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Under the Secure Act, certain heirs must empty inherited accounts by the 10th year after the original account owner's death. Otherwise, they could face a hefty penalty. In 2022, the IRS proposed mandatory yearly withdrawals if the original account owner had already started distributions.

Amid questions, the IRS has previously waived the penaltyfor missed RMDs, and the agency on April 16 extended that relief for 2024.

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"It's so confusing," said individual retirement account expert and certified public accountant Ed Slott, speaking about the 10-year rule.

"Even the IRS has to give people a break until they can figure out if [beneficiaries] are subject to RMDs or not," he said.

The latest penalty relief only applies to certain heirs, known as "non-eligible designated beneficiaries," subject to the 10-year withdrawal rule under the Secure Act. Non-eligible designated beneficiaries include heirs who aren't a spouse, minor child, disabled, chronically ill or certain trusts.

The latest IRS update says those heirs won't incur a penalty for missed RMDs for inherited accounts in 2024. But they still must empty the account by the original 10-year deadline.

That "could be a little dangerous because it is potentially just letting you kick the can down the road on making a decision," according to certified financial planner Edward Jastrem, chief planning officer at Heritage Financial Services in Westwood, Massachusetts.

With years of delayed RMDs, heirs with sizable pretax inherited retirement accounts may need larger future distributions to empty the account within 10 years.

Before 2018, the federal individual brackets were 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35% and 39.6%. But five of these brackets are lower through 2025, at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. Without changes from Congress, tax brackets will revert to 2017 levels.

Depending on your tax bracket, it could make sense to start making withdrawals in 2024, especially with higher tax brackets on the horizon, Slott said.

Of course, you need to weigh your entire financial situation while planning for inherited retirement account withdrawals. "It's one of many moving parts," Jastrem added.

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IRS waives mandatory withdrawals from certain inherited individual retirement accounts again - CNBC

Angle down icon An icon in the shape of an angle pointing down. Peak boomers are getting ready to retire. Alistair Berg/Getty Images

The youngest baby boomers are about to enter retirement and most of them aren't financially prepared for this next stage of their life.

Beginning this year, over 30 million boomers born between 1959 to 1964 will start to turn 65, marking the "largest and final cohort" of that generation entering retirement, according to a new report from the Alliance for Lifetime Income's Retirement Income Institute.

Many in this cohort, known as "peak boomers," are facing significant economic headwinds, the report said. It's what some have called the boomer retirement bomb and it might be costly for the rest of the workers in the economy.

Through an analysis of data from the Federal Reserve and the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, the report found that 52.5% of peak boomers have $250,000 or less in assets, meaning that they'll likely deplete their savings and rely primarily on income from Social Security in retirement. Another 14.6% of that cohort have $500,000 or less in assets, meaning "nearly two-thirds will strain to meet their needs in retirement," the report said.

"America has never seen so many people reaching retirement age over a short period, and well over half of them will find it challenging to meet their needs through their retirements, let alone maintain their current standard of living," Robert Shapiro, an author of the report and the former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, said in a statement. "They lack the protected income that many older Boomers have from solid pensions or higher savings."

The peak boomers' retirement wave could also impact the overall US economy. The report projects that employers will have to replace as many as 14.8 million peak boomers primarily in the manufacturing, healthcare, and education industries which could decrease economic productivity.

On top of that, the generation's retirement is likely to have an impact on consumer spending. Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the report found that peak boomers will spend $204 billion less in 2032 than they did in 2022, with the transportation sector taking the biggest hit.

Still, as the report noted, younger employees are likely to fill some of the jobs that peak boomers will leave, and productivity will rise as technology advances.

Peak boomers entered the workforce just as retirement plans shifted away from defined benefit plans like pensions which generally guarantee stable income and are employer-subsidized to contribution plans like 401(k)s, which rely on workers to pay into them.

Of the different types of retirement-savings plans the report looked at, defined benefit pensions have the least disparities along racial, gender, and ethnicity lines (although there are significant disparities in annual payments) but only 24% of peak boomers hold them, and even those plans are coming up against potential underfunding.

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Already, many retirement-aged Americans are living on paltry incomes. A little over half of Americans over 65 live on incomes of $30,000 or less a year, per the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, with the largest share living on $10,000 to $19,000. And, per Business Insider's calculations of CPS ASEC data, 79.2% of retirees receive some type of Social Security income.

Retirement-aged Americans, many of whom fall in that peak boomer category, previously told Business Insider that they might just have to continue working until they die or become infirm to stay afloat.

"Only the very wealthy are going to have any dignity in their old age," Pam, who is nearly 58, said. "And the rest of us are just going to pray that they can die while they still have a job because nobody wants to die on the street."

Are you a boomer unprepared for retirement? Contact these reporters at asheffey@businessinsider.com and jkaplan@businessinsider.com.

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'Peak boomers' retiring without pensions to hit economy, Social Security - Business Insider

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Millennials hope to retire in their 50s. That's a big ask. - USA TODAY

