlines dont come up until next year, theres still plenty of time for at least a few more.

Here is the original post:
Mark Meadows Is Now The 21st Republican To Retire From The House - FiveThirtyEight

Retirement will be here before you know it. Whether youre just starting out or are getting closer to your golden years, here are 11 tips to help you save, maximize tax incentives and put you squarely on the road to the retirement of your dreams.

1. Pick out the retirement savings vehicle for you.

This is one of the most important actions anyone can take, and it leads to all the other tips. Consider maxing out your 401(k) contributions, including allowable catch-ups, or maxing out your pension plan contributions. The tax laws in certain cases allow you to defer taxes on up to 100% of your annual income. Its great to do this if you have other assets, coming from money thats already been taxed that you can live on while your income grows tax- deferred. Doing this requires designing an individual retirement plan, in conjunction with your adviser. This should start during your first conversation with your adviser, depending on your age or circumstances. Possibilities include a company 401(k), a solo 401(k) if youre a small-business owner, a 401(k) with profit-sharing, a cash balance pension plan, or a Roth IRA to take advantage of all legal ways to minimize your tax bill when you retire.

Read: Your next big 401(k) decision: To Roth or not?

2. Take out a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC).

The tax code allows you to put up to $125,000 in a Quality Longevity Annuity Contract, which charges no fees and protects your money against taxes that will be charged when you turn 70 and are required to take a certain percentage of your IRA or 401(k) money. Required Minimum Distributions can be deferred until age 85 using the QLA. It protects you from running out of money, as the QLAC will give you an income for life andbonuskeeps a chunk of your money out of your taxable income. This is one of many things you can do now to make life richer when you retire.

3. Consider life insurance.

Yes, boring old vanilla life insurance, not universal life, not term life. These are policies that pay dividends and are issued by mutual companies, which mean they are owned by their policyholders. That means they are very conservative in how they manage your money. Most people do not realize that insurance companies diversify your money using the most elite bond-management firms in the world. Your adviser should shop at least three different policies for you to make sure you are getting the best deal. A life insurance policy is a great way to hedge not only the volatility of the market but also the uncertainty of rising taxes now and in retirement. If you have a portfolio divided 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds, you could take the 40% thats in bonds and buy life insurance. You get a comparable rate of return as some bond funds, but you also get principal protection (the face value never goes down), money goes tax-free to your heirs when you die, and the IRS doesnt care about this money. It also has an added benefit that few people consider: for most policies, the insurance company will pay your premiums if you become disabled through what is called the Waiver of Premium rider.

4. Incorporate yourself.

Lets say youre nearing retirement, ready to leave that 9-to-5 job. The tax code allows you a key benefit, the creation of your Limited Liability Corporation, or LLC. There are ads all over TV for websites that offer to form one for you. Your legal adviser can do it in less than an hour. It just means incorporating yourself to do something you enjoy: freelance writing, being a travel agent if you enjoy traveling, being a horticultural adviser if you like gardening. Under the recently passed tax rules, certain LLCs can legally avoid taxes on 20% of their income through what is called a pass-through. Consult your adviser on this one: rules can change quickly.

5. Form a C-Corp.

This is a variation of forming an LLC. A C-Corporation is simply a normal company, taxed separately from you as the owner. It can be your hobby yarn business or your consulting company, or virtually anything else. One of the main reasons to do this, instead of doing the LLC mentioned above, is that in many cases the company can pay for your long-term-care insurance and write this off as a business expense. Its worth asking your adviser whether its a good idea for you. If it is, you can save a lot of money while getting future health expenses covered.

6. Buy an IRA condo using cost segregation.

Lets say youve always wanted to buy that second house and youre approaching retirement but still working. You could pull money out of your IRA to buy an investment property through something called cost segregation. Any adviser can show you how to do this. One strategy is to take a distribution from your personal IRA, normally taxable, and then loan that money to your LLC. Your LLC can then use those funds to buy a property, maybe a mixed-use multi- family dwelling, or a building occupied by your small business, or even a vacation home. The rules allow you to potentially use cost segregation to write off 20% to 30% of the purchase price of that home. Say you take out a $500,000 mortgage at 4% interest. That $20,000 of interest may get you only a $10,000 deduction under new tax rules, but you get to use or rent out the second house.

