Its the question that keeps older people up at night: Will the recommended$1 million in retirement savings actually be enough?

The answer depends in part on where you live, according toa new GOBankingRates study.

The $1 million figure is thrown around by AARP and others as the amount of savings needed to replace between 70 percent and 80 percent of a persons work income. But thats a rough estimate and there are a lot of variables in retirement planning: How large is that income you hope to replace? How long will you live? Should you count your home equity as part of your savings if youre not planning on selling your home? How will taxes and investment returns affect your retirement income? How will inflation affect your expenses? What happens if you suffer a sudden or long-term incapacitating illness?

The reality is that few retirees have saved anything close to $1 million. A 2016 BlackRock survey found that the average baby boomer between the ages of 55 and 65 had saved only $136,000 for retirement.

That means many people will need to stretch their savings and maybe relocate to the states where their money could last the longest.

GOBankingRates, a personal finance website, pegged Mississippi at the top of the list: In that state, $1 million could cover the needs of the average retiree for 26 years, 4 months. Hawaii is where youre likely to blow through those savings the fastest in 11 years, 11 months.

The website determined the average total annual expenses for people 65 and older (counting groceries, housing, utilities,transportation and health care) and then multiplied total expenses by each states cost-of-living index to calculate the state-specific yearly cost.Housing is generally the big ticket item.

The U.S. Census putsthe average retirement age at 63. At age 65, Americansaverage life expectancy is about 19 more years. So that leaves you with two decades during which savings, pensions, home equity and Social Security become your principal means of financial support.

If youve managed to sock away$1 million, here are the five states where GOBankingRates says it will last the longest:

Mississippi (26 years, 4 months)

Arkansas (25 years, 6 months)

Oklahoma (25 years, 2 months)

Michigan (25 years)

Tennessee (25 years)

And the seven states where it will disappear the fastest:

Hawaii (11 years, 11 months)

California (16 years, 5 months)

Alaska(17 years)

New York(17 years, 1 month)

Connecticut (17 years, 4 months)

Maryland (17 years, 4 months)

Massachusetts(17 years, 4 months)

How did your state fare? Check it out on the map below.

Read this article:
Here's How Long $1 Million In Retirement Savings Will Last In Your State - HuffPost

This research report was produced by Colorado Wealth Management Fund with assistance from Big Dog Investments.

Future retirees need to understand lifestyles play a major role in retiring. While some retirees may be just fine pulling in $30,000, others may be looking for significantly more. Here are a few things to consider when looking toward retirement:

These are very important questions when figuring out how to plan for retirement.

Maybe youre retired and only need to take into account your personal costs. If not, keep in mind any expenses which may occur:

These are all important questions and there are many more. Some retirees make it to retirement and haven't accounted for all the costs they would be taking on. Planning for retirement is essential for success.

Planning can be the difference between a $2,000,000 portfolio and having nothing. The number of people who arent investing in their future is heart-breaking. This isnt because they dont have the money to put aside. More often than not, its because they havent been taught to plan for their future, or in this case retirement. An investor who saves early and lives below their means may live lavishly in retirement, while someone making $120,000 a year before retirement may have nothing.

Trying to save for retirement and ordering pizza once a week? Stop it. Heres a chart from the University of Illinois:

Debt. That thing you shouldnt have in retirement. Find me someone who says they cant put money aside, and in almost every case Ill show you someone who is overspending (exclude single parents). Consequently, they are not saving as much money as they could. Credit card debt is an epidemic and retiring with it is generally a terrible idea. Pay off the highest interest rate and work down. Its sad to see so many people in debt and just ignoring massive interest rates. If a loan has an interest rate of 0.5% its a different story. High interest rate loans will eat into retirement income like cockroaches feasting during the middle of the night in a garbage can.

Planning on retiring at some point? It would be a good idea to take a year and pretend you are retired. During that year, track all your expenses. This should give a future retiree a good reference point for what income is needed. Also, make sure to be realistic about the returns you will get in a portfolio. Its much better to base your retirement on 3% to 4% a year according to the Trinity study. There is nothing wrong with targeting higher returns, but investors should build a suitable margin of safety.

But CWMF, you say 3% to 4% when the S&P 500 has seen massively higher annualized returns since inception. That is correct and should be a view for investors who are planning decades down the road. Once retired, retirees often cant sustain a significant drawdown. If youre retiring in 20 years, volatility is a smaller concern. If youre a retiree, you need to be more vigilant.

