Setting money aside for retirement is no easy feat, especially when near-term bills monopolize your limited income. Such is the plight for a large number of younger workers -- millennials whose earnings have yet to peak and who are grappling with various forms of debt, from student loans to credit card balances.

But surprisingly, younger workers don't cite debt as the primary reason they're behind on retirement savings. According to TD Ameritrade's 2019 Retirement Pulse Survey, 66% of millennials say they need to catch up on building their nest eggs. But the No. 1 reason they're behind is none other than high housing expenses.

If your housing costs are preventing you from building long-term savings, you should know that that's a dangerous path on which to continue. And the sooner you change course, the greater your chances of giving your nest egg a much-needed boost and salvaging your senior years.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Whether you rent your home or own it, your housing costs shouldn't exceed 30% of your take-home pay. And if you fall into the latter category, that 30% threshold should include your mortgage payments, property taxes, and homeowners insurance. If you're currently spending well above that level, it could easily explain why you're struggling to build retirement savings.

But here's the problem: If you don't build retirement savings, you're apt to suffer when your senior years roll around. That's because most companies today don't offer pensions, which means that without personal savings, your only means of paying the bills in retirement will be Social Security. And while those benefits are certainly helpful, they'll only replace about 40% of the average earner's former income. Most seniors, meanwhile, need a good 70% to 80% of their previous earnings to maintain a decent lifestyle, which means that counting on Social Security alone is a dangerous thing.

Furthermore, if your goal is to travel a lot in retirement or live in a city you've always dreamed of spending time in, then you may need more than 70% to 80% of your former income to make that a reality. And that's why you can't afford to continue putting off your retirement savings. If you do, you'll likely end up falling short in the future.

What's the solution? If you're a renter, it's fairly simple: Move to a cheaper apartment once your lease is up. Switch neighborhoods if that's what it takes, or find a roommate to bunk with to lower your housing costs and free up cash for your nest egg. If you're already a homeowner, things do get a little bit trickier, but as long as you're not underwater on your mortgage, you can sell your home and downsize to a smaller one or buy a similarly sized property in a more affordable neighborhood with lower taxes.

Is moving a major sacrifice? Yes. But if your housing costs are keeping you from building savings, it's a worthwhile one to make.

Imagine that by slashing your housing expenses, you manage to free up $500 a month to sock away for retirement. If you do so over 35 years and invest that money at an average annual 7% return (which is more than doable with a stock-centric portfolio), you'll wind up with $829,000. Free up $600 a month, and you'll be looking at $995,000, all other things being equal.

The younger you are when you start saving for retirement, the more opportunity you'll give your money to grow. If housing expenses are getting in the way of your nest egg, do something about them -- before you lose out on even more valuable time.

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This Is the No. 1 Reason Millennials Struggle With Retirement Savings - The Motley Fool

Wondering about the best way to save for retirement in your 40s? Mid-life is a crucial point in any savers timeline. While you dont necessarily have time on your side like you did in your 20s, you still have enough time to put together a plan to retire comfortably.

We all know we should save throughout our working lifetimes. But many of us just dont get around to it.

It can be easy to build some level of comfort and security into later life if youll just start saving early, money expert Clark Howard says. But most people dont start thinking about saving until they hit 40. If thats you, its never too late to start saving.

With a little planning, you still have time to squirrel away a sizeable nest egg and were going to show you how!

For most people, you cant even begin to start thinking about saving until you free up some money in your life. Thats where a budget comes in.

Budget doesnt have to be a scary word. Sometimes people are put off by the idea of budgeting because they dont know how to get started.

While there are a lot of approaches to budgeting, there are two in particular we return to again and again here on Clark.com:

The CLARK method is our own budgeting plan developed in-house by members of Team Clark. Its easy to follow because we want people to be able to stick to it. And youre one click away from the free worksheet that will help you get started!

Meanwhile, the envelope method is a time-tested traditional approach to budgeting that you may already be aware of. But well make it easy for you to get started with this approach, too!

