Salines-Mondello Law Firm, PC

I’m Between 55 and 64, How Do I Boost My Retirement Savings?

“If you're between 55 and 64, you still have time to boost your retirement savings. Whether you plan to retire early, late, or never ever, having an adequate amount of money saved can make all the difference, both financially and psychologically. Your focus should be on building out—or catching up, if necessary.”

It’s never too soon to begin saving. However, the last decade prior to retirement can be crucial. By then you’ll probably have a pretty good idea of when (or if) you want to retire and, even more important, still have some time to make changes, if need be.

If you discover that you need to put more money away, Investopedia’s article “Top Retirement Savings Tips for 55-to-64-Year-Olds” gives you several time-honored retirement savings tips to consider.

1. Fund Your 401(k) to the Max. If your employer has a 401(k) or a similar plan, and you aren’t already funding yours to the maximum, up your contributions. These plans are an easy and automatic way to invest, plus you’ll defer paying taxes on that income until you withdraw it in retirement. You may be in a higher marginal tax bracket now than you will be during retirement, because you’re in your peak earning years. As a result, you’ll see a smaller tax bill in retirement. This applies to traditional 401(k)s and other plans. If your job offers a Roth 401(k) and you participate, you’ll pay taxes on the income now but be able to make tax-free withdrawals later.
2. Review Your 401(k) Allocations. Experts tells us that you should invest more conservatively as you get older, with more money in bonds and less in stocks. That’s because if your stocks drop in a prolonged bear market, you won’t have the time needed to recover. As a result, you may have to sell your stocks at a loss. Stocks still have growth potential and are a hedge against inflation, unlike bonds. Therefore, remain diversified in both stocks and bonds, but do this in an age-appropriate manner.
3. Look into an IRA. If you don’t have a 401(k) plan to join at work—or if you’re already funding yours to the max—another retirement investing option is an IRA. There are two types: traditional and Roth. With a traditional IRA, the money you contribute is generally tax-deductible upfront. With a Roth, you receive a tax break later with tax-free withdrawals. Each has its own set of rules for contributions, so educate yourself on the differences.
4. Know Your Sources of Income for Retirement. Your level of aggressiveness in saving also depends on the other sources of income you can reasonably expect to have in retirement. When you hit your mid-50s or early 60s, you can get a much better estimate than earlier in your career. After you’ve contributed to Social Security for 10 years or more, you can get a personalized estimate of your future monthly benefits using the Social Security Retirement Estimator. Your benefits are based on your 35 highest years of earnings, so they may increase if you continue working. Your benefits will also vary, based on when you start collecting them. You can start taking benefits as early as age 62, but they’ll be permanently reduced from what you’ll receive if you wait until your “full” retirement age (currently between 66 and 67 for anyone born after 1943). You can also wait and start getting your Social Security up to age 70 and see the largest amount possible.
5. Don’t Mess with Your Retirement Savings. After age 59½, you can begin making penalty-free withdrawals from your traditional retirement plans and IRAs. With a Roth IRA, you can withdraw your contributions (not their earnings) penalty-free at any time. In addition, the IRS has an exception known as “the Rule of 55.” This waives the early-withdrawal penalty on retirement plan distributions for workers 55 and over (50 and over for some government employees) who lose or leave their jobs. This is a complicated rule, so speak to your estate planning attorney. It is important to understand that just because you can make withdrawals doesn’t mean you should, unless you absolutely need the money. The longer you keep your retirement accounts “in the bank” (up to age 72, when you must begin to take required minimum distributions from some), the better off you’re likely to be.
6. And Remember the Taxes. When you make withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) plan or traditional IRA, you’ll be taxed at your rate for ordinary income—not the lower capital gains rate.

Reference: Investopedia (June 11, 2019) “Top Retirement Savings Tips for 55-to-64-Year-Olds”

Saving for Retirement through Ages and Stages

“You have to think about what future you want to hear, who’s in the car with you and (at the risk of sounding morbid) how long the playlist needs to be, to get you to your final destination.”