There will be some cases where portfolios are built around living off sustainable dividends. Most dividend champions will not see a cut to their dividend even in the event of a serious market panic.

There are several things to keep in mind when managing a portfolio. Here are a few:

Vanguard suggests investors consider long-term care insurance:

While you're considering your retirement health care coverage, give some serious thought to your needs 20 or 30 years down the road. There may come a time when you need ongoing care in a facility or at home.

Medicaid will only pay for long-term care once you've exhausted most of your financial resources. So if you hope to leave a legacy for your children or other loved ones, look into long-term care insurance.

The costs for these policies will increase as you get older, and you may not qualify at all if your health declinesso it's smart to consider buying a policy now.

Retirees could maximize their lifetime benefits from social security if they knew how long they would live. Generally speaking, retirees should wait as long as possible to claim if they believe they will live past 80. If they do not expect to reach 80, then they should file early. All of the complicated math can be boiled down to those simple estimates. However, investors should not delay Social Security payments while making payments on high interest rate loans. The growth rate for Social Security payments is generally in the 6% to 9% range for each additional year the benefits are delayed.

Colorado Wealth Management Fund and Big Dog Investments built two strong portfolios in this dividend stocks article. Given the criteria was that the companies must pay a dividend, these are good options for most retirees and investors with a long-time horizon.

Here are the portfolios:

Big Dog Investments

CWMF

1

(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc

(MO)

Altria Group, Inc.

3

(KO)

Coca-Cola Company

(TGT)

Target Corporation

4

(WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

(NNN)

National Retail Properties

5

(O)

Realty Income Corporation

(STOR)

STORE Capital Corporation

6

(JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson

(SKT)

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers,

7

(HD)

Home Depot, Inc. (The)

(TAP)

Molson Coors Brewing

8

(IBM)

International Business Machines

(VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc.

9

(T)

AT&T Inc.

(XOM)

Exxon Mobil Corporation

10

(AAPL)

Apple Inc.

(CVX)

Chevron Corporation

11

(ABBV)

AbbVie Inc.

(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation

12

(V)

Visa Inc.

(MA)

MasterCard Incorporated

13

(MMM)

3M Company

(LMT)

Lockheed Martin Corporation

14

(GM)

General Motors Company

(TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc.

15

(KHC)

The Kraft Heinz Company

(GIS)

General Mills, Inc.

16

(DG)

Dollar General Corporation

(K)

Kellogg Company

17

(CSCO)

Cisco Systems, Inc.

See the article here:
How To Retire Early With Money - Seeking Alpha

An American couple retiring this year should expect to spend $275,000 in health care costs throughout retirement a number that has risen 6% since last year, and will continue to rise indefinitely.

The number assumes the individuals are enrolled in Medicare, but does not include expenses associated with a nursing home or long-term care, according to Fidelity Investments, the Boston-based financial services firm that analyzed these health care costs. Instead, the $275,000 includes monthly expenses that come with health coverage premiums, copayments and deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs. The expected cost of health care has grown 70% since Fidelity first started tracking health care costs in 2002, and will continue to rise in the future, Adam Stavisky, senior vice president of Fidelity Benefits Consulting. Medicare is wonderful, but by design it doesnt cover everything, Stavisky said.

See: Whats the matter with health care?

Americans are anxious as it is for retirement the image of those golden years has shifted considerably in recent decades, where people are relying on their own savings instead of a pension plan, and many are choosing to work part or full time in their older years. Almost half of Americans are not confident about reaching their retirement goals, partially because of how expensive health care is: 71% of the more than 1,000 adults in a survey by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said they were anxious about health care costs, and another 68% said their concern was over the uncertainty around health care costs.

On top of how expensive health care is, and the pressure to save for it, many Americans dont understand the details of various plans and insurances. Health care is unfortunately complex and most people will shut down before they try to unravel the complexity, Stavisky said. Health care legislation is also in limbo Senate Republicans failed to agree on a reformed health care bill, which would have reduced Medicaid spending (the health care plan for low-income families and those with disabilities or few resources), and both parties are fighting over the fate of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. For now, however, the ACA is still in tact.