Chances are youre already participating in the retirement savings plan at work and you may not even know it!

Thats because most employers will automatically default you into some level of contribution. The only way to get out of it is to specifically take steps to opt out of the plan. Which you would never do, right?

Furthermore, some employers even offer a company match when you contribute to your 401(k) or Roth 401(k). Weve got a full explanation of the similarities and difference of both investment choices here.

If your employer is generous like this, you want to be sure youre contributing at least the minimum to pick up the full match. Otherwise, youre leaving free money on the table!

Note: If you have children, you may wonder whether saving for their college education should take a higher priority than saving for your own retirement.

Scholarships, grants, in-state tuition, community college and working during school can help your son or daughter deal with the cost of education. But you dont have any of those options for your later life. The only one who can make retirement happen for you is you!

Thats led Clark to make a pretty bold pronouncement over the years:

Do not save a penny for your childs college education until you fully fund your own retirement, he says. There are no scholarship plans for your golden years!

Finally, when you want to save for retirement in your 40s, you should also invest outside of the workplace. That often involves a tax-free account called a Roth IRA thats available to most people.

Weve got a complete explanation of how the Roth IRA works here.

We all know that life happens and things can get in the way of your savings plans. Maybe thats been the story of your life up until now.

Thats why its so important to have an emergency savings account. With an emergency fund, you wont have to halt your efforts to save for retirement in your 40s each time you see the dark clouds of a rainy day approaching.

Clark recommends you have between three to six months of living expenses stored in your emergency fund to deal with bumps and bruises of life.

Its not what somebody makes, its what it costs them to live each month, he says. I dont want somebody to be overwhelmed by [the three to six month number]. I want them to gradually build up the money for living expenses.

The key thing with your emergency savings is you want to keep the money liquid for when you need it on a moments notice. And you also want to earn a high rate of interest on the money to achieve compound growth.

Fortunately, there are so many places you can stash cash today. For example, there are a variety of online banks and fintech startups that pay a high rate of interest.

In fact, its not uncommon right now to earn at least 2% APY on your savings with these players versus the 0.09% or whatever paltry number you see with the traditional banks. You just have to look in the right places, which our guide to the best online banks will help you do.

Are you still paying high interest rates on a credit card? Now is a great time to get a lower interest card and do a balance transfer. Generally, youll need a FICO credit score of around 720 to get the best balance transfer offers. Be sure to read our article 6 Steps to Pay Off Debt With a Credit Card Balance Transfer before doing this.

Reducing your debt today is one surefire way to get on the path to retirement tomorrow. If youre carrying a lot of debt right now, you have at least one thing to be thankful for: With interest rates so low compared to what they have been in the past, what youre paying each month to service that debt is very favorable. Take advantage of this unique moment in American history and keep reducing your debt.

Particularly if youre around 45 or older, Clark Howard recommends looking at a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year one when youre buying or refinancing a home.

I know it might mean you have to buy a little bit smaller home to be able to afford the monthly payment on a 15-year loan if youre in your mid-40s or later, Clark says, but the benefit to your wallet and your financial security will be extraordinary.

You can read more of Clarks thoughts on this topic in our article Should I Take Out a 15-Year Mortgage Instead of a 30-Year Loan?

Just know this: The short-term sacrifice of a higher monthly payment on a 15-year loan will put you in good shape down the road. Thats because the latest research shows most happy retirees go into retirement either mortgage-free or with a five-year time horizon of wiping out their mortgage debt.

It doesnt matter whether youve been saving all along or youre just getting started saving for retirement in your 40s. Either way, you can still have a nice retirement if you just have a plan and stay focused on it.

Not sure how to get started saving for your retirement? Weve got a simple guide to How to Start Investing and Saving for Retirement that youll want to see.

We know saving for retirement can seem overwhelming at times. Thats why if youve got more questions we didnt cover, you might think about calling our Consumer Action Center.

We have a FREE help line open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. 7 p.m and Friday from 10 a.m. 4 p.m. EST with volunteers available to answer YOUR concerns! Call Team Clark @ 404-892-8227.