Hope Murray retired in 2013 after a 50-year career that ranged from game show producer to Hollywood party planner to casino executive.She settled into a life of golf, game nights and pickleball in her San Diego community, her daughter living nearby.Then things got more expensive. Gas was nearly $5 a gallon, medication costs were adding up, the grocery bill was increasing.So she downsized, stopped driving as much and waited longer between haircuts.But she could no longer afford some of her medications. "It got kind of scary. I needed some extra money coming in," said Murray.So last October, at the age of 80, Murray ended her retirement and got a job giving out samples at Costco.She likes observing the people some go grocery shopping in heels and a full face of makeup and others wear pajamas and slippers. Some people take one sample and others gobble three or four."It just comes into my checking account every other week, and I can pay for everything," she said of her $18-an-hour paycheck. "My plan was to put the checks into a savings account, but it didn't work out that way. I had to use it for cost of living."At 81, she isn't sure if she'll be able to go back into retirement. "I don't know how long I'll be working. It just all depends," she said.Murray isn't alone.Americans over 75 are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce, more than quadrupling in size since 1964, according to the Pew Research Center. Forecasters expect that cohort of older, working Americans to double over the next decade.'A tale of two retirements'There are a number of reasons why Americans are working later into life.People are living longer and are more likely to be healthy into old age.The nature of work has also changed. "More people are working at desk jobs that don't require much physical labor," said Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. "That contributes to people's ability to work longer."Zoom, and the post-pandemic boom in remote work also makes it easier for older Americans to remain in the workforce, he said.But while a 65-year-old is more likely to apply for a desk job or remote work than something that requires heavy lifting, said Monique Morrissey, a senior economist specializing in retirement security at the Economic Policy Institute, about 50% of older workers still have physically demanding jobs.For many people, though, working into their golden years simply comes down to lacking enough money to stop working and keep a roof over their heads."It's a tale of two retirements," Morrissey said. While plenty of older Americans are working good jobs later into life by choice, others have struggled to find their place in the workforce.Social Security payments still provide about 90% of income for more than a quarter of older adults, according to Social Security Agency surveys.But without intervention, the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by the mid-2030s, meaning that only a portion of retirees' expected benefits will be paid out. Lawmakers have faced a decades-long political stalemate on how to fix it.Over the years, retirement plans evolved away from pensions that encourage workers to retire by 65. About half of private sector workers were covered by those so-called defined-benefit plans in the mid-1980s, but by 2022 only 15% had them.What's left is the 401(k), which 68% of private industry workers have access to, but only 50% use.Anything it takesBut sometimes even a pension isn't enough.Heidi Brockway, 66, retired from a 30-year career in early education in 2019, right before the Covid pandemic. She had a small pension from the school district she worked for but soon realized it wouldn't be enough.She spent the next two years applying for jobs and hitting wall after wall."I was applying to jobs that I was perfectly qualified for, if not overly qualified, and I would just get zapped time and time again," she said."I finally gave up in Los Angeles because it was just not happening," she said. She sold her house and moved with her husband to Southeast Florida, where her sister and nephew lived."I was thinking maybe there would be more opportunities there. And maybe the economy was a little bit more friendly to older people," she explained.After 11 months of looking in Florida, Brockway was offered a job as an aide at a nearby preschool."I now sweep, clean toilets, mop and empty trash for $13.40 an hour and all the pride I can swallow. But I am employed at least," she said. "I was an early education teacher for 30 years. Now I clean a preschool. But I can afford groceries."Unemployment in the U.S. is near historic lows, sitting at 3.8%, and employers are taking a closer look at people who used to be at the end of the hiring line, said Morrissey. But older workers are often left out of the employment boom.Video below: Scammers put new twist on Social Security scam"It's a particularly strong market for certain workers," she said. "That's people who are changing jobs, younger workers and non-college educated workers." Older workers tend not to change jobs, and they're more likely to have a college degree.A lot of the jobs that older workers do get, she said, involve a salary cut or a lack of benefits.Confronting ageismIt's illegal in the United States to discriminate against an older worker because of their age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older in the workplace.But there's a high burden of proof, and it's even more difficult for an older job seeker to prove that they didn't get a role because of their age.A recent survey by AARP found that about two-thirds of adults over the age of 50 think that older workers face discrimination in the workplace. Nearly 90% of those workers think ageism is commonplace.Bob Vaughn turns 65 this June and has been looking for work since he was laid off from his role as an IT consultant at age 63."I started interviewing immediately," he said. Many interviewers praised his experience and seemed interested in offering him a job. But ultimately, he said each ended in an iteration of the same comment: We have decided to move in a different direction."I think the 800-pound gorilla is that I'm 64 and a half," he said. "And as colleagues of mine would say, age discrimination is rampant out there."Researchers have done what they call "audit studies," in which they send the same resume to employers and only alter the applicant's age, said Wettstein, of the Center for Retirement Research. Older applicants got fewer callbacks."Some of it might be ageism, just an aversion to hiring older people," said Wettstein. "Some of it might be more 'rational' in the sense that employers might be worried that older workers wouldn't be as productive or wouldn't be as profitable."The Center for Retirement Research has found no evidence that older workers are less productive overall. They did, however, find that they were more expensive because of higher earnings expectations and higher healthcare costs.Vaughn met his wife, Mary Susan, in high school, but they didn't connect romantically until their 15-year reunion. They hit it off and were married six weeks later.Over 31 years of marriage, they've raised four children (and now help with their three grandchildren) and took in all four of their parents, helping support them through retirement. The expenses added up, but Bob's job and Mary Susan's work as an artist and blogger kept them afloat.When Vaughn was laid off in 2022, his family sold their home near Charlotte, North Carolina and downsized to an apartment near their daughter and newborn granddaughter in Asheville.The plan was to eventually build a home on three acres of land they'd purchased in the Blue Ridge Mountains.But work has been hard to come by and so has money. "Little did we know that interest rates were gonna go through the roof, inflation, all that kind of stuff," he said. "And it made us hit the brakes."They're stuck in their apartment until the lease is up in August and are struggling to afford the rent. "We could not have anticipated how much rent and storage costs would be when we sold our home," said Mary Susan. "The monthly expenses are greater than the mortgage on our home was."They still plan on building the home, eventually. But they're going to try to do it themselves to save money.Adapting to an older workforceDiane Reiter is 72 and looking for work."Unfortunately my memory is not as good as it used to be, and therefore my options are limited," she said. "It's super frustrating because I know where I came from."Reiter spent the majority of her career running book fairs with her late husband around the Chicago area. When Amazon took a big bite out of their business in the early 2010s, she started working in accounts payable for local companies.Now she's struggling to find a job that works for her."I never thought I'd be in the position where I couldn't retire," she said. "This is just unfortunate."As more people than ever need to work longer to support themselves, workplaces will need to begin to adapt to older workers' needs, according to the World Economic Forum. Worker health and wellness will become more critical than ever, as will investing in retraining the workforce as technologies change. New models of hybrid work that smooth the transition to retirement will need to be created."Keeping older people in the labor force requires more than bringing the matter to the public's attention," wrote researchers at Brookings Institution in a recent report. There needs to be political and employer support for a "massive public education campaign to make the business case for older workers," they said.In the meantime, Reiter's children and grandchildren live nearby, so she has a good family support system. She's also discovered a passion for painting and has sold some of her work."It's a very fulfilling life," she said. "But I don't have a ton of savings left. It's pretty bittersweet. It's kind of scary, so I have to do something."