See also: Heres how Republicans and Democrats can come together to fix health care

In the meantime, its on Americans to ensure their security in retirement, and that means funding health care costs. We may not want to talk about it, but the obligation exists nonetheless, Stavisky said. One increasingly popular way to do that is by funding a health savings account (HSA), where assets are deposited, invested and withdrawn tax-free and help Americans pay for qualified medical expenses. HSAs accounted for about $37 billion in assets at the end of 2016, and to more than $41 billion in January, according to Devenir, a Minneapolis-based HSA adviser and consultancy firm. The average investment account holder has a balance of almost $15,000, and overall the number of HSA accounts has grown 20% between December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2016.

HSAs are attached to a high-deductible health insurance plan, and have a contribution limit in 2017 of $3,400 for individuals and $6,750 for families. In 2018, those limits will increase to $3,450 and $6,900, respectively. There is an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 allowed per year for individuals 55 and older. Alternatively, Americans can use a Flex Spending Account to accompany their health care coverage, but must spend it all or lose any remaining money in the account at the end of the year. Though they can be beneficial, and many experts recommend them, individuals interested in opening an HSA should consider fees and initial costs associated with the plans, and understand their nuances for example, once someone signs up for Medicare, contributing to an HSA is no longer an option. Alternatives to an HSA would be a traditional employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan, or a traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Account.

The money contributed each year into an HSA doesnt have to be used in that year, and unspent money will roll over year after year to become another nest-egg in retirement, if the individual chooses, said Chad Wilkins, president of HSA Bank, a Milwaukee-based health savings account administrator.

Some experts suggest paying all health care expenses out of pocket and saving HSA funds for health care costs in retirement (or, for whatever purpose after turning 65, when those assets are no longer only for medical expenses and the account is treated like a 401(k) plan nonmedical expenses will incur income taxes, though). Individuals can also use the money to reimburse themselves for a medical expense (with a receipt) from years prior, Wilkins added.

Original post:
Health care costs in retirement will only grow here's how to save - MarketWatch

Trustees for the Employees Retirement System of Texas voted Wednesday to decrease earnings assumptions for its $26 billion trust fund, a rare move that could have major implications for the state budget and the retirement systems beneficiaries.

In a 4-2 vote, the board cut the funds expected annual rate of return from 8 percent to 7.5 percent, reflecting gloomier market conditions and other factors straining the system. The board also voted to revisit the rate in two years.

Agency staffers and some trustees had pushed for a rate as low as 7 or 7.25 percent, but the board settled on the slightly higher projection.

Retirees and advocates fear the Legislature will respond by shifting more financial burdens onto the systems beneficiaries, either by forcing current employees to chip in more for their future pensions, cutting benefits or closing off the fund to future retirees.

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The Employees Retirement System handles benefits for about 240,000 active and retired state employees, elected officials, law enforcement and prison officers and judges. On average, beneficiaries receive $1,600 per month, a figure that hasnt been adjusted for the soaring cost of living since 2001.

Lowering the expected rate of return will not affect how much money flows into the retirement system, but it will dramatically alter its long-term balance sheet.

Under current assumptions, the fund is projected to grow large enough tocover its liabilities within 35 years.Under a 7.5 percent expected rate of return, the fund would never be expected to grow large enough to provide full benefits to retirees into the future, and without intervention, would be depleted by 2070.

Retirees in recent weeks flooded trustees with emails expressing anxieties about their future benefits and urging trustees to protect the status quo on expected rates of return. Several voiced their concerns in public comments ahead of Wednesdays vote.

I have nothing to lose but retirement money, said Pamela Scott, a retiree who spent 17 years working for the formerly named Texas Commission for the Blind and saw her salary peak at $31,000.We were promised when I went to work: Yes, our salaries are low, but youd have good benefits and good retirement.

Trustees said they understood retirees concerns, and they were only lowering expectations to protect the long-term health of the system.

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Craig Hester, an investment manager and the boards chair, described a perfect storm of factors putting pressure on the retirement system over the past two decades, including a national recession, an aging workforce, benefits changes and chronic legislative underfunding.

A host of other states have recently lowered their predicted rates of return for public pension funds, a change some financial analysts say is needed, largely because low interest rates have limited earnings for the type of low-risk investments that pension funds generally favor.

Hester and other trustees agreed that the Legislature had shortchanged the retirement systems fund and Texas workers more broadly over the years and could struggle to recruit talent if they fail to boost salaries or benefits.

We would all agree that the people who have sacrificed for the state have never been fairly compensated, said Cydney Donnell, a trustee. You need to be at the Legislature voicing concerns.