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5 Best Ways to Save for Retirement in Your 40s - Clark.com - Clark Howard

Retirees will spend a significant amount of money on health care. Still, many older Americans don't plan properly for it.

A healthy male-female couple retiring at age 65 in 2019 can now expect to shell out $285,000 on health-care expenses in retirement, according to Fidelity Investments' annual analysis.

Fidelity's analysis, which assumes the couple are eligible for Medicare, includes premiums, copays and other cost-sharing expenses, along with prescription-drug costs.

Two-thirds of retirees said dealing with health issues was among their top worries about retirement, according to a new study by Wells Fargo. Most people assume Medicare will cover their costs, but that is not the case.

Expenses that are not covered by Medicare dental coverage, basic vision and over-the-counter medicines would be on top of that $285,000 estimate.

The estimate also excludes long-term care costs.

According to Fidelity, about 15% of the average retiree's annual costs will be used for health-care-related expenses, including Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket expenses.

Of course, Medicare is the primary insurer for the 65-and-older crowd. Provided that you've paid your dues in the workforce for at least 10 years, you'll qualify for Part A at no cost, which covers hospital stays, skilled nursing facilities and hospice care.

You can opt in to Part B, which covers doctor visits and outpatient care, but requires a monthly premium.

You may also choose to enroll in Medicare Part C, or Medicare Advantage. These are plans from private insurers that can add more coverage such as vision, dental or prescription benefits.

Alternatively, if you have Medicare Parts A and B, you can apply for a supplemental insurance policy, called Medigap, to help cover health costs such as copayments, coinsurance and deductibles.

If you only want prescription coverage, you can opt for Medicare Part D instead of C.

To weigh what's best, your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP, has free counseling to help find the right plan.

More from Invest in You:Worried about a recession? Here's how to protect your financesThose weekly splurges cost $7,400 extra annuallyWhat's your smart money IQ?

There are also steps you can take to mitigate expenses where Medicare falls short.

For starters, review your plan. There are lots of Medicare plans available, with different levels of coverage. For example, with Medicare Parts A and B, you can see any doctor who accepts Medicare, but with a Medicare Advantage plan, it will be less expensive if you see doctors and go to hospitals that are in the plan's network.

Medicare open enrollment for 2020 runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. During this time, you can change from original Medicare to a private Medicare Advantage plan or switch back to original Medicare.

Compare prices for plans in your area through Medicare.gov or on your state insurance department site.

Fund a health savings account. Get ahead of health-care costs by investing tax-free dollars in an HSA before you enroll in Medicare.

Not only is the money contributed tax-deductible, but both the earnings and withdrawals as long as they're for health-care expenses are also not taxed.

Once medicare coverage begins, you can no longer contribute to the HSA but you can tap those funds to pay for any medical costs that are not covered, including copays and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Manage your retirement income. Generally speaking, the more you make, the higher your premiums will be for Medicare Parts B and D.

Once you've reached retirement, manage distributions from all your taxable, tax-deferred and Roth accounts in a way that will keep you in the lowest tax bracket as possible. Tap the accounts that allow tax-free withdrawals first such as Roth accounts and brokerage accounts, which are only taxable when you sell appreciated assets to distribute cash.

Distributions from HSA accounts, Roth IRA accounts and cash value life insurance policies don't count in the formula that determines your Medicare Part B premiums.

"Figuring out optimal withdrawal strategies is where a good accountant or financial planner can help clients save a lot of money," said physician and certified financial planner Carolyn McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.

Consider long-term care insurance. If you want to make sure you have funds to cover assisted living, nursing home or at-home care, look into buying a long-term care insurance policy.

These policies help cover the cost of care for two to five years or longer. Even though insurance premiums have been jumping by double digits, many financial advisors typically recommend maintaining this coverage for now.

See below for a comparison of how policy features and costs have changed over time.