7. Take advantage of the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).

This one comes into its own once youve reached age 70 and must take the Required Minimum Distributions from your 401(k) or IRA. Since these are taxable, they can easily bump you into a higher bracket if youve got Social Security (also taxable) or dividend or interest earnings, the total of which can also affect things like how much you pay for Medicare. Virtually every retiree I see gripes about this requirement, and many take out the money, put it in their checking account, and pay taxes on the full amount on April 15. But there is a legal way to avoid part or all of this tax. One way is the Qualified Charitable Deduction. Under a QCD, you direct your IRA custodian (for example, Fidelity) to send your Required Minimum Distributions to the charity of your choice directly from your IRA in the amount of the Required Minimum Distribution. You get the tax deduction, and since the income never reaches you, you dont owe any taxes on it. Its fiddly, but important. As the ads for prescription drugs declare on TV, ask your adviser if this is right for you.

8. Get a part-time job at a charity.

If youve already retired and love volunteering at the library, food pantry, or church, consider proposing that they employ you part time. This can be a tax-efficient use of the funds the charity might get from donors or the government, and it can also make tax sense for you. It involves a type of retirement savings plan called a 403(b). Say you get a $24,000 yearly salary from the charity. You can put part or all of this directly into a 403(b) plan that works just like a 401(k). You dont pay any tax until you take it out.

9. Create a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT).

Say that you were prescient enough to buy 10,000 shares of Apple AAPL, -0.21% stock at $5 a share in the early 1990s. Say you were also smart enough to just hold on to it. That stock is now worth about $180 a share, or about $1.8 million. Great. Happy retirement. But you dont really want to pay income tax on a $1.8 million capital gain, do you? One solution for a highly appreciated asset, like that Apple stock, is to create a Charitable Remainder Unitrust. This involves setting up a trust for a charity, depositing the asset, and getting, say, a 5% to 7% payout a year for life. Youd pay taxes on the income, but you also get a whopping tax deduction based on the full value of the asset. It works for paintings, jewelry, antique cars, or stocks and funds that have gone way up in value since you bought or inherited it. As always, have your adviser explain this carefully to you before he or she sets it up.

10. Manage your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

The QCD is a good way to handle your required IRA distributions, but there are others. The required amount of money that you have to distribute from your 401(k) or IRA can be put into a cash-value life insurance policy, a long-term care policy, municipal bonds, or no-dividend stocks (think stocks like Berkshire BRK.A, +0.70% BRK.B, +0.49% that dont pay a dividend). That way you are not paying taxes twice on money youve already paid taxes on.

11. Turn a hobby into a business.

Paul and Tammy are a couple I know who are in the highest tax bracket of their life. They get pensions, Social Security, dividend, and annuity income. They have no child deduction, no mortgage deduction, and they dont own their convenience store anymore. What they love to do is make lamps and to travel. They set up an LLC for their lamp-making business, created a nice website, and now travel all over the country exploring and living it up, from Long Beach, Calif., to Long Beach Island, N.J., delivering lamps. Its a useful $25,000 yearly income and a great tax deduction. They can deduct expenses for lamp-making supplies, their home workshop, and car and hotel expenses on the road. They are happily seeing the USA on Uncle Sams dime.

Josh Jalinski is president of Advisory Group and author of Retirement Reality Check: How to Spend Your Money and Still Leave an Amazing Legacy. Jalinksi is the host of the Financial Quarterback radio show.

Read more:
Are you ready for retirement? 11 tips to put you on the right path - MarketWatch

The concept of early retirement has really taken off. Read the news, and you'll hear some story of a thirty- or fortysomething couple quitting their jobs to spend the rest of their lives traveling.

Retiring that early, however, is difficult to do, and it's something only a small percentage of workers manage to achieve. Retiring a few years early, on the other hand -- such as in your late 50s or early 60s -- is far more feasible, and you don't need to make the same extreme sacrifices, like living out of your van for a decade or more to save money on housing, to get there.

Those people who retire in their 30s or 40s? Often, they're able to do so because they earned a ridiculously high income for a period of time, or had a fantastic business idea that really took off.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

But that's not always the case. Some people who retire very early do so by making extreme sacrifices -- buying those tiny homes that can barely squeeze in a family, spending virtually no money on leisure and entertainment, and skimping on services like utilities and transportation to the greatest extent possible.