Donnell said she doubted that current retirees would be affected by any looming adjustments to benefits.

I think their anxiety should be reduced, she said. I think most people who are really going to be impacted by it are in the longer term.

Texas tended to fully fund the Employees Retirement System throughout the 1990s. But a turn-of-the-century recession triggered a long streak of chronic legislative underfunding that strained the system. In 2015, lawmakers sought to shore up the retirement systemby increasing state and employee contributions by roughly 2 percent each.

Texas law says state pension funds cant adjust for cost of living unless the funds are actuarially sound that is, they have enough money available to cover all liabilities even after increasing retiree payments. Even under an earnings projection of 8 percent, that wouldnt have happened for 35 years.

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Labor advocates have pushing for a lump-sum cash infusion that could more backfill plug the funding gap and potentially allow for the cost-of-living adjustment. But even that could be tricky.

The Texas Constitution says the state's contributions to pension funds cant eclipse 10 percent, and the state is near that threshold. Legal experts disagree about whether such an infusion would count toward pushing Texas over that cap, and the idea is a nonstarter around the Capitol.

There is one other option: Gov.Greg Abbottcould declare the unfunded liability an emergency, giving lawmakers clear permission to chip in more money.

Donnell said suggested lawmakers would be wise to chip in resources sooner than later, so they could grow over time.

Small check now, big check later, she said. If they dont put money into the system now, it doesnt earn anything.

Read related Tribune coverage:

The Employees Retirement System of Texas is considering lowering its earnings assumption for the $26 billion trust fund. Labor advocates fear the move would push lawmakers to cut benefits or require current workers to chip in more. [Full story]

Advocates for state employees hope that lawmakers approve substantial pay raises including for state workers who don't work at an agency that's facing a high-profile crisis. [Full story]

The House unanimously approved a Dallas pension bill aimed at preventing first responders' retirement fund from becoming insolvent within a decade. [Full story]

Read more here:
Employees Retirement System of Texas lowers expectations, worrying workers - Texas Tribune

A bear market just as you enter retirement couldnt come at a worse time if youre forced to sell securities after prices have plunged. Certainly, many investors today worry about how long the bull market can keep running.

That's where the bucket system can help. Basically, you divide your money among different kinds of investments based on when you'll need it.

Jason L. Smith, a financial adviser in Westlake, Ohio, and author of The Bucket Plan, uses the system with clients, splitting their assets among three buckets: Now, Soon and Later.

The Now bucket holds what you'll need in the short term. Smith recommends setting aside enough so that, when added to Social Security or a pension, it will cover your basic expenses for up to a year.

It should also have enough for major expenses that are likely to crop up over the next couple of years, such as paying for a new roof or that once-in-a-lifetime trip around the world, plus cash for unexpected emergencies.

Money in the Soon bucket will be your source of income for the next 10 years. Smith recommends investing in a fixed annuity (not an immediate annuity, which locks you into monthly payments) or high-quality short-term bonds or bond funds. As the Now bucket is depleted, you withdraw money from the annuity or sell some of the fixed-income investments in the Soon bucket to replenish it.

The assets in the Later bucket aren't meant to be tapped for more than a decade into your retirement, so they may be invested more aggressively in stock funds, which provide greater growth potential, and alternative investments such as REITs. This bucket can also include life insurance or a deferred-income annuity, which pays income later in life.

Consider selling securities in the Later bucket to replenish the Soon bucket starting about five years before it runs out of money.

If the market is in a downward spiral, you can wait, knowing you still have a few years before the Soon bucket will be empty.

Eileen Ambrose is a senior editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Send your questions and comments to moneypower@kiplinger.com.

Read more from the original source:
Bucket plan could be lifesaver in retirement - Chicago Tribune

by Christy Bieber for The Motley Fool @CNNMoney August 21, 2017: 10:16 AM ET

Well, the bad news is Americans are woefully behind on saving for retirement. The good news is, you don't have to be one of the millions of retirees struggling to live on a bare bones budget.

By following just five steps, you'll set yourself up for a retirement spent traveling the world, spoiling your grandkids, or, at the very least, not losing sleep over money.

1. Invest as early and as aggressively as possible

Investing early is the best way to get rich, because you'll need to invest more later to catch up if you wait. No matter when you start investing, though, the amount you invest should increase with your salary.