CHECK OUT: 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a home, even if you can afford a down payment via Grow with Acorns+CNBC.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.

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Here's how to keep health-care costs down in retirement - CNBC

Las Cruces has been selected as a top retirement destination by Where to Retire Magazine. The city is profiled in the magazines November/December 2019 issue. Here is a statement from the City:

Annette Fuller, editor of Where to Retire Magazine, said Las Cruces possesses qualities important to todays retirees. A cultural hub in the Chihuahuan Desert, Las Cruces spices things up with its rich heritage and tasty chiles, Fuller said. The revitalized downtown boasts an art deco theater and a year-round farmers market. Thanks to the Organ Mountains and nearby White Sands National Monument, the city has plenty to do outdoors, and New Mexico State University provides sports and culture. The mayor touted the inclusive residents, calling them friendly, accommodating and gracious.

William F. Studer, Jr., Interim City Manager, said the magazines profile of Las Cruces is very much appreciated.

This is another welcomed accolade about Las Cruces quality of life and how it impacts our residents and visitors to the City, Studer said. Las Cruces continues to receive positive national attention as an appealing community for retirees, and our commitment to enhance and improve the quality of life for all of our residents remains strong.

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, more than 700,000 Americans relocate to new towns in retirement each year. Generally, these relocating retirees are healthier, better educated and more affluent than those who choose to not relocate, and they bring significant economic benefits to their new states and hometowns.

As an authority on retirement relocation since 1992, Where to Retire Magazine has covered hundreds of the best retirement regions, towns and master-planned communities. The magazine is published six times a year and has a U.S. circulation of 200,000. The magazine also selected Las Cruces in 2010 as top retirement destination.

A free trial issue of the magazine can be requested atWhereToRetire.com.

Also, Las Cruces has been selected as the host city of the New Mexico Senior Olympic Games for the next three years. Next year, the Games will be in Las Cruces from June 10, 2020 through June 13, 2020. As many as 1,200 athletes are anticipated to participate in the states 2020 Senior Olympic Games.

The New Mexico Senior Olympic Games will return to Las Cruces in June 2021 and June 2022, with specific dates still to be determined for those events.

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Las Cruces Featured in Where to Retire Magazine - KRWG

Illustration by Joel Arbaje

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My wife and I have made some big financial decisions over our 38-year marriage, but the most consequential was staying together.

Few things savage your personal finances more than divorce. The closer you are to retirement, the worse the damage.

Youve got a couple that planned their whole retirement to look one way, says Nancy Hetrick of Phoenix, a divorce financial analyst, and now the same money that was going to do one retirement has to do two of them.

The divorce rate for Americans over 50 began climbing in the early 1990s and has remained above historical norms while the rates for other age groups has declined.

About 1% of married Americans over age 50 get divorced each year, says Susan Brown, a sociology professor at Bowling Green State University who has published research on divorce. The picture is pretty grim, Dr. Brown says.

Especially in a gray divorce, you have only one shot to get it right.

Especially in a gray divorce, you have only one shot to get it right, says Diane Pappas, a divorce financial analyst in the Boston area. The husband and wife have to understand their expenses. The only way to live within their means is to understand what theyre spending and how much income they will have.Whats more, women are disproportionately affected financially by divorces: The average woman sees her standard of living decline by 45% after a split; the average man sees it go down 21%.

Why do women fare so much worse? Carol Lee Roberts, president of the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, which trains people in divorce financial planning, has seen many splits where the man takes the retirement account and the woman gets the house. The result is the man receives assets to help fund his retirement and the woman is saddled with the maintenance costs and property taxes of a house.

Often keeping a house, or any large asset that isnt giving you an income stream, isnt the best idea, Roberts says.

Women who stay home to raise children also often pay a Social Security penalty in retirement. If they didnt work enough to qualify for benefits on their own, they receive half the Social Security benefits of their husband if married 10 years or more.

Another big area of impact when couples split: Many people receive employer-sponsored health coverage through their spouses employer, and they often lose it in divorce.