There's nothing wrong with doing any of that if you really want to exit the workforce in your 30s or 40s. But if you reasonably enjoy your line of work, and your early retirement goal stems from a desire to have more time to travel, or perhaps pursue a business of your own without having to worry so much about its income potential, then it may not pay to limit yourself so extensively during your first 20 years or so in the workforce. Instead, a middle-ground approach might give you what you need -- a chance to enjoy life while you're working, and the opportunity to exit the workforce several years ahead of the typical American.

Retiring before your late 50s could pose some challenges -- namely, that you're not allowed to take withdrawals from your IRA or 401(k) prior to age 59 1/2 without risking a penalty. Furthermore, the earliest age you're allowed to claim Social Security benefits is 62, which means that if you're looking to leave the workforce much earlier, you'll need another source of income to cover your living costs.

This isn't to say that you can't retire before 59 1/2, or before 62. But if you aim to retire at, say, 55, the aforementioned income sources will be unavailable to you for a shorter period of time. You'll also only need to cover the cost of health insurance for 10 years until Medicare kicks in -- and to be clear, that's a long time, but a far cry from the folks who retire at 40 and need to fund their health insurance premiums for decades.

If you're hoping to retire early, it doesn't necessarily pay to force yourself to live in a box with your spouse and two kids for 15 years to get there. Instead, settle for living well below your means rather than extremely below your means. If you can afford a monthly mortgage payment of $1,500, buy a home that costs half that amount instead, but that's still comfortable. If you're fine driving a paid-off, 15-year-old car, hold off on getting a new one as long as possible. And if you're eager to save a lot for the future, stay away from restaurants for the most part and cook at home to avoid paying huge markups for food.

Imagine that doing these things allows you to save $2,000 a month over 25 years. If you invest that money at an average annual 7% return, which is doable with a stock-heavy portfolio, you'll be sitting on $1.5 million, which could make leaving the workforce early more than feasible. And while you could cut back even further to try to save, say, $2,500 a month, that extra savings might result in a situation where you no longer get to enjoy your life in a reasonable fashion.

It's one thing to live frugally, but it's another thing to make yourself miserable on the road to early retirement. If you slowly but surely build cash reserves rather than go to extremes, you may not get to retire at 35 or 45 -- but given the average life expectancy today, if you manage to retire before the age 60, you should still have plenty of time to enjoy your days on your own terms.

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The Unhealthy Extreme of Early Retirement: How Much Sacrifice Is Too Much? - The Motley Fool

Susan Dziubinski: Hi, I'm Susan Dziubinski for Morningstar. The SECURE Act passed through the House this week, and it's also expected to be approved by the Senate. It was part of a broader spending bill. Joining me to discuss some of the key aspects of the legislation that are likely to have the biggest impact on retirement is Christine Benz. She's Morningstar's director of personal finance.

Christine, thank you for being here today.

Christine Benz: Susan, it's great to be here.

Dziubinski: This is a pretty important piece of legislation.

Benz: It is.

Dziubinski: So, let's talk about some of the various aspects of it, starting with the changes to required minimum distributions. Now, if you've taken your RMDs in 2019, does this change apply to you and what is the change?

Benz: It doesn't. So, unless you have turned 70.5 by the end of 2019, this won't affect you. But for people turning 70.5 in 2019 and beyond, they'll now have a new higher required beginning date for their required minimum distributions. So, it's moving out to 72. So, this is good from the standpoint of affluent retirees. I'm sure a lot of our viewers fall into that bucket where they don't need their IRAs or their traditional 401(k)s for their ongoing spending. They would rather push them off and enjoy the tax deferral and enjoy deferring the tax bill as far as they possibly can. So, I think that this is a good development for them.

I think it's also a good development in light of the fact that we've got more and more people working longer. And if you're pushing your retirement date out, there's often not much space between the time retirement starts and when you have to start taking RMDs. This gives you a little bit more of what Vanguard's Maria Bruno has called the retirement sweet spot, which is kind of a planning opportunity where your income may be at a relatively low ebb. You can do some things like maybe accelerate your withdrawals from those tax-deferred accounts. So, I think that there are some opportunities, especially for wealthier retirees who don't need their IRAs imminently in retirement.

Dziubinski: And there are also implications for what we call the stretch IRA in this legislation. So, can you step back a little bit and talk about what the stretch IRA is, and then what's changing.