Making those golden years truly golden and relatively worry free, takes some planning that starts ideally with the first job, says the Skimm’s article “9 Retirement Questions from Skimm’rs, Answered.” Let’s see how the road to retirement runs:

Pay off a student loan or contribute to a 401(k)? Start paying off those student loans the moment the grace period ends. If income is tight, make saving a few months’ worth of income a priority, so you can stay on track with loan payments, if you lose your job or change jobs. Once your income is steady and there’s a little breathing room in your budget, then start contributing to the 401(k) plan at work. If your employer matches your contributions, take advantage of that: it’s free money!

I’m 35 and I’ve only got $15,000 saved—what now? At the mid-thirty mark, you’ve still got time to save for retirement. If you have a 401(k), you can put away as much as $19,000 a year for retirement. Save what you can and try to bump it up every year.

How much should I have saved by age 40? One theory is that you should have half of your salary saved in retirement accounts by age 30, twice your salary by age 40, four times your salary by age 50 and six times your salary by age 60. Most Americans don’t hit those numbers, but they are a good goal. One thing to try, is to trim expenses. If you are able to live on less when you are earning income, you may be better prepared for retirement. Many people increase their spending, when their earnings increase. That’s a mistake. Save more now, and you’ll have more retirement savings later.

Want to hit a precise target? If you can get into the habit of saving 10-20% of every dollar you earn once you start working, you’ll be all set when retirement comes. This is one of those good habits that will serve you well throughout life. It will be easier to increase savings, as your paycheck increases.

Is there a good annual retirement salary target? Here’s what most people don’t realize—not everyone spends less in retirement. There’s more free time, and that often means more spending. Health care costs also go up in retirement. You should plan to need anywhere from 70-90% of your current income in retirement.

What about retirement accounts, like IRAs and Roths? A SIMPLE IRA is an employer-sponsored retirement account. Employers are required to contribute on the employee’s behalf, whether or not the employee contributes. These are often used in small businesses or self-employed businesses. A Roth IRA is a retirement account opened by an individual. You must have “earned income” to start one, and the maximum annual contribution is $6,000 in 2019. It is $7,000, if you are over age 50.

Roth or traditional IRA? The answer to this question depends on your income situation. If you’ve just started out in the workforce and have decades of savings in front of you (and if you’re under the IRS income threshold), the Roth may be best. However, if you are in a high income tax bracket and want to defer paying taxes on retirement savings to when you take withdrawals from these accounts, then a traditional IRA is your best choice.

Resource: the Skimm (Sep. 16, 2019 “9 Retirement Questions from Skimm’rs, Answered”

Stretch IRA Is Useful but May become Tool of the Past

You can call your Congressional representative but there is little else you can do.

A proposed change in Congress may make it more difficult for those who wish to provide a tool for their children to build wealth and security, according to nj.com in “Your kid’s inheritance could take a giant tax hit if these bills become law. Thanks, Congress.”

For years, non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit IRAs have had the ability to stretch out required distributions over their lifetimes. That meant that inherited IRAs could say safe and sound out of the IRS’s reach, except for annual distributions that were quite small. If a grandchild inherited the IRA, the wealth stretched even further.

Depending on the final details of the legislation, the only people who will be able stretch an IRA will be spouses.

Current rules require non-spouse beneficiaries to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) every year over the course of their life expectancy, as per the IRS life expectancy tables. Because they are taken over the lifetime of a younger beneficiary, they can be small. This means the impact of the distribution on the individuals’ income taxes are minimal and the IRA can grow tax deferred over a long period of time.

Congress is looking for revenue, and the wealth of Americans in IRA accounts is in their sight lines.

First, the House passed the SECURE Act, which says that beneficiaries must completely empty their inherited IRAs within 10 years of ownership. The Senate then passed the RESA Act, which is a little different. It would allow a stretch for the first $450,000 of aggregated IRAs, then anything over thatwould have to be distributed within five years.

Both bills call for changes to apply to inherited IRAs and inherited Roth IRAs for deaths after December 31, 2019. What’s the bottom line? The Joint Committee on Taxation expects that these changes, if they become law, will yield $15.7 billion—with a “B”—in additional tax revenue through 2029.

The government would eventually get this money anyway, but this speeds things up considerably.

Let’s compare and contrast. An 80-year old woman has a traditional IRA worth $1 million. She dies and her 55-year-old daughter is the primary beneficiary. Under the current rules, the daughter’s first RMD is roughly $35,000. If the 25-year-old granddaughter was the beneficiary, the RMD would be roughly $18,000.