The No. 1 issue that keeps people up at night is health insurance, says Jennifer Failla, an Austin, Texas, divorce financial analyst. People losing employer-sponsored insurance can get coverage for up to three years through a federal program called Cobra, but it is expensive.

Failla helps clients find private health coverage to save money but says they typically end up paying $500 to $800 a month for worse coverage than they had previously with the employee-sponsored plan.

Even upscale couples feel the pinch in a split-up. Justin Reckers, a divorce financial analyst in San Diego, handled a case where the main source of income, the husband, earned more than $500,000 a year. The 54-year-old wife had quit working seven years earlier to raise their children. She received roughly $3 million in assets as part of the divorce settlement, enough to give her $7,000 a month for life after taxes, but that pales in comparison to the $15,000 or more a month the couple was spending before the divorce.

Hetrick, the Phoenix divorce financial analyst, encounters a lot of couples where the romance died a long time ago but they are staying together because they think they cant afford separate houses. They dont hate each other, she says. Theyre just kind of roommates and have been for a long time.

When a couple comes in preparing for divorce, planners generally make two lists. One has all their income; the other all their expenses. Especially in a gray divorce, you have only one shot to get it right, says Diane Pappas, a divorce financial analyst in the Boston area. The husband and wife have to understand their expenses. The only way to live within their means is to understand what theyre spending and how much income they will have.

Pappas sometimes counsels people who are still on the fence about divorce. She recently talked to a couple in their late 60s who had amassed $3 million in assets, but the husband felt he didnt have enough to retire. That reluctance to retire was causing friction with his wife, who wanted to start enjoying life.

She told the husband he could afford to retire. So he did, and the couple is still together.

Questions? Comments? Write to us at retirement@barrons.com

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Divorce Is Costly. Divorce in Retirement Is Costly and Complicated. - Barron's

Go to any online newsfeed and you'll see a FIRE story, something about the "Financial Independence, Retire Early" movement. The stories go like this:

"I got tired of the rat race, saved like mad and quit my day job. Now I'm a happy blogger living like a king in Peru."

It makes for great lunch-break escape reading.

The hard part is figuring out if, when and where you can actually take early retirement. When you sit down and do the analysis, the decision turns on some key factors that have absolutely nothing to do with saving and investing.

Think of these four factors as gates, each one crucial to achieving FIRE.

Health insurance. If you are going to live in the United States, it's probably best not to retire before 65. That's when you are eligible for Medicare and a dramatically lower cost of health insurance and health care. If you have a modest income, you might be able to retire earlier by getting subsidized health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Premiums are based on your modified adjusted gross income. Your MAGI includes investment income as well as earned income. The more modest your income from all sources, the lower the out-of-pocket cost of your policy.

While there is a lot of public support for the Affordable Care Act particularly the elimination of pre-existing conditions efforts are still being made to get rid of it. That adds big-time risks to an early retirement. It's also why many, perhaps most, early retirees choose to live in other countries. In most of the industrialized world, health care isn't a financial hazard.

Empty nest or no children. Most of the FIRE stories I've read are about people who never had children or who are old enough that their kids are young adults on their own. Kids are expensive, so many FIRE couples tend to be empty-nesters in their 50s.

The U.S. birth rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reached a 32-year low in 2018. The total fertility rate continued to be lower than the "replacement rate" necessary to maintain our population level. These figures tell us that more individuals and couples are candidates for the FIRE lifestyle.

Still, not having children is far from mainstream.

Cost-conscious living. Making very deliberate decisions about how we spend our money is the bedrock of FIRE. This isn't a new idea. We can go back to Henry David Thoreau. But the most recent source is most likely traced to Duane Elgin, who wrote Voluntary Simplicityin the 1970s, and Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, who wrote Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independencein the 1990s.

But to follow this route requires that you learn how to swim against the flood tide of advertising and the acquired conditioning of our consumer culture. Most people are willing to talk about how they invest their money. Few are willing to talk about how they spend their money.