Hope Murray retired in 2013 after a 50-year career that ranged from game show producer to Hollywood party planner to casino executive.

She settled into a life of golf, game nights and pickleball in her San Diego community, her daughter living nearby.

Then things got more expensive. Gas was nearly $5 a gallon, medication costs were adding up, the grocery bill was increasing.

So she downsized, stopped driving as much and waited longer between haircuts.

But she could no longer afford some of her medications. "It got kind of scary. I needed some extra money coming in," said Murray.

So last October, at the age of 80, Murray ended her retirement and got a job giving out samples at Costco.

She likes observing the people some go grocery shopping in heels and a full face of makeup and others wear pajamas and slippers. Some people take one sample and others gobble three or four.

"It just comes into my checking account every other week, and I can pay for everything," she said of her $18-an-hour paycheck. "My plan was to put the checks into a savings account, but it didn't work out that way. I had to use it for cost of living."

At 81, she isn't sure if she'll be able to go back into retirement. "I don't know how long I'll be working. It just all depends," she said.

Murray isn't alone.

Americans over 75 are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce, more than quadrupling in size since 1964, according to the Pew Research Center. Forecasters expect that cohort of older, working Americans to double over the next decade.

There are a number of reasons why Americans are working later into life.

People are living longer and are more likely to be healthy into old age.

The nature of work has also changed. "More people are working at desk jobs that don't require much physical labor," said Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. "That contributes to people's ability to work longer."

Zoom, and the post-pandemic boom in remote work also makes it easier for older Americans to remain in the workforce, he said.

But while a 65-year-old is more likely to apply for a desk job or remote work than something that requires heavy lifting, said Monique Morrissey, a senior economist specializing in retirement security at the Economic Policy Institute, about 50% of older workers still have physically demanding jobs.

For many people, though, working into their golden years simply comes down to lacking enough money to stop working and keep a roof over their heads.

"It's a tale of two retirements," Morrissey said. While plenty of older Americans are working good jobs later into life by choice, others have struggled to find their place in the workforce.

Social Security payments still provide about 90% of income for more than a quarter of older adults, according to Social Security Agency surveys.

But without intervention, the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by the mid-2030s, meaning that only a portion of retirees' expected benefits will be paid out. Lawmakers have faced a decades-long political stalemate on how to fix it.

Over the years, retirement plans evolved away from pensions that encourage workers to retire by 65. About half of private sector workers were covered by those so-called defined-benefit plans in the mid-1980s, but by 2022 only 15% had them.

What's left is the 401(k), which 68% of private industry workers have access to, but only 50% use.

But sometimes even a pension isn't enough.

Heidi Brockway, 66, retired from a 30-year career in early education in 2019, right before the Covid pandemic. She had a small pension from the school district she worked for but soon realized it wouldn't be enough.

She spent the next two years applying for jobs and hitting wall after wall.

"I was applying to jobs that I was perfectly qualified for, if not overly qualified, and I would just get zapped time and time again," she said.

"I finally gave up in Los Angeles because it was just not happening," she said. She sold her house and moved with her husband to Southeast Florida, where her sister and nephew lived.

"I was thinking maybe there would be more opportunities there. And maybe the economy was a little bit more friendly to older people," she explained.

After 11 months of looking in Florida, Brockway was offered a job as an aide at a nearby preschool.

"I now sweep, clean toilets, mop and empty trash for $13.40 an hour and all the pride I can swallow. But I am employed at least," she said. "I was an early education teacher for 30 years. Now I clean a preschool. But I can afford groceries."

Unemployment in the U.S. is near historic lows, sitting at 3.8%, and employers are taking a closer look at people who used to be at the end of the hiring line, said Morrissey. But older workers are often left out of the employment boom.

Video below: Scammers put new twist on Social Security scam

"It's a particularly strong market for certain workers," she said. "That's people who are changing jobs, younger workers and non-college educated workers." Older workers tend not to change jobs, and they're more likely to have a college degree.

A lot of the jobs that older workers do get, she said, involve a salary cut or a lack of benefits.

It's illegal in the United States to discriminate against an older worker because of their age. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older in the workplace.

But there's a high burden of proof, and it's even more difficult for an older job seeker to prove that they didn't get a role because of their age.

A recent survey by AARP found that about two-thirds of adults over the age of 50 think that older workers face discrimination in the workplace. Nearly 90% of those workers think ageism is commonplace.

Bob Vaughn turns 65 this June and has been looking for work since he was laid off from his role as an IT consultant at age 63.

"I started interviewing immediately," he said. Many interviewers praised his experience and seemed interested in offering him a job. But ultimately, he said each ended in an iteration of the same comment: We have decided to move in a different direction.

"I think the 800-pound gorilla is that I'm 64 and a half," he said. "And as colleagues of mine would say, age discrimination is rampant out there."

Researchers have done what they call "audit studies," in which they send the same resume to employers and only alter the applicant's age, said Wettstein, of the Center for Retirement Research. Older applicants got fewer callbacks.