If the account earns an average of 5% annually, under the current rule, the granddaughter would have distributions of some $220,000 over ten years. If she had ten years to take the money out, she’d have about $1.3 million in distribution. Under the current rule, the account would have a $1.3 million balance after ten years, since the principal would continue to appreciate. Under the proposed rules, after ten years, it would be zeroed out.

The forced larger distributions will push heirs into higher tax income brackets. That will be followed by increased Medicare premiums as heirs retire with higher income. Add to that: higher capital gains rate, from as low to zero to as high as 20%. If that’s not bad enough, it could also trigger the 3.8% net Investment Income tax.

One option is to move funds from a regular IRA to a Roth IRA, assuming the investor meets all the requirements to do so. The Roth IRA distributions would not be taxable (unless those laws change) but that also requires the current owner to pay taxes on funds moved to the Roth IRA.

Another option is to consider a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) that names a charity as the IRA beneficiary. Upon the death of the owner, the IRA is distributed to the CRT, and the IRA owner’s heir would receive a fixed percentage of the CRT’s value for the remainder of their lives. When the heir dies, the money in the CRT goes to a charity or charities designated by the IRA owner, when the trust was created.

An estate planning attorney can advise you in creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances and can include protecting your IRA savings for you, as well as your family.

Reference: nj.com (June 10, 2019) “Your kid’s inheritance could take a giant tax hit if these bills become law. Thanks, Congress”

Should Your Retirement Money Go to You or the Children?

Options for retirees are often to enjoy retirement, pursue passions or leave inheritance.

The growing cost of retirement that can sometimes be three decades long, brings some difficult questions for retirees: spend it or save it, according to the Warwick Advertiser in “Will You Spend Your Retirement Savings or Leave It Behind? The Answer May Surprise You.”

For many people, the goal of retirement is to do all the things that had to be put off while working. That might include a hobby that requires time and resources, traveling, purchasing a vacation home, or fulfilling a dream of going back to school. If that’s your retirement dream, bear in mind that these dreams all come with costs. Spending in the early stages of retirement often goes up, as retirees are still healthy enough to do everything on their bucket lists.

Given the reality of longer life expectancies, it’s important for retirees to understand that they may be living from their retirement investments for three or more decades. That means that you’ll need to have enough money to cover routine expenses plus health care and most likely, long-term health care services. Make sure your financial planning takes these factors into account.

Once you know how much money you’ll need for your costs of living and health care, plus inflation, then what’s left behind is your retirement fun money.

Knowing how to work within the constraints of a budget is actually more important during retirement. You can’t just go back to work for a few decades, if you find yourself running short. You still may need to pick up a part-time gig on the side.

What if leaving a legacy is more important to you than buying a second home? Just like the plan for retirement fun, you’ll need to do some financial planning to make this goal come to fruition. Remember that your legacy will include whatever is left at the time of your death, as well as what you may give while you are living.

Giving your children or grandchildren their inheritance while you are alive, is a way to enjoy the gift twice — once when you give and a second time when you see what they do with your gift. You might want to help the family reach their own financial milestone, like covering the cost of a college degree, helping with a deposit on a home or helping to pay off a mortgage.

Charitable giving may also be part of your legacy. If there is a charity, foundation, or alma mater that aligns with your values, you may choose to set aside a portion of your estate for a donation.

Regardless of whether you are planning on spending everything, giving away your assets to family members, or to a preferred charity, an estate plan is necessary.

An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.

Reference: Warwick Advertiser (April 18, 2019) “Will You Spend Your Retirement Savings or Leave It Behind? The Answer May Surprise You”

Tax Planning Is Only a Part of Estate Planning

The tax codes change, and the estate plans need a fresh look.

The new tax laws have not made estate planning simpler. They have created a situation where it would be wise to take a fresh look at estate, retirement and disability planning, because those plans work together in one package, according to the Daily Times in “Planning Ahead: Estate planning is not just tax planning.”

Wills have often been drafted for people in upper tax brackets concerning assets and what belongings should be passed to children and grandchildren. However, because federal estate exemptions are now very different, the question arises on whether the estate plan achieve the goals desired?