If you invest a fixed percentage of your income, then your contributions will automatically increase along with your salary. The question is: What percentage of your income is appropriate? While many think 10% is enough, this is actually low.

Consider how much money you'd accumulate if your investments returned an average of 7% per year, you earned the median income for an American worker (about $45,000 a year recently), you got small annual raises, and you contributed 10% of your salary to a tax-deferred account.

Age 25-34

$3,362.67

$336.27

$58,156.00

Age 35-44

$4,229.33

$422.93

$189,915.00

Age 45-54

$4,225.00

$422.50

$454,706.00

Age 55-64

$4,186.00

$418.60

$986,154.00

Your retirement income would be around $40,000, assuming you drew from your account for 25 years and continued to earn a conservative return of around 3.25% during retirement. That would put you far ahead of the average American retiree -- but you wouldn't quite be living in the lap of luxury.

These numbers also assume you started at 25, which many people don't. If you waited until 40, you'd need to save more than $1,200 a month -- about 35% of your wages -- to save up the same amount.

But what if you started early, invested aggressively (earning 7% per year), and saved 20% of your median income?

Age 25-34

$3,362.67

$672.53

$116,312.00

Age 35-44

$4,229.33

$845.87

$380,004.00

Age 45-54

$4,225.00

$845.00

$909,936.00

Age 55-64

$4,186.00

$837.20

$1,970,000.00

When you retired, your income will be around $81,000, which should be plenty -- especially when combined with Social Security -- to provide you with financial freedom.

If you've started later, you can still achieve a comparable income, but you'll need to save much more aggressively.

2. Automate your saving

When saving money takes effort, you're less likely to do it. In fact, one in six Americans responding to a survey weren't saving more because they hadn't gotten around to it.

Most people tend to stick with the status quo -- in fact, studies found participation rates in a 401(k) jump from 40% when employees must opt in to almost 100% when they must opt out. So use your natural inertia to your advantage: Automate investments by having a percentage of income diverted to your 401(k) or IRA. You're less likely to skip a contribution if it means having to submit paperwork.

3. Manage your risk appropriately

It's not just how much you invest that matters, but also what you invest in. If your portfolio is too conservative, your savings won't grow fast enough to provide you with a sizable retirement income. On the other hand, if you chase growth recklessly and ignore the inherent risks of your investments, you could be left with nothing.

Consider the difference between a conservatively invested traditional IRA and an aggressively invested IRA, assuming you contribute $5,500 per year to this tax-advantaged retirement account from age 25 to age 65:

If you invest in a conservative blend of stocks and bonds and earn 4%, your account will be worth $543,546.

If you earn a 7% return by investing primarily in stocks, your account will be worth $1,174,863.

Over time, that 3% difference in performance would more than double your money. Ironically, investing too much money in "safe" investments like bonds can be more risky than keeping most of your portfolio in stocks, because the stock market is much more likely to turn your small monthly investments into a livable income many years down the road.

You should tailor your investing strategy to your personal risk tolerance, but err on the side of being aggressive when you're young and still have time to recover from downturns. As you near retirement, you can gradually switch to safer investments in order to protect the capital you've built up.

4. Watch out for fees

Investing is typically not free. Some 401(k) accounts have fees, and mutual funds generally charge both annual fees and transaction fees. While you can't entirely escape these costs, you should know what you're paying and do everything you can to minimize the fees you pay.

Lets say you start saving at age 25, invest $5,500 for 40 years until age 65, and earn a 7% return on your investments. How much could fees ding your savings?

If you paid a 0.25% fee, you'd end up with an account worth $1,099,175

If you paid a 1% fee, you'd end up with an account worth $902,262

If you paid a 1.5% fee, you'd end up with an account worth $792,654

Over the course of 40 years, paying a 1.5% fee instead of a 0.25% fee would cost you $306,500 -- enough to cover expensive healthcare or a few nice trips around the world.

If you're investing through a 401(k), then your options are somewhat limited, and most of the mutual funds you can choose from will likely charge around 1%. However, if you invest through an IRA, your choices are almost limitless. There are plenty of low-cost exchange-traded funds that charge 0.25% or less for a diversified basket of stocks. A fund that tracks an index is a great choice for an investor who wants to benefit from the stock market's growth without assuming the risk and work involved in picking individual stocks.

5. Stick to the plan

Once you've carefully laid your plan for retiring rich, you need to adhere to it religiously. Even a slight and temporary deviation from the plan -- say, suspending your contributions for a few months, tapping your retirement account to cover unrelated expenses, or selling a holding early in an attempt to reap short-term gains -- could set you back big-time.