"Some of it might be ageism, just an aversion to hiring older people," said Wettstein. "Some of it might be more 'rational' in the sense that employers might be worried that older workers wouldn't be as productive or wouldn't be as profitable."

The Center for Retirement Research has found no evidence that older workers are less productive overall. They did, however, find that they were more expensive because of higher earnings expectations and higher healthcare costs.

Vaughn met his wife, Mary Susan, in high school, but they didn't connect romantically until their 15-year reunion. They hit it off and were married six weeks later.

Over 31 years of marriage, they've raised four children (and now help with their three grandchildren) and took in all four of their parents, helping support them through retirement. The expenses added up, but Bob's job and Mary Susan's work as an artist and blogger kept them afloat.

When Vaughn was laid off in 2022, his family sold their home near Charlotte, North Carolina and downsized to an apartment near their daughter and newborn granddaughter in Asheville.

The plan was to eventually build a home on three acres of land they'd purchased in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But work has been hard to come by and so has money. "Little did we know that interest rates were gonna go through the roof, inflation, all that kind of stuff," he said. "And it made us hit the brakes."

They're stuck in their apartment until the lease is up in August and are struggling to afford the rent. "We could not have anticipated how much rent and storage costs would be when we sold our home," said Mary Susan. "The monthly expenses are greater than the mortgage on our home was."

They still plan on building the home, eventually. But they're going to try to do it themselves to save money.

Diane Reiter is 72 and looking for work.

"Unfortunately my memory is not as good as it used to be, and therefore my options are limited," she said. "It's super frustrating because I know where I came from."

Reiter spent the majority of her career running book fairs with her late husband around the Chicago area. When Amazon took a big bite out of their business in the early 2010s, she started working in accounts payable for local companies.

Now she's struggling to find a job that works for her.

"I never thought I'd be in the position where I couldn't retire," she said. "This is just unfortunate."

As more people than ever need to work longer to support themselves, workplaces will need to begin to adapt to older workers' needs, according to the World Economic Forum. Worker health and wellness will become more critical than ever, as will investing in retraining the workforce as technologies change. New models of hybrid work that smooth the transition to retirement will need to be created.

"Keeping older people in the labor force requires more than bringing the matter to the public's attention," wrote researchers at Brookings Institution in a recent report. There needs to be political and employer support for a "massive public education campaign to make the business case for older workers," they said.

In the meantime, Reiter's children and grandchildren live nearby, so she has a good family support system. She's also discovered a passion for painting and has sold some of her work.

"It's a very fulfilling life," she said. "But I don't have a ton of savings left. It's pretty bittersweet. It's kind of scary, so I have to do something."

Original post:
More people are working well past retirement age. It's not easy - WBAL TV Baltimore

Retirement is a source of anxiety for many Americans, with older employees worried about being forced out of work before they are ready and younger generations less than convinced they will be able to afford to retire at all. But many college-educated baby boomers are flipping the script and redefining how and when they retire on their own terms, a trend that could have significant effects on the workplace for years to come.

Of course,theres no single approach to work and retirement in the U.S.while some are able to exit the workforce at 65 to travel and pursue hobbies without worrying about their finances, many others are never able to fully retire at all. Others who want or need to continue working are pushed out by employers, while some are set on leaving the traditional work world as soon as possible, with the goal toquit in their 50s, or even earlier.

Phased retirement is different still, and, according to some reports, could be a growing trend. Rather than a hard-stop retirementhere for 40 years, gone tomorrowworkers are given the option to gradually pare back hours and reduce stress while still earning income and maintaining connections. Proponents say it not only helps employees with the transition to retirement, both mentally and financially, but that it also benefits employers.

Businesses are all struggling with recruiting and retaining talent, so you have to keep the talent you havethats a lot more effective, efficient, and productive, Chris Littlefield, president of retirement and income solutions at Principal, previously told Fortune. Its a mega-trend in the workforce. It will be a very significant lever for them over the next decade.

How does that work in practice? Heres what three baby boomers approaching or past the traditional retirement age told Fortune about their ideal phased exit.

Name: George Cavedon Age: 73 Location: New Hampshire

After a decades-long career working in retail, George Cavedon retired in his fifties after his company was sold, a dream for many workers. But Cavedon soon found the early retirement life wasnt for him; he missed having somewhere to go during the day that wasnt a golf course, and Eventually, he joined the ranks of the unretired, and found a new job working at a small marketing firm. Hes been there for 18 years, with no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Im trying to cut back. Being 73, my energy isnt what it used to be, Cavedon says. But I enjoy what I do, I enjoy coming in and working with people. Im a social kind of guy.

For Cavedon, his current working arrangement is ideal. He gets out of the house but has some flexibility with his hourssomething he was never allowed in his first career in retail. Because he works in sales and meets with clients in person, his mind stays sharp, he says, and talking with younger coworkers keeps him up-to-date on trends and perspectives hed otherwise miss.

Cavedon recognizes his approach to work isnt for everyone. He has plenty of friends who have retired and moved to states like Florida with warmer weather and more leisure activities. But for better or worse, he says part of his identity is tied up in his work. Eventually hell scale back to working three days a week rather than five, but not yet. And the money doesnt hurt, either.

Retirement to me is a scary thing. How much can you lay on the beach? he says.For my own personal mental health and well-being, I like being active and working.

Name: Renee Stanton Age: 61 Location: New Jersey

Phased retirement is the goal for Renee Stanton, who has worked in IT-adjacent roles her entire career. She has no desire to leave the workforce completely but would appreciate the flexibility to go skiing and sailingher lifelong passionsduring the on-seasons, and to spend more time with her adult children and aging parents. A self-described frustrated artist, Stanton also foresees wiling away more afternoons in her dads art studio.