Here are some of the questions to ask:

• What do I own?
• Can I maximize what I own?
• Where will my assets go upon my death?
• Who will care for minor children or disabled relatives, if I die?
• What will happen if I become disabled?
• Will I have enough to pay for my children’s education, my retirement, or for even my potential disability or that of my spouse?

Estate planning goes beyond drafting a simple will, or even a complex trust. Wills and trusts are personal documents. Sometimes people decide that other things are more important than taxes. That’s why a simple online form does not answer all the questions when creating a will.

An unmarried couple may decide there are more tax benefits to being married, if a state has an inheritance tax that is higher for people who are not related. 

It makes the most sense to name a young person as a beneficiary of an IRA, so the asset can grow (“stretch”) over the years. However, you may have someone else in mind for the IRA.

Decision making in estate planning is not something that happens instantly, and it does change over time. That is why it is important to review an estate plan every few years. 

The critical thing is to have an estate plan in place. You can adjust it as time goes by, but without one your family faces many added difficulties and costs.

An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.

Reference: Daily Times (April 9, 2019) “Planning Ahead: Estate planning is not just tax planning”

Planning for Retirement? Study Your Expectations Carefully

Look over your finances and be careful of credit card debt.

When planning retirement, a person must be very careful, if part of the plan is inheriting from an estate or selling a business, according to an article in Hometown Life “Playing off charge card debt a major priority.”

The first sentence in the article tells the entire story: “I…have never taken an active interest in my finances.” The person never had his business evaluated by a professional and learned at age 60 that his business had no resale value. In addition, he learned that his parents were supporting a sister and any inheritance he was anticipating would not be enough to live on.

Making matters worse, he has more than $80,000 in credit card debt on various cards, at interest rates between 18% and 21%. With next to no equity in his home and a home equity loan and a mortgage, this person has only one asset: an IRA worth around $100,000.

At some point in their lives, most people realize that they must be active participants in their financial lives. They need a budget to contain spending and a savings plan, so they can enjoy their retirement and control of their credit card debt. It sounds like this man just got a wake-up call.

He wonders how to resolve his credit card debt, but it seems there are a number of other issues that need to be addressed.

First, he should pay off his credit card debt. At 18% to 21%, there is no investment he could make that would come near that rate. One way to do this, is to increase his monthly payments. It may take many years to knock down such a large debt, so another option is to use his IRA to pay off the money immediately.

Equally important is for him to commit to use the money he would have otherwise used to pay off credit card debt and invest that into a retirement fund. It doesn’t matter if he uses an IRA, a SEP or a Roth, but he needs to be disciplined and start putting money away for his retirement.

Potential inheritances are troublesome for people who count their chickens before they hatch. Until the inheritance is safely in your own bank account, you cannot count on it. In a time where living expenses are high and people are living longer, fewer and fewer people are expecting to receive inheritances. Basing a lifestyle around an expected inheritance, can only lead to financial disaster.

Preparing for retirement and taking an active role in managing your finances, is a life-long task and part of our responsibility as adults. It is also wise to have an estate plan in place.

Reference: Hometown Life (March 3, 2019) “Playing off charge card debt a major priority”

Plan Retirement but You Also Have to Live Now

How much do I need to save and how much can I afford to save?

Saving for retirement can sometimes be overwhelming. This is because while you’re saving for the future,  you have to pay the bills in the present, according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press in “Your Money: Helping you live in the moment and plan for the future.” Can it really be accomplished?

The question is asked frequently by people at all ages and stages of their lives. Here are some tips on how you can use comprehensive financial planning — by looking at a variety of retirement income savings methods and income strategies — to make the most of retirement savings. Some of them may not apply now, but you’ll need to know about them in the future, like Social Security.

Do you have a retirement savings strategy? Not everyone takes advantage of the 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs that are available. Some of these retirement accounts come through an employer, and a traditional IRA can be set up on your own. If you work for a company that offers the option of having a Roth IRA and you’re just starting your career, it could be a great option. You pay taxes on contributions now, when your income may be lower, but when you take distributions, you won’t pay income tax on them. There are no required distributions for a Roth IRA — other retirement accounts require a certain amount of yearly withdrawals. If you are in a high-income tax bracket, the Roth IRA is not for you.