Why is that? Simple. Most people don't know how they spend their money. Instead, they discover how they spent it on a credit card statement.

That's not hyperbole. It's what I've learned from talking with a multitude of people over the past 40 years.

FIRE isn't about intense saving and brilliant investing. It's about deliberate spending decisions. The big opportunity here is that the American standard of living is so high, it is entirely possible to live very nicely on amounts that are far less than princely once you master marching to a different drummer.

Geographic arbitrage. One of the most repeated themes for FIRE candidates is using the power of money from here in the U.S. to buy a higher standard of living somewhere else. Think Mexico, Panama, Belize or Costa Rica in our part of the world. Think Portugal in Europe, or Thailand in Asia. Wherever it is, shelter is cheap to rent, medical services are affordable, and it's easy to live simply because everyone else does it, too.

Use these four gates well, and the money part is a lot easier.

Scott Burns is the creator of Couch Potato investing and a longtime personal finance columnist for The Dallas Morning News.

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Want to retire early? It's more about spending than saving - The Dallas Morning News

As I often mention to my clients, a successful retirement plan is one that must be not only created and written but also revisited annually to account for changes we can and cannot control. There are three pending proposals being considered in Congress that may change the landscape of retirement savings and distributions. The goals are to increase the flexibility of retirement savings, correct the Social Security solvency, and added protection for those receiving pensions. There are many advantages and a few drawbacks that will come at a cost to the working class, small business owners, and beneficiaries.

It's important to keep an eye on the progression of these bills so that you will have adequate time to adjust your cash flow in your personal retirement plan and determine the impact on your projected retirement date and savings.

It's important to keep an eye on the progression of these bills so that you will have adequate time to adjust your cash flow in your personal retirement plan and determine the impact on your projected retirement date and savings. There will also be considerations for revised tax and estate planning for non-spouse inheritances of retirement plans.

The SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act)

The first bill passed earlier this year in the U.S. House of Representatives with a 417-3 vote.There has been little progress in the Senate since then. The main objective for this Tax Act is to expand an individual's access to their retirement savings. Here is a summary of the key provisions:

Retirees Required minimum distributions (RMDs) will change from 70 1/2 to age 72 for mandatory distributions from your IRAs, 401(k), 403(b) and other employer-sponsored retirement plans. This can be helpful when you don't need the additional income. It also allows for tax-efficiency planning during the lower income years in retirement, which can range from age 60 to age 72. Consider making Roth IRA conversions during this 1 1/2 year time frame, collecting your distributions to fund life insurance, and pursuing planned charitable giving options.

Employees It will allow an inclusion of annuities and other lifetime income options to 401(k) plan participants. This can advantageous where there continues to be a reduction of employer-provided pensions, resulting in the need to create your own personal pension. Another change will allow qualified contributions to individual retirement accounts beyond age 70 1/2. Traditional IRAs will become like Roth IRAs without an age restriction. In order to make qualified contributions, other IRS requirements must be met and remain unchanged at this time.

Employers Some of the extended provisions will also cost business owners, with additional matching contributions and increased professional fees for revisions in the plan documents, to maintain compliance with federal and state laws.

Increased tax credits will be available for startup costs up to 50% of a small business's new retirement plan. This increases from $500 annually to $5,000 maximum tax credit.

Beneficiaries The bill proposed a major change in reducing the ability for an inherited stretch IRA for beneficiaries, which can be a disadvantage for estate planning. There will be a 10-year time limit for a non-spouse beneficiary to defer the distributions and income taxes on an inherited IRA. It will force taxation of retirement plans that are inherited in the first year or no later than 10 years from the inheritance. There are exceptions for non-spouse beneficiaries who are disabled, a minor, or chronically ill. Distributions for these exceptions would be over their life expectancy, although the exception for minors would end once they reach the age of majority with the final distribution to be taken within 10 years.

Spousal beneficiaries continue to be able to stretch and delay the inherited account's required minimum distributions (RMDs) until the end of the 72nd year of the deceased spouse. The delay was allowed until age 70 1/2 before this new proposed law.