Its not a problem for me to fill my timethe problem for me is to find the time for all the things I want to do, says Stanton, 61. They say you have to have retirement goals. My retirement goal isthey have front-row parking for skiers 80 and above. My goal is to be parking there.

Though she has enough moneyand passionsto retire now, Stanton says she learned a lesson when her father, a cabinetmaker, retired in his sixties. Now 87 and going strong, he believes he left the workforce too early and could have benefitted financially from staying employed longer. With potentially decades ahead of her, she is being extra cautious with her finances.

She plans to reduce her hours significantly and move to a contractor role, so she can work when she wants to and take time off on her own terms. Ill be in full control, she says. That will allow her pensions and Social Security payments to continue to grow, and because she still has a few years until Medicare coverage kicks in, shell need to earn enough to pay for her health insuranceand her ski passes.

Its time for me to take a step back and plan more time for fun, says Stanton. I still want to work and bring some money in. I saved for retirement, but not ski-addiction retirement.

Name: Joy W. Age: 66 Location: New York

At 50, Joy W., who asked that her last name be withheld to freely discuss her career plans, completed a masters degree in psychology. A long-time human resources worker, Joy, now 66, decided to pursue a second act that better aligned with her desire to help people. That first degree lit a match, and a few years later, she also completed a masters in social work. She now works as a full-time psychotherapist in rural Connecticut, with clients ranging in age from 25 to 95, but many who are post-retirement.

Through her work, Joy has realized she has no desire to stop working completely, though she and her husband are financially secure and shes past the traditional retirement age. But she is beginning to scale back, working four days a week instead of five.

When I think about ending my career, I imagine Ill be doing some sort of volunteer work that takes advantage of my skills, says Joy. I wont just drop out 100% one day. Ill be doing something. Its interesting, its stimulating for me, and theres a huge need for it.

Her clients also have influenced her choice to keep working. Many of them have some form of regret about retiring, she says, and its usually because they did so too soon. Talking with them validates her zigging-zagging path toward phased retirement.

They werent ready for how they felt the day they woke up after retirement, she says. They didnt know how to do retirement, and that took them by surprise.

Many family members, including her father and some siblings, were retired by their companies, which also informs her approach to work. She wants to make the choice for herself, and one benefit of switching careers when she did, Joy says, is that shes been in the drivers seat since the beginning. Her current employer knew from the jump that she didnt plan to work full time for long. Theyre just happy to have her while they do.

That felt really liberating, she says. It really lowered the anxiety level, at least mine, and probably theirs too. We each knew where the other stood.

What is your retirement budget?Fortuneis writing about what Americans at different income levels are spending in retirement. To share your story, email senior writer Alicia Adamczyk atalicia.adamczyk@fortune.com.

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How 3 baby boomers are approaching phased retirement, the 'mega-trend' reshaping workplaces - Fortune

Jacob Wackerhausen | iStock / 360 | Getty Images

If you've inherited an individual retirement account since 2020, you could have a shorter timeline to withdraw the money, which can trigger tax consequences. But there are a few things to consider before emptying an inherited account, experts say.

Under the Secure Act of 2019, so-called "non-eligible designated beneficiaries," have a 10-year window to deplete an inherited IRA.Non-eligible designated beneficiaries are heirs who aren't a spouse, minor child, disabled or chronically ill. Certain trusts may also fall into this category.

Most beneficiaries don't even care about the 10-year rule. They just want the money.

Ed Slott

Individual retirement account expert

Heirs tend to earmark an inheritance for certain expenses and "the money is coming out on the way to the funeral," he said.

Indeed, nearly 40% of Americans expecting an inheritance will use the money to pay off debt, according to 2023 survey from New York Life.

Provisions from the Republicans' signature 2017 tax overhaul are slated to sunset after 2025 and without changes from Congress, individual federal income tax brackets could be higher.

Before 2018, the federal individual brackets were 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35% and 39.6%. But five of these bracketsare temporarily lower through 2025: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%.

Lower brackets through next year could prompt some heirs subject to the 10-year rule to make pretax withdrawals sooner.

But the expected tax law changes are just "one of many moving parts,"according to certified financial planner Edward Jastrem, chief planning officer at Heritage Financial Services in Westwood, Massachusetts.

"To a certain extent, I would lean towards other aspects of a client situation potentially being more important," he said.

Before withdrawing money from an inherited account, you'll need to consider one-off situations like selling a business or a home, which could temporarily boost income. You should also weigh your expected retirement date and when to start taking RMDs from your own retirement accounts, Jastrem said.

"It's the big picture of each unique client's plan," he said.

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Here's what to know before withdrawing funds from inherited individual retirement accounts - CNBC

BOSTONAfter 19 years as the Boston Bruins Play-by-Play broadcaster on New England Sports Network (NESN), Jack Edwards has announced his retirement following the 2023-24 postseason games on NESN. As a New England native and University of New Hampshire graduate, Jack retires from a 45-year career through sports journalism and play-by-play, culminating with what he described as his dream job with NESN and the Boston Bruins.

I grew up a Bruins fan, and who had more fun than us over the last two decades? said Jack Edwards. In collaboration with Bruins and NESN leadership, I recently decided that the time has come for me to finish my shift as the voice of the Boston Bruins. I am no longer able to attain the standards I set for myself, to honor the fans, the players, the Bruins organization and NESN with the best they all deserve.

I retire from broadcasting not with a heavy heart, but gratefulness for a 19-year-long joyride, Jack continued. I owe my career, my own pursuit of happiness, to the love and support of my family. I thank every member of the Bruins and NESN for your loyalty, helping me to achieve and live out a lifetime goal, high above the ice.