Social Security strategies make a big difference in retirement income. Deciding when to take benefits is complicated. However, it is well worth the effort. It could be a difference of thousands of dollars over time. Realize that the later you start taking benefits, up until your 70^th birthday, the greater the benefits will be. Your Full Retirement Age or FRA is currently age 66 for Americans born between 1943–1954, and a few months older for those born later. You can apply for benefits as early as age 62, but you’ll get a reduced benefit — as much as 25%!

What about a Roth conversion? For some people, enhancing their retirement savings by moving existing savings into accounts that offer better tax advantages, adds up nicely for current and future tax brackets. A Roth conversion is when you pay the tax on all or a portion of a traditional IRA and move it into a Roth IRA, where it continues growing. If you have owned the account for at least five years, you can then take withdrawals out tax free, once you turn 59½. Note that this is a complicated decision that must be made in conjunction with all of your other retirement and investment funds.

Planning for retirement income is just that: planning. The alternative — winging it and hoping for the best — rarely works out. The earlier you begin planning for your retirement, the more likely it is that you’ll enjoy this phase of your life.

An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances, as well as plans for retirement.

Reference: Twin Cities Pioneer Press (Jan. 26, 2019) “Your Money: Helping you live in the moment and plan for the future”

Save for Retirement over Many Decades

A 40-year saving plan can go a long way toward a healthy financial retirement.

A key to financial security in retirement is to begin saving early. An example of success is Orville Rogers, who was flying around the country to attend master’s level track meets during his retirement, according to Money in “This 100-Year-Old Has Been Retired for 40 Years, Has a Healthy Savings Account and Is a Track Champion. Here’s His Impressive Path to a Rich Retirement”

Longevity in savings that aligns with his years is a powerful force. He started saving in 1952, 25 years before the creation of the retirement savings plan, we know today as a 401(k). Back in the day, companies provided their employees with pension plans and those without a pension plan lived on Social Security when they retired. Life expectancies were shorter, so you didn’t need quite so much money. Rogers was born in 1917, and his peer group’s life expectancy was about 48.4 years old.

By saving for retirement and using his downtime between flights to educate himself about money, he started investing and says that his account is now worth around $5 million. He says he wasn’t particularly frugal either and supported his church and other Christian causes throughout his life. However, he had time on his side, making periodic investments over an extended period of time.

Another practice that extends life: exercise. Rogers took up running at age 50 and hasn’t stopped yet. Studies have shown that anyone, at any age or stage, is helped by a regular schedule of physical activity, tailored to your personal needs. Even people who are wheelchair bound and living in a nursing home can benefit from a chair exercise program. Among older seniors, the ability to walk a quarter mile (one lap around a track), is linked to better health outcomes.

Until recently, Rogers ran five to six miles a week. He’s in rehab now and working his way back to his prior running and training schedule.

When you live as long as Rogers has, you outlive a lot of family members and friends. Rogers moved into a retirement community two years after his wife died, making new friends because, as he says, “… if I don’t, I’d have none left.”

Faith has also been a strong force in his life over these many years. At 98, he wrote a book, The Running Man: Flying High for the Glory of God. When he was starting out in his retirement years, he flew church missions in Africa.

An estate planning attorney can advise you in creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.

Reference: Money (Nov. 2018) “This 100-Year-Old Has Been Retired for 40 Years, Has a Healthy Savings Account and Is a Track Champion. Here’s His Impressive Path to a Rich Retirement”

Don’t Make These Retirement Errors

It is wise to work toward not HAVING to go back to work.

Looking ahead to retirement isn’t just about putting the money away for retirement funds. You also have to recognize that you are entering a new phase of life and not only have to prepare for it but you need to avoid mistakes, according to The Motley Fool in “4 Retirement Planning Mistakes You Probably Don’t Even Realize You’re Making.”

Here are some mistakes to avoid:

Relying heavily on Social Security. If your financial plan for retirement is based only on income from Social Security, you won’t be retired for long. Millions of Americans who worked their entire lives enjoy the benefits of Social Security when they retire. Those benefits play a big role in keeping up with expenses. However, one income stream alone won’t cover your retirement living costs. Social Security was never designed to be the only income for retirement. It will only replace approximately 40% of your working income. If you earned more than the average worker, Social Security will cover even less of your prior income.