Social Security 2100 Act

This new bill was introduced by Rep. Larson, D-Conn., in July 2019 and the objective of this tax act is to fix the solvency of the Social Security program into the next century. If no changes are made, it is projected that in 2035, the trust funds of Social Security will run out. If this happens, the promised amounts to be paid are 80% of current benefits. This would have an adverse lifelong impact on the retirement income of Americans, many of whom rely solely or partially on Social Security retirement benefits to cover their necessary living expenses.

Employees and Employers The bill requires raising payroll taxes to pay for the solvency correction. Increased Social Security taxes will be paid by current workers and the employers. The Social Security rates currently paid by an employee and matching paid by an employer is 6.2% up to maximum earnings each year of $132,900. The proposed increase is 7.4% for employees and employers up to a maximum annual salary of $400,000. For example, if an employee is making $250,000 in wages, their additional Social Security taxes will increase by $10,260 annually. The employer's expense will increase by this same amount. The additional cost will likely result in lower wage increases and lower retirement plan contributions by employees.

Social Security Recipients Those currently receiving Social Security benefits may receive a reduction in federal taxes paid on their Social Security income. Currently, taxation of up to 85% of Social Security benefits begins when non-Social Security income exceeds $25,000 for individuals and $32,000 for couples. The amounts would increase under this proposed bill to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for couples.

Rehabilitation for Multi-Employer Pensions Act

This bill passed in the House of Representatives on July 24, 2019, in a 264-169 vote. The objective of this new bill is to allow pension plans to borrow money in order to remain solvent and continue paying retirees. If passed, the new legislation would create a trust fund that lends money to the pension plans as financial solvency remains to be an issue with many private and public pension plans.

If any of these three pending proposals pass, there could be many positive changes for employees, employers, and retirees. The costs of the SECURE Act, Social Security 2100 Act, and Rehabilitation for Multi-Employer Pensions Act will be paid by the working class, small business owners, and beneficiaries. Monitoring the progression of these bills and the ever-changing tax code will be important to allow for timely planning and revisions necessary in your personal retirement plan, tax plan, and estate plan.

Investment advisory services offered through Retirement Wealth Advisors, Inc. (RWA), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Campbell & Company and RWA are not affiliated. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision. This information is designed to provide general information on the subjects covered. It is not, however, intended to provide specific legal or tax advice and cannot be used to avoid tax penalties or to promote, market, or recommend any tax plan or arrangement. Jackie Campbell, CPA and Campbell and Company, Certified Public Accountants and Financial Advisors are able to provide tax services. However, you are not obligated to work with Campbell and Company, Certified Public Accountants and Financial Advisors and Jackie Campbell, CPA for any tax services. You are encouraged to consult your tax advisor or attorney.

Insurance and annuities offered through Jacquelyn Campbell, FL Insurance License #W101492.

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3 New Retirement Rules That May Change Retirement As We Know It - Forbes

Saving for retirement is complicated and confusing, and there are dozens of factors to consider when creating your retirement plan. How much should you save? What age do you plan to retire? How much will healthcare costs affect your budget?

One factor in particular that can have a major impact on your retirement is Social Security, and yet most workers don't fully understand how the program works. In fact, a whopping 77% of workers incorrectly believe Social Security benefits won't be available to them once they retire, according to areport from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

While it's true that the Social Security program is facing some cash shortage issues, the problem isn't as bad as you may think. And not understanding what you can expect from Social Security can make it much harder to plan your retirement.

Image source: Getty Images.

There are plenty of startling headlines about the future collapse of Social Security, but it's not quite as grim as it seems. The program itself isn't going anywhere, because as long as people continue paying their taxes, there will always be at least some money to pay out in benefits. However, there is a chance that benefits could be cut in the next couple of decades.