Jack began his play-by-play career with NESN in 2005. After holding several reporter and anchor positions in New Hampshire and Providence, Jack came to Boston in the 1980s as a sports anchor and reporter at both WCVB and WHDH. He also worked as a reporter for ABCs Wide World of Sports and Olympic coverage on both ABC and CBS. He joined ESPN in 1991 as an anchor and reporter for SportsCenter and won an Emmy award for his ESPN reporting. He has also done play-by-play for ESPNs coverage of hockey and soccer, including the 2002 World Cup finals, and the Little League World Series. Jacks Bruins passion and knowledge has educated decades of fans. With unique phrases such as tumbling muffin and high above the ice, his iconic style has set him apart in the league and all of sports broadcasting.

I join the Bruins organization, NESN and hockey fans everywhere in congratulating Jack on an incredible career, said Charlie Jacobs, CEO and Alternate Governor of the Boston Bruins. Jacks voice has been the soundtrack for generations of Bruins fans that have experienced so many incredible moments. His presence has been felt around the globe and he will forever be a part of the Bruins legacy.

Jack will continue calling games for the reminder of the 2023-24 season through NHL playoffs. The Boston Bruins and NESN will conduct a nationwide search for the next play-by-play voice to join Color Commentator Andy Brickley for the 2024-25 season.

Congratulations to Jack on a remarkable career of calling Boston Bruins hockey on NESN, said Sean McGrail, President and CEO of NESN. Jack brought a distinctive and colorful personality to our broadcast that was unmistakably his own. Id like to join everyone at NESN in thanking Jack for his contributions over the past 19 years.

In addition to honoring his career tonight during the pregame ceremony, the Boston Bruins and NESN plan to further celebrate Jack Edwards and his impact during the 2024-25 regular season. More information will be shared at a later date.

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Jack Edwards, Voice of the Boston Bruins, Announces Retirement at Conclusion of 2023-24 Season | Boston Bruins - NHL.com

You can quit work, but you can quit retirement?

You can quit work, but can you quit retirement? Many people are. Why? The answer is about more than money and may surprise many people who are working hard to plan their dream retirement.

Pulling out of the driveway, my chatty rideshare driver volunteered that he retired a few years ago from the hotel that I had just checked out of.

I just had to quit, he said. Somewhat confused, I ask, Quit what? Working at the hotel?

Looking back at me in his rearview mirror, eyes twinkling, he responded briskly, No, retirement! I just couldnt do it anymore.

While accelerating onto the highway, he explained, It was becoming the same ole same ole. I just had to quit.

You can certainly quit a job but you can also quit retirement, at least in the classic sense of retirement. Psychologists refer to what my driver describes as habituation, when people become accustomed to or no longer react to a situation or stimulus. In short, even retirement, like decades of work before it, can lose its excitement and become what my driver craftily refers to as the same ole, same ole.

In fact, after about a year, nearly 2 in 5 people retire from retirement, at least part time. Its not that people are unhappy in retirement; it is just that they do not anticipate how much time there is in retirement. In my previous Forbes article, I argued that for people in relatively decent health, retirement life might be 8,000 or more days a full one-third of adulthood. Moreover, the big and small things many believed would fill their retirement days either didnt, or their routines became as tedious as the morning and evening commute they toiled for decades and came to loathe when working.

My driver could tell I was somewhere between baffled and amused. He volunteered why he went back to work. He shared, I enjoyed my time away from work for a while but found that I fell into a boring routine. I missed talking to people, meeting new people, and having a reason to go out for other than buying groceries or going to the coffee shop to see the same faces every day.

MassMutual recently released its 2024 Retirement Happiness Study, which reports the perceptions and self-reported behaviors of pre-retirees age 40-plus and people already in retirement. According to Matt DiGangi, Head of MassMutual Strategic Distributors Annuity Distribution, MassMutuals research on retirement happiness underscores the importance of managing expectations and preparing for retirement both financially and emotionally. The happiest retirees invest not just in their financial futures but also in their social circles, pastimes, passions, and physical health long before retirement. MassMutuals data indicate that 77% of pre-retirees believe they will feel happier on any given day in retirement compared to 67% of current retirees who say they are happier.

And what do people anticipate doing in retirement? What activities do they think will make them feel happier? Most (55%) pre-retirees do not see retirement as the end of work. Instead, 38% of pre-retirees view retirement as shifting focus to a new type of work or fulfilling purpose, while another 17% see retirement as simply working less.

The study findings further report that while many retirees had a plan or developed activities to keep them engaged, many were like my driver; they began to suffer from the same ole, same ole. When asked if they experienced more or less boredom, 38% of retirees reported being about as bored as anticipated, and another 16% discovered they were more bored than expected. Of those who returned to work, 83% did so as a choice, not a financial necessity.

The most revealing findings are what people think they will do in retirement versus what they report doing as retirees.

Travel is always a big and stated goal in retirement planning. A full 79% of pre-retirees said that travel was how they planned to spend their free time; instead, 55% of retirees actually reported traveling.

Likewise, 61% of pre-retirees said they will spend more time pursuing hobbies. Retirees are a little less excited about their hobbies in retirement; 52% report they are painting, gardening, and more.

Half (50%) of pre-retirees anticipate getting outside and exploring nature as a pastime; the data show that only a quarter (27%) of retirees actually seek out flora and fauna retirement.

Even volunteering drops from relatively high anticipation to modest participation. Of pre-retirees, 44% expect to volunteer, but only 22% of retirees report volunteering to fill their free time.

So, what are people doing in retirement? In fairness, more than half (56%) of pre-retirees say they plan to watch movies and television. Clearly, the entertainment and advertising industry sees ratings when they see retirees. A full 8 in 10, or 83% of retirees, report spending their free time watching movies and television.

Retirement planning is focused primarily on ensuring financial security. In contrast, longevity planning is about financial security and overall well-being which demands a holistic approach to ensuring enough money and preparing for what to do with the vast wealth of free time found in retirement. Here are four steps to managing the chances of retirement years becoming the same ole, same ole. These steps should begin decades before when you believe your last day of work will be.