Benz: Right. So, the stretch IRA is something that beneficiaries could take advantage of if they inherited an IRA or some other account from a loved one. The idea was that they could take their required minimum distributions based on their own life expectancy. So, for a very young inheritor, that would allow the opportunity to stretch over many years potentially. Now, under the SECURE Act, assuming it gets passed into law, what will happen is that the person who inherits an account will have to take the proceeds from that account within 10 years of inheriting it. It's not saying that you have to space it out, take equal distributions over 10 years or anything like that. You just have to take all of the amount out by the end of 10 years. So, this is a change. Again, it's going to have a bigger impact on wealthier folks who are in a better position to not tap those inherited assets, who could let the tax benefits stack up.

Dziubinski: Now, the SECURE Act also allows for additional contributions to Traditional IRAs after age 70.5.

Benz: Right. So, these were previously off-limits. And I think this is a good development in that, as I said, we have more and more people working longer. And so the idea of being able to make ongoing contributions makes a lot of sense. Another thing that makes this I think a good development is that it gives Traditional IRA contributions parity with other account types. Because previously, for example, you could still contribute to Roth IRAs, even if you were older than age 70.5. So, I think that this is overall a good development.

Dziubinski: Now, the SECURE Act has a provision that's going to make it easier for workers who work for smaller companies to get retirement plan coverage. Can you talk a little bit about what that means, what a multiple employer plan is, which is on the table?

Benz: Right. So, these multiple employer plans are plans that smaller employers would be able to create. They might be able to band together with other small employers to field a plan for their employees. So, overall, I think this is a really encouraging development because when you look at our system on a broad basis, one thing you see is that a lot of our population, a lot of working people, are not covered by any type of plan at all. So, this would make plans more pervasive, I think. It's a good thing. I will say though, in an ideal world, I would rather have seen some sort of I still would rather see some sort of a federalized option, maybe similar to the Thrift Savings Plan, where you have a mega company retirement plan option, where it's vetted, where you can put some pressure on the providers to keep the costs down. I think there's just a little bit of inefficiency associated with having all of these different firms, even if they are banding together, field different plans.

Dziubinski: Another, maybe a little bit more controversial aspect of the SECURE Act is the idea it's going to be easier for company retirement plans to offer annuities.

Benz: That's right. So, companies are given safe harbor if they want to offer annuities. Essentially, that protects them from litigation if something happens with the insurance company offering the annuity. So, this has been seen as a big win for insurers. And I think it most certainly is. I will say there's a lot to be said for the very plain-vanilla immediate-type annuities. We've talked to a lot of retirement researchers over the years who have said that this is one of the best things that retirees can do to improve the viability of their plans. But it's an open question about the types of annuities that would be on offer within the context of plans. Some annuities are very high-cost, very opaque. They're not all good. So, I think that that's where things get a little bit murky. It has the potential to be a win for investors, but it really will come down to what type of annuity is chosen.

Dziubinski: It seems like with some of this, time will tell which are the wins for investors out of this. Christine, thank you so much for your time.

Benz: Thank you, Susan.

Dziubinski: I'm Susan Dziubinski for Morningstar. Thanks for tuning in.

See original here:
What the SECURE Act Means for Your Retirement - Morningstar.com

When it comes to preparing for retirement, many of us know that we could be doing more.

But now a new report has highlighted the extent of that shortcoming, with the majority of savers set to miss their retirement goals by at least 50%.

Standard Chartered, in its inaugural "Wealth Expectancy Report 2019," found that 56% of people in 10 of the world's fastest-growing economies have retirement goals around twice the size of their likely pension pots at age 60.

The findings highlight a sweeping mismatch in the current workforce's spending aspirations and the level of wealth they will realistically accrue over their careers, the bank said.

To calculate the results, Standard Chartered surveyed 10,000 so-called wealth creators those with disposal income to save and invest to find out the amount of money they believe they'd need to retire comfortably. That figure was taken as their "wealth aspiration." It then used economic modelling to determine their likely "wealth expectation" at age 60 based on their salary and other assets.

The resultant mismatch, dubbed the "wealth expectancy gap," was found to be deep and pervasive across the 10 fast-growing economies studied: China, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.

The respondents were divided into three groups: emerging affluent, or those with enough money to "spend, save and invest"; the affluent, or those who earn significantly above the average in their market; and high net worth individuals (HNWI), or those with investable assets over $1 million.