Right now, as baby boomers retire in droves and life expectancies continue to climb, there's more money being paid out in benefits than is coming in from taxes. To bridge the gap, the Social Security Administration has dipped into its trust fund reserves to continue paying out benefits in full. Those trust funds are expected to run dry by 2035, though, at which point the only money that will be available to pay out in benefits is what comes in from taxpayers. Currently, the Social Security Administration predicts that tax money will only be enough to cover around three-quarters of expected benefits after 2035.

Of course, this is assuming Congress doesn't come up with a solution to fix the problem before then, most likely in the form of tax bumps or increasing the retirement age. While most workers won't like either of these solutions, if the government doesn't do anything, retirees may only receive around 75% of their expected benefits.

So what does this mean for you? In short, it means you should probably start preparing for a potential reduction in Social Security benefits. The government may figure out a solution before you retire, but if not, you could be in for a rude awakening if you're planning to rely on your benefits for a significant chunk of your retirement income.

Because the future of Social Security is in the government's hands, there's little the average worker can control. That said, there are a couple of things you can do to maximize your benefits and protect your retirement income.

One way to increase the amount you receive each month from Social Security is to delay claiming until after your full retirement age (FRA). Your FRA is either age 66, 66 and a few months, or 67, depending on the year you were born, and claiming at that age will ensure you receive the full amount you're entitled to. If you claim before that age (as early as age 62), your benefits will be reduced by up to 30%.

If the SSA is forced to cut benefits in the future, your checks could be reduced significantly if you claim before your FRA. But by waiting to claim until after your FRA (up to age 70), you'll receive extra money each month on top of your full amount. If your FRA is age 67, you'll receive a 24% boost each month by waiting until age 70 to claim, which can take the sting out of any potential benefit reductions.

Another way to increase your benefits is to work a few more years. Your basic benefit amount (or the amount you'll receive if you claim at your FRA) is based on an average of the 35 highest-earning years of your career. If you haven't worked a full 35 years, you'll have zeros in the equation for the years you haven't worked, lowering your average. Even if you have worked at least 35 years, you might choose to work longer so that some of your more current, higher-earning years can replace your lower-earning years from earlier in your career.

Keep in mind that although it's a good idea to maximize your benefits the best you can, at the end of the day, your monthly checks aren't designed to cover the majority of your retirement expenses. Your benefits are only intended to replace roughly 40% of your pre-retirement income, so you'll need a significant amount in personal savings as well to cover all your retirement costs.

Social Security is not on the brink of collapse, but there may be some changes in the coming years. Regardless of whether benefits are reduced or not, it's important to have a plan in place just in case you don't receive as much as you anticipate. The more you understand about how the future of Social Security affects your retirement plan, the more prepared you'll be.

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The 1 Thing Most People Get Wrong About Retirement - The Motley Fool

City population: 46,747

Share of population 65+: 14.4%

Cost of living for retirees: 19.2% above the national average*

Average income for population 65+: n/a

Community score: 59.8*

State's tax rating for retirees: Least Tax Friendly

Like much of the Northeast, Connecticut is known to be a high-cost area, and Middletown is no exception. But the Hartford metro area, of which Middletown is a part, is at least more affordable than other major metro areas in the state, including Stamford and New Haven, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research. And local residents tend to pull in high enough incomes to make it work. The city's average income for all households is $90,977 a year, and it's even better for the older population with incomes for residents age 60 and up averaging $92,851 a year.

Plus, being home to Wesleyan University, Middletown offers all the benefits of retiring to a college town, including numerous restaurants, shops and cultural attractions. You can also take advantage of the Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning, which offers no-credit courses, lectures and other educational opportunities at minimal cost and is open to the entire community. And while the nearby city of Hartford has an alarmingly high crime ratewith 1,093.8 violent crimes per 100,000 residents reported, compared with the national rate of 473.2 for cities of similar sizeMiddletown is far safer with a mere 49 violent crimes total reported for the year.

*Data for the Hartford metropolitan statistical area, which includes Middletown.

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Expensive Places to Retire That Are Worth It 2019 - Kiplinger's Personal Finance

If you've been dreaming about retirement for decades, chances are you