A decade or more before retirement, begin noting and discussing with your partner or significant other places and activities that spark your interest and curiosity or simply make you smile.

Years before retirement, translate inspirations collected over time into specific activities, places, and social groups you may wish to pursue. You can begin forging connections to grow your social circle and become familiar with organizations you find interesting for future part-time and even full-time work or volunteering.

As retirement approaches, revisit and review your shared interests with your significant other and how they have evolved over the years. Compare your shared aspirations, expectations, and hesitations.

It's not easy but take retirement out for a test drive. Find time to volunteer, even work part time, or try out a gig job on weekends. If you are thinking you might move in retirement, use some of your banked-up vacation time to experience where you might live. Dont choose a resort hotel but consider renting a home where you might live and do the daily, often boring, life tasks, for example, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Identify and visit where you might meet new people. Participate in activities that may confirm or negate what you believe today will contribute to a happy retirement tomorrow.

I parted company with my driver at the airport. He smiled as he handed me my bag and said, I think I will find another ride or two, go home, see what the missus is up to, and maybe go back to work for an hour. I work and do what I want on my time now. Its better than being retired.

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4 Steps To Take Decades Before Retirement To Keep It From Getting Old - Forbes

Even a bull market cant help women catch up to men when it comes to retirement savings.

In a new study released Thursday, researchers offered an analysis that modeled the asset values recent retirees would have after a bull market and a bear market. They found that after a bullmarket, the median value of womens retirement savings would be $184,600, while men would have $199,400 after a bear market.

Because men start off with 45% more financial assets than women, according to the studys data, women were unable to catch up in even the best market conditions. The median retirement savings for women is $185,000, while for men it is $269,000.

To run their experiment the researchers estimated rates of return for a bear market and a bull market. For the bear market, they used the average return rate of the S&P 500 and 10-year bonds from 1973 to 1979, when the economy was suffering from stagflation. The stand-in for a bull market featured return rates from 2017 to 2022, when the stock market was particularly robust. The analysis also factored in that the seniors in question would withdraw 7.5% of their savings each year to fund their living expenses, as virtually everyone does during retirement. They then applied all those factors to the median savings for women and men.

The report, commissioned by the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a trade organization of retirement plan servicers, examined the retirement readiness of peak boomers, defined as people born between 1959 and 1964. Numbering 30 million, peak boomers represent an exceptionally large segment of the population that is poised to retire en masse over the next five years. Whether or not enough of them are financially prepared to retire will have ripple effects across the economy. The more money these peak boomers have saved for retirement, the less strain the U.S.s social safety net will be underto say nothing of what kind of quality of life these boomers might expect in retirement.

When people retire they dont just want to sit in a chair all day long, and watch TV or Netflix, said Lincoln Financial Group CEO Ellen Cooper, during a panel about the report on Thursday. They actually want to go out and experience life and do the things they werent able to do when they were working.

A broadly bearish market would jeopardize even relatively well prepared peak boomers, according to the research. How much the retirement accounts of men and women grow in different market conditions illustrates how long-lasting the effects of a lifetime of pay inequities can be, and how difficult to overcome. Aside from having $84,000 less in their median savings accounts, women fare worse than men across all asset classes that can contribute to a comfortable retirement. They owned homes that were 5% less valuable and got Social Security benefits that were 25% lower than mens.

Helping women build better nest eggs in retirement requires addressing the root causes first, said Caroline Feeney, Prudential executive vice president and head of U.S. businesses.

They include the gender pay gap and a financial industry geared primarily toward men. As of March 2023, women earned 82 cents for every dollar that men did, according to data from Pew Research.

This pay gap translates into lower savingsthats a reality, Feeney said during the panel.

She added that some research has shown women on average have a lower risk tolerance when it comes to investing.

Feeneys point was once considered a standard assumption in financial circles. However, in recent years that assertion has become more layered. A recent study from the Harvard Business Review found that when it came to impact investing, women actually exhibited a higher risk tolerance than men. Other research indicates women are more judicious, which can get reduced to simply being risk-averse. Theres also more evidence pointing to the fact that women feel more cautious about investing because they feel as if they have fewer resources and advice available to them.

The financial industrys reputation as a boys club, along with the stereotype that women are less money-savvy than men, has meant theyre often underserved when it comes to investment advice. That makes it harder for women to find the right expertise than many men, who also may not be financial experts. Two-thirds of men say they have easy access to high-quality investment products compared with just 39% of women, according to a study from financial planner Principal.

You pull all of that together, of course, it makes it far more difficult for women to be in a position to live a secure financial retirement, Feeney said.

To make matters worse, women not only have less money in retirement but they can have more expenses as well because they live longer and are more likely to be a caregiver. Most Americans do a poor job of estimating how long their retirement will last. That shortfall only gets worsened when women have to care for someone else beyond just themselves, even in old age. More than 75% of caregivers are women, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. Even working women who are caregivers can take a hit to their retirement, because they have an added financial burden (often on an already lower salary), which means they have less to sock away for their golden years.

To mitigate the difficulties of preparing for retirement, Feeney has simple advice: ask for help. There are no silly questions, she said.

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The retirement gender gap is so large, women have less savings in the best markets than men in the worst - Fortune

Kay and Jim Schlembach could be considered Americas poster children for downsizing. After a career at ExxonMobil in Houston, Jim retired at age 62, and the couple bought a 3,200-square-foot contemporary on a wooded lot in Clifton Park, N.Y., near Albany.

It was a big house to entertain their kids and grandkids. But the Schlembachs had a strict 10-year timeline. Now at ages 62 and 72, respectively, Kay and Jim have decided to downsize to their 850-square-foot condo in Richmond, Va.