While the wealth expectancy gap was highest among the emerging affluent 62% of whom were forecast to fall below their wealth aspirations the gap was apparent across all wealth brackets.

Among the affluent, the gap was 53% while for the HNWIs it was 46%.

Standard Chartered's Fernando Morillo, global head of retail products and segments, told CNBC Make It the findings demonstrate that financial behaviors, more than incomes, impact wealth outcomes.

Though wealth creators across the 10 markets were taking steps to set money aside for their retirement, Morillo noted that many may not be using the most effective means to grow their wealth.

According to the report, 59% of people rely primarily on savings accounts to achieve their top financial goals, while just 37% invest in stocks or equities.

"Most people primarily use savings accounts to grow their wealth," said Morillo. "This potentially puts them at a disadvantage as the 'real' returns on these savings after inflation can often be disappointing compared to investments in the long run."

To counter that, Morillo encouraged savers to diversify their money across a variety of investment solutions.

"By diversifying their wealth across various investment solutions, people have the potential to generate better risk-adjusted returns, putting you on the path to financial freedom," Morillo said.

Savers should, of course, be aware of the possible downside risks of investing. But Morillo noted that the growing availability of online wealth managers has made it easier than ever to get access to free advice that suits individuals' long-term goals.

"Investing is unavoidable if you want to grow your wealth; the crux is taking risks that you are comfortable with. Again, a financial advisor can help people better understand their risk appetite and achieve a portfolio allocation with the right balance between risk and return," he said.

David-Prado | iStock | Getty Images

Here's how the stats breakdown across the 10 markets.

The wealth expectancy gap was at its lowest in China, where 44% of wealth creators were on track to meet their wealth aspirations.

Indeed, wealth accumulation was a high priority for respondents in China, who put an average of 48% of their monthly income into savings the highest proportion across the study.

Despite enjoying a high wealth expectancy, respondents in Hong Kong saw a greater disconnect with their aspirations. Meanwhile, high living costs in South Korea and Taiwan weighed on people's wealth expectations.

After China, Malaysia enjoyed the second-lowest wealth expectancy gap, thanks in part to high statutory pensions. However, as in Singapore, limited use of wealth management advice hampered overall wealth accumulation.

Elsewhere, in India the wealth gap remained high despite a growing use of digital financial products. Meanwhile, respondents in Pakistan showed strong signs of narrowing their wealth expectancy gap but a high tendency to distribute wealth to family members.

View post:
Majority of savers in the world's fastest-growing economies set to miss their retirement goals by 50% - CNBC

Associated Press

Today's top trending stories

Read more about how the SECURE Act will change retirement savings, what Donald Trump said about his impeachment trial, and check out other stories trending online today.

Congress passes SECURE Act

A bill aimed at making retirement saving a bit easier is on its way to the president's desk for signing. While the bill will help some to save, especially those working part-time or at smaller companies, the bill is being criticized by some.

Read more about changes the SECURE Act will make from Money.com

Trump wants trial

While House Democrats hold up potential impeachment proceedings over concerns about how Republicans in the Senate will conduct the trial, President Trump wants a trial sooner than later, believing he will be exonerated.

Read more about what the president has said from the BBC

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Last night featured the final debate in 2019 among those contending for the Democratic nomination for president.

See who won and lost at the debate according to NBC News

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In what could be an NBA Finals preview, LeBron James and the Lakers lost to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, 111-104.

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Changes to retirement plans, Trump on impeachment & more: What's trending today - cleveland.com

Failing to withdraw a required minimum distribution (RMD) from your own or an inherited IRA by the deadline results in a big tax code penalty: 50%. That's right. If you were supposed to take out a minimum of $4,000 and (oops!) did not do so, you have the privilege of writing the IRS a check for $2,000.

Like many investors, you're likely aiming to build a comfortable nest egg to ensure a comfortable retirement. Among retirement financial planners, this is called the "accumulation phase." In this phase, your goal is to invest wisely by choosing stocks with long-term potential for your retirement portfolio, such as Ameriprise Financial Services (AMP), a current top ranked dividend stock.

There is also a second phase of retirement planning that gets less focus - despite the fact that it's the more interesting part. It's the "distribution phase," which essentially means spending the wealth you've worked hard to amass.