Most seniors need about 80% of their working income to live comfortably. You’ll need to make sure that your retirement income includes many other sources. This may mean a retirement plan like an IRA or a 401(k) that you fund while working. It may also mean working part-time (or full-time) during retirement, renting out your home or several other possibilities. The key point: Social Security will help out a little in retirement but it won’t be enough.

Thinking your living costs will drop dramatically. Unless you sell everything that you own and live in an RV (and there are many retirees who do that), chances are most of your cost of living will remain the same when you retire. For some people, the cost of travel and entertainment actually increases. Think about how you spend your money now. You’ll still need housing, food, a car and to pay for utilities. You may not need work clothes and you can eat lunch at home. However, everything else pretty much stays the same.

Except for healthcare. That is a cost that will only increase.

To avoid financial struggles in the later part of your retirement, map out a retirement budget that accurately reflects the real costs you’ll need to cover. If your savings are not healthy enough, then you may need to postpone retirement for a few years.

Ignoring catch-up contributions. For many people, saving for retirement doesn’t start until after the children leave the house, graduate from college or both. That’s why there are several opportunities for people who are 50 plus, to catch up on their retirement savings.

If you have an IRA and are at least 50, you can add $1,000 each year for an annual total of $6,500 (workers under 50 may contribute only $5,500). If you’re putting away money into a 401(k), you can make a $6,000 catch-up contribution for an annual total of $24,500 (compared to $18,500 for younger folks).

Paying taxes during retirement. If you’ve done a good job of saving and are receiving Social Security benefits, you may find yourself with more money than you’d expected—and a bigger tax bill than anticipated. You’ll get taxed a few ways in retirement:

• Unless you have a Roth IRA or 401(k), your withdrawals will be taxed as ordinary income.
• If your income exceeds a certain threshold, Social Security benefits will be taxable–up to 85%.
• Interest and investment income are also taxable.

An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances, as well as your options in preparing for retirement.

Reference: The Motley Fool (Sep. 12, 2018) “4 Retirement Planning Mistakes You Probably Don’t Even Realize You’re Making”

 

The 50s: A Time for Decisions and Change

If you have found your niche, now its time to take advantage of it.

Are you in your 50s and now have some disposable income? It is time to take advantage of retirement planning opportunities, according to the Sioux City Journal in “In Your 50s? Do These 3 Things to Plan for Your Retirement.”

Unfortunately, many people who turn 50 start thinking now is the time to retire early, go on extravagant vacations or buy themselves big ticket items that they’ve always wanted. A better approach: consider this a time to make the most of your income, keep saving for retirement and stay on a steady course.

Use the catch-up options available to you. The federal government knows that many people don’t have the means or the motivation to save for retirement until later in their careers. That’s why there are several provisions in the tax laws that let you catch up, once you reach 50.

• You can put away an additional $1,000 above the annual contribution limit to an IRA.
• You can add $6,000 in annual contribution to 401(k)s and similar employer-sponsored plans after age 50.
• Once you pass your 55^th birthday, you can make an additional $1,000 annual contribution to health savings accounts.

If you’ve got the cash to spare, these are great opportunities.

Educate yourself about Social Security. Many people rely on Social Security for their retirement, while others use it as a safety net. You’ll want to start learning about the rules. 

When you take your first benefits has an impact on how much you’ll receive over your lifetime. Yes, you can start at age 62, but the difference in the amount you’ll get at 62 versus 70 is substantial. If you plan to keep working indefinitely, maximizing earnings is the best way to boost your Social Security benefits.

Get access to savings in the early years of retirement. If you can afford to retire in your 50s, know when you can tap your retirement savings. If you’ve used regular taxable accounts to invest your savings, it won’t matter when you make withdrawals. However, if your money is locked up in 401(k)s, SEPs, IRAs and other tax favored accounts, you’ll need to know the rules. Penalties for taking withdrawals before the specified age, can take a big bite out of your retirement accounts.

It is hard to think about working every day for another 10 years or 20 years once you’ve celebrated your 50^th birthday. However, keeping these three key ideas in mind as you plan for the future, will help put you in the best financial state possible.

If you are in your 50s, now is the time to meet with an estate planning attorney for advice on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances.

Reference: Sioux City Journal (Aug. 25, 2018) “In Your 50s? Do These 3 Things to Plan for Your Retirement”