Related links:

Motley Fool Issues Rare Triple-Buy Alert

This Stock Could Be Like Buying Amazon in 1997

7 of 8 People Are Clueless About This Trillion-Dollar Market

If you put your contributions on hold, you'll lose out on both the money you should have contributed and the compound interest it would have achieved. If you make an early withdrawal from a tax-advantaged retirement account, not only will you cost your future self far more than you're withdrawing, but you may also incur income tax and penalties on the amount you distribute. It's not worth giving up your future financial security for anything you'd do today. When you're retired and living in comfort and financial security, you'll thank your former self for the years of discipline and sacrifice.

CNNMoney (New York) First published August 21, 2017: 10:16 AM ET

Read the original:
5 simple steps to retiring rich - CNNMoney

Jessica Dickler, CNBC Published 1:00 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2017

The idea of having a retirement nest egg of $1 million is a lot of money, but can you make it work these days? Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more. Buzz60

Not every business will succeed, and a ROBS carries one particularly notable risk: You could jeopardize your retirement.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

For many soon-to-be retirees, a cool $1 million sounds like substantial savings goal, yet that largely depends on where you live.

In some parts of the country, it will barely last a decade.

"It's the benchmark everyone has in mind but it's important to be more specific, there's so much range across different states. Your personal situation plays a big role," said Mark Evitt, features editor at GOBankingRates.

The personal finance site compared average expenses for people age 65 and older, including groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care in every state to come up with how long a nest egg of $1 million would really last.

Top 5 states where your dollar will last the longest:1. Mississippi$1 million will last: 26 years, 4 months2. Arkansas$1 million will last: 25 years, 6 months3. Oklahoma$1 million will last: 25 years, 2 months4. Michigan$1 million will last: 25 years5. Tennessee$1 million will last: 25 years

It's no surprise that dollars stretched the furthest in states like Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, where retirees could live a life of leisure for at least a quarter of a century.

"One of the benefits of living in the Southeast is that the cost of living is significantly lower," Evitt said.

However, in Hawaii, where residents pay roughly 30% more for household items across the board, that same amount will only get you just shy of a dozen years largely because of the cost of living and pricey real estate.

Top 5 states where your dollar will last the shortest:1. Hawaii$1 million will last: 11 years, 11 months2. California$1 million will last: 16 years, 5 months3. Alaska$1 million will last: 17 years, 0 months4. New York$1 million will last: 17 years, 1 month5. Massachusetts$1 million will last: 17 years, 4 months

(If you are thinking more outside the box, here are the world's top 10 retirement destinations.)

More: How seniors can save with discounts

More: How to prepare for retirement in your 50s

More: YouTube video tricking consumers on how to pay bills using Social Security numbers

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2x6dwb2

Read the original post:
How long $1 million will last in retirement - USA TODAY

When it comes to retirement, theres one question that is sure to get a lot of people to save: Could you survive if you only received Social Security?

But the fact is millions live off their monthly Social Security benefit check. How do they do it?

Barbara Woodruff, 65, of St. Louis told Grandparents.com how she manages.

Her check: $633 a month. This is much less than the national average.

As of June, the average Social Security benefit was $1,254.78 per month.

Woodruff is collecting less than many folks because health problems reduced her working years, she told Grandparents.coms Daisy Chan. As Chan points out, Social Security benefits are based on your earnings during your working years.

Part of the reason Woodruff can survive on just Social Security is that she gets subsidized housing. She pays $189 for a one-bedroom apartment. She also receives $33 a month in food stamps.

Read more about how Woodruff gets by.

Woodruff has a lot of company in trying to survive on Social Security. As Rebecca Lake reported for Investopedia.com, 21 percent of married couples and 43 percent of single seniors count on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income.

Social Security isnt a substitute for building a solid retirement base, and if youve still got time before you retire, consider looking for ways to shore up your savings, Lake wrote. Start by chipping in as much as you reasonably can to your employers retirement plan, especially if it comes with a matching contribution. If you dont have a 401(k) or similar plan at work, an individual retirement account (IRA) is another way to grow your savings. The more you set aside now, the less pressure youll feel to make your Social Security benefits stretch.

If you think youll be relying just on Social Security, here are some articles with tips on how to make the money stretch.