We made the decision that we were not going to be a burden to our children and that we would take care of our aging process and living arrangements, says Kay. These are hard conversations to have. America doesnt deal with death very well, and aging is difficult.

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The Schlembachs put their home on the market in March. The open house brought more than 200 visitors, and within three days, they had received 10 offers all for well above the asking price of $600,000. Eight days later, they were under contract for more than $700,000.

The Schlembachs may be among the most proactive downsizers in America, but theyre not alone. According to the National Association of Realtors, baby boomers are on the move. They are the largest group of both home sellers and buyers in the country.

Finding a smaller dwelling that checks all the boxes geographically, financially, emotionally, and physically is a smart thing to do. But first, you have to sell.

Heres some of what you need to know:

Homeowners can get a basic understanding of what their home is worth by tooling around on Zillow, Realtor.com, and other online sites that have estimator tools. But its also wise to consult with at least two or three local real estate agents.

And dont go with your cousins friend who just got her real estate license. The Schlembachs had a checklist and insisted on a seasoned and responsive broker, with extensive knowledge of our local market conditions, solid comps, optimal listing timing, pricing based on data-driven dollars per square foot, days on market, and technological aspects such as photography, staging and Internet exposure.

About 10% of homeowners in 2021 sold their homes without a real estate broker. That saved these sellers about 5% or 6%, which is the rate of commission most real estate agents charge.

But selling your own home can be a lot of work and stress and might not generate the best price. The best agents have expertise in local housing market trends and can generally generate higher prices because of their market knowledge. Plus, theres a lot of paperwork between the legal contract and contingencies of sale, like inspections, compensation for defects and disputes that can arise en route to closing. Some states require one or both parties to have an attorney.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Savvy sellers should have a frank discussion with any agent they interview. Real estate commissions have always been negotiable, but sellers rarely had much opportunity to haggle.

Thats changing rapidly. In October the realtors association and several brokerages were hit with a $1.8 billion judgment in a class-action antitrust suit that said commissions were artificially high. Then, in March, the association reached a nationwide, $418 million settlement of claims that the industry conspired to keep commissions high.

The settlement, which is pending approval, promises to change the way real estate commissions are paid. Realtors agreed, for example, to stop requiring sellers to pay buyers agents commissions. The changes are expected to go into effect in July. As many as 50 million recent home sellers may receive compensation after the settlement is approved.

Demand for properties is high. Mortgage rates are down from their October 2023 peak. But low inventory and higher prices are putting baby boomers on a collision course with their desire to make a move to something smaller, cheaper or easier to manage.

In February, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he believes the U.S. housing market is undersupplied and will remain so for years. That should concern downsizers who are hoping to trade what they have for something better, only to find market conditions discouraging.

My advice would be for people looking to downsize is to really do their research on the impact this decision would have. With the current situation of the real estate market, the downsized property may be significantly more expensive in not only price, but also in taxes, HOA fees, interest rate, etc, says Andrew Petersen, an agent in Pompano Beach, Fla.

Stop asking your kids if they want Aunt Emmas old China. (They dont.) Specialists can help manage all aspects of decluttering and downsizing, starting with the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers.

Barbara Feldman, a relocation specialist in Manhasset, N.Y., has been helping clients since 2007. Shes seen it all and her advice after helping folks downsize or right size is simple: Downsize now!

We buy too much and keep too much, says Feldman. My advice is that if I have something and I can replace it in 20 minutes for less than $20, let it go.

(Image credit: Madison Holmlund, designed by Brittany Chinaglia)

Sellers need to maximize all the assets of their homes and minimize any feature that will cause buyers to balk. In a time when most sellers have amassed equity in their homes, spending a little to wow buyers is a smart investment in your quest to successfully downsize.

Staging helps the purchaser visually see the potential of the home and leads to an emotional buy, says Manhattan interior designer Ronnie Rosenberg. It also usually brings in a higher price and a quicker sale.

"Downsizing has a much better chance of being a success when its a choice, says Feldman. A majority of her clients are between the ages of 70 and 80 and by this point, she says, the need to move is more of a mandate than a conscious decision.

Its daunting for so many people, emotionally and physically. she says. Theyre experiencing a loss of independence and they express that. They say I used to be able to do this but now I cant.

Homeowners sitting on a lot of equity may feel like theyve hit the lottery. But records and invoices for all the repairs and upgrades tell a different story about what your home cost.

For tax purposes, a home improvement is any expense that materially adds to the value of your home, significantly prolongs its useful life or adapts it to new uses. Documenting these items can reduce your capital gains exposure and, for buyers, demonstrate the investment youve made in the home, helping to justify the list price.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If youve lived in your house for 20 or 30 years, you may be in for a shock when you sell it. A tax shock, that is, as you may be facing capital gain tax on any profit over $500,000 (for married couples). The cost of selling can be significant, says fee-only financial adviser David Wattenbarger in Chattanooga, Tenn.

On the other hand, selling may not be the best alternative from a tax perspective. A highly appreciated property left to an heir may qualify for a step up in basis at the death of the owner, which could avoid the realization of a capital gain, says Wattenbarger.

Downsizing usually coincides with a move to a new neighborhood or 55-plus development with greater amenities, especially in warmer states with cheaper taxes. Think Florida. But the residents of the Sunshine State are seeing skyrocketing insurance and association fees along with higher home prices.

Warm weather and no income tax come with a hefty price tag. I find most people are surprised not only at how expensive property is in South Florida, but also the cost of property taxes and insurance, says Petersen, the agent in Pompano Beach. They can be significant enough to offset those other benefits.

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplingers Retirement Report, our popular monthly periodical that covers key concerns of affluent older Americans who are retired or preparing for retirement.Subscribe for retirement advicethats right on the money.

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10 Things You Should Know About Selling Your Home to Downsize in Retirement - Kiplinger's Personal Finance