Making plans for the distribution stage involves deciding where you'll live in retirement, whether you'll travel, your proposed leisure activities, and more decisions that will affect your spending during your golden years.

Along with these aspects, it is important to consider the required minimum distribution (RMD) that applies to most retirement accounts. Essentially, the IRS requires you to withdraw a specific sum from your qualified retirement accounts once you hit age 72.

Why does the IRS requires you to start taking your money out? It's simple - they want to make sure they get their tax. If this rule didn't exist, people could live off other income and never pay tax on their retirement investment gains. Then, that money could be left to family or friends as an inheritance without the IRS collecting any taxes from you.

What You Need to Know About RMDs

Which types of retirement accounts have RMDs? Qualified retirement accounts like IRA accounts, 401(k)s, 457 plans and other tax-deferred retirement savings plans like a TSP, 403(b), TSA, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA plan require withdrawals in retirement.

When do I have to start taking distributions? For most accounts, you must take your first distribution by April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which you reach age 72.

Every year after your start date, you are required to take your RMD by December 31. Remember, for Roth IRAs you do not have to take an RMD because you paid taxes before contributing. However, other types of Roth accounts do require RMDs, but you may be able to avoid them (for instance, by rolling your Roth 401(k) into your Roth IRA).

What happens if don't take my RMD? The penalty for not taking a required minimum distribution, or if the distribution is not large enough, is a 50% tax on the amount not withdrawn in time.

How much money do I have to withdraw? To calculate a specific RMD, you must divide your prior year's December 31st retirement account balance by a "distribution period" factor based on your age.

Here's an example to give you an idea of the amount: Ann is 70 and will take her first RMD in the year she turns 72. Her IRA balance at the end of the prior year was $100,000. Her "distribution period" factor is 27.4. Dividing $100,000 by 27.4 equals $3,649.63. This is how much Ann is required to withdraw for the calendar year in which she turns 72.

Learning about the "distribution phase" is just one aspect of preparing for your nest egg years.

To learn more about the tax implications of retirement spending - and much more about retirement planning - download our free guide: Retirement Made Easy.

You???ll find useful, detailed steps to help you navigate both the accumulation and distribution phases of retirement planning. Get Your FREE Guide Now Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

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Know These 3 Facts to Avoid Paying Half Your Retirement Income to the IRS - December 20, 2019 - Yahoo Finance

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It's retirement day for one KCPD officer and his partner.

Now retired Officer David Edwards and his working dog Ike celebrated the milestone together on Friday. The pair have done most everything together, and now they can add retiring to the list.

"I've always liked dogs. It's always been fun, and started going out and volunteering working on my own time with them in the 90s, and wound up out there," Edwards said.

Edwards was with KCPD for 32 years, nine months and six days. He worked with dogs for nearly 30 years and had six partners. Ike the Belgian Malinois has been with him for seven.

Sgt. William Brown, Edwards' and Ike's supervisor, was sad to see them go.

"I think it's important because these dogs are our partners," Brown said. "They're with us 24 hours a day seven days a week. To see them grow together and leave together is really important."

Their badges were given to them in a shadow box in front of colleagues, family and friends. On the back of Edwards' badge is a heart sticker his daughter placed there more than two decades ago.

"Even as she got older it was still nice when you pinned a badge on another shirt. It was an immediate family connection," Edwards said.

"Sometimes you go through the day and you may not think about, 'Oh, I wonder what theyre doing.' When you put that on there its like, 'Man, I hope theyre OK. I gotta make sure theyre OK. I havent talked to them in a day or two.' So its a nice little reminder."

Edwards said he's going to enjoy a more slow-paced life with hunting, fishing and enjoying time with family, including his newborn granddaughter. However, he'll make sure Ike keeps busy.

"He never quits. He's going all the time," Edwards said. "He's searched a house three or four times in one setting. I can get him to lay down for 10 minutes, maybe, and then he's up searching the whole house again."

They're both reserve officers for the department now. David and Ike will be back when the department needs them, but for now they will have their cake and eat it, too.

"To watch them grow together and to watch them ride off into the sunset together, I don't think you could ask for anything more," Brown said.

"It was the best way to -- the only way to retire," Edwards said. "I can't imagine retiring without him. I don't think I would. I think I would keep working until he could retire."

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The only way to retire: Kansas City police officer and his K-9 partner retire together - WDAF FOX4 Kansas City

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