How to Have a Comfortable Retirement on Social Security Alone

9 Ways to Retire on Social Security Alone

11 Ideas for Living on Nothing More than Social Security in Retirement

Are you living on just Social Security? If so, how do you do it? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com.

Retirement rants and ravesIm interested in your experiences or concerns about retirement. Did you retire early and if so, how did you do it?

Is retirement everything you hoped for? Are you scared youll run out of money?

What you share might help others. So send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please include your name, city and state. In the subject line put Retirement Rants and Raves.

One recent rant came from a friend.

So, you worked hard, saved your money, cut off your adult children, and retired, Maribel Soto of Burke, Va. Are you prepared for retirements close companion: aging? The consequences of aging will have a monumental effect on your financial position. It will not be enough to have perfect adult children who did not deflate your retirement wealth. Do your adult children/loved ones have the competence and capability to navigate the health care, legal, and social services systems to ensure your well-being and quality of life?

Soto asks some good questions considering her own experience.

Try telling the Social Security Administration that the court has declared you as your mothers legal guardian, she wrote. Show up with all your court records, and they will say, We do not recognize the courts assessment, we have to conduct our own, meanwhile we cant tell you why her benefits have been stopped. Yet, the assisted living facility has to be paid. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Heres Sotos poetic take on aging:Loving father,Loving mother,Loving son,Loving daughter,Only one faces Medicaid, Social Security, the court system, the banks, and the creditors.. . . and she is not enough.

Retirement blogI believe that wealth happens intentionally and for me this means reading as much as I can about all things financial, especially retirement.

Since were talking about retiring on just Social Security, heres a blog post that you may find helpful: 5 American Cities Where You Can Retire On Just Social Security

Retirement assignment

Theres so much to know and keep watch on when it comes to retirement planning. So every week Ill have a home assignment for you.

This week, if you havent done it already, set up your online Social Security account, which allows you to check your information, including how much youll get once you start collecting benefits. Knowing this information is key to retirement planning.

Heres the direct link for my Social Security.

Before you get started, watch the video created by Social Security on how to create your account. Youll find it at the bottom of the page.

I also recommend you read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting by Social Security on setting up an online account.

I want to hear how your home assignment went. What did you learn? Did the assignment make you change any of your plans?

Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put Retirement Assignment in the subject line. Ill also be open to suggestions for assignments.

Newsletter comments policyPlease note it is my personal policy to identify readers who respond to questions I ask in my newsletters. I find it encourages thoughtful and civil conversation. I want my newsletters to be a safe place to express your opinion. On sensitive matters or upon request, Im happy to include just your first name and/or last initial. But I prefer not to post anonymous comments (I do make exceptions when Im asking questions that might reveal sensitive information or cause conflict.)

Have a question about your finances? Michelle Singletary has a weekly live chat every Thursday at noon where she discusses financial dilemmas with readers. You can also write to Michelle directly by sending an email to michelle.singletary@washpost.com. Personal responses may not be possible, and comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writers name, unless otherwise requested. To read more Color of Money columns, go here.

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More:
Could you live off Social Security alone? - Washington Post

Due to women getting married later, fewer women gettingmarried and, among those who do marry, an increase in divorce, women arespending fewer years married overall, according to the Center for Retirement Researchat Boston College.

If women as a group now spend about half of their adultyears unmarried, it probably makes sense to explore their savings andinvestment behavior separately from men, the center says. This change hassignificant implications for financial planning.

For the oldest cohort, those born between 1931 and 1941, 72% of womens yearsbetween the ages of 20 and the last interview were spent married. Looking at mid-Boomers, i.e. those born between 1954 and 1959, the years spentmarried in that same timeframe had dropped to 54%. There is strong evidence to show that an individual's marital statusespecially an unexpected change in marital statushas a big impact on financial security over time.

The reason why the number of years women are married has declined is because,among the oldest cohort, the average age that women got married was 21.4. Formid-Boomers, this has crept up to 24.3. Among the oldest cohort, 3.9% nevermarried, and for mid-Boomers, this has risen to 12.2%. Just over one-third,33.9%, of the oldest cohort divorced, and today, 49.3% of mid-Boomer women aredivorced.

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston Collegesreport on this issue, Do Women Still Spend Most of Their Lives Married?, canbe downloaded here.

Excerpt from:
Women Spending Fewer Years Married, Shifting Retirement Outlook - Planadviser.com

Don't give that fourth running back spot to Corey Clement just yet.

Wendell Smallwood isn't going to go down quietly.

Smallwood, the Eagles' second-year running back from West Virginia, is back practicing with no restrictions after missing nearly two weeks with a hamstring injury.

Smallwood has yet to play in a preseason game, and with undrafted rookieClement acquitting himself well both at practice and in the first couple preseason games, the pressure is on Smallwood to produce soon to secure a roster spot.

It was real frustrating," Smallwood said after practiceMonday. "Just missing those reps, missing two straight preseason games, not being able to get better. You get better with those game reps and those practice reps, so I think I need to start taking advantage of every one I have."

Smallwood got hurt two weeks agoMonday, and although he returned on a limited basis last week, Monday'spractice with the Dolphins was his first with no restrictions since he got hurt.

He looked good. He looked fast and physical. And he said he finally feels 100 percent.

I think so," he said. "I feel good. Today I forgot about it. Wasnt even thinking about the injury. Didnt think twice about cuts, running, bursting, anything like that. I think I got it back.

"Its a huge relief just because last week practicing I could sense that it was still there and I was still kind of thinking about it, and the coaches could sense it, so being this week, Im full go, its not bothering me. You could see I got some of my burst back. Im good."

Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich saidMondaythat Smallwood is more of an every-down back than he first realized.

"You know, I think Wendell is a truethree-down back," he said. "When we first drafted him, I kind of looked at him as more like a first- and second-down back. I thought he would be OK on third down, but really he's turned out to be better on third down than I thought.

"So really I think he is a very versatile back who knows protections very well, who runs good routes, who catches the ball well. And then I think he's a slashing runner on firstand seconddown, so we like that combination. He's done very well. He works very hard at it. Love him mentally, and really glad he's in the mix."

Smallwood played well early last year before he admittedly got out of shape, hurt his knee and wound up on injured reserve.

He ran for 79 yards against the Steelers and 70 against the Falcons the Eagles' two biggest wins of the year before fading later in the season.

He said learning how to work through an injury is an important lesson for a young NFL player.

"Im definitely more equipped in my second year getting hurt than my first year because I dealt with it differently," he said. "I let it get to me a lot and kind of shied away from the game, but this year I got more into the game.

It was frustrating, but I stayed into the game plan, stayed in my playbook,[and]I didnt let it get to me. I stayed dialed in. It was frustrating to me, but I know what I can do and I know what Im capable of. Im right back out here and Im ready to go, and Im full go."

Much has been made of the Eagles' struggles running the ball this preseason.

LeGarrette Blount is averaging 1.9 yards on nine carries, rookie fourth-round pick Donnel Pumphrey has two yards on seven carries, Clement and Byron Marshall are both averaging under 4.0 yards per carry, and Darren Sproles and Smallwood haven't gotten any carries.

As a group, the Eagles' running backs are averaging 2.4 yards per carry.

The Eagles finish the preseason against the Dolphins at the LincThursday the first offense is expected to play into the third quarter and at the Meadowlands against the Jets, when most starters won't paly.

Smallwood knows people are already questioning the Eagles' running game.

We sense it, we hear it, but like Doug (Pederson) said, were not going to overreact, were not going to underreact," he said. "Its preseason, were going to get better at it, we know what were capable of doing. Were not going to let it get to us that much.

This game is going to be the one where we dial up the run and show how we can run the ball."

And it needs to be the game that Smallwood does the same thing.

Im definitely very hungry," he said. "I missed a lot of reps and missed a lot of game reps that could have made me better. So this is my chance to take it and go full throttle.

Its the game, man. Its my welcome home party. Im back on the field, going to go out there, I'm going to get some plays, Im going to get some runs, going to get some passes. Its real important for me."

Smallwood finished last year with a 4.1 rushing average, becoming only the fourth Eagles rookie running back to rush for 300 yards with an average of 4.0 or more in the last 35 years (also Correll Buckhalter, LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown).

And he felt before the injury he had come a long way from his rookie year.

I definitely think I took that step," he said. "From last year to this year, I took that leap that I needed, and I think just my running, I was more dialed in, my shoulder pads were getting low, I was running through people instead of trying to run around. I wasnt thinking so much. I was just playing with confidence.

"Now Ive just got to do itThursdaynight and every day were out here at practice."

See the article here:
NFL Notes: Bills' Anquan Boldin announces retirement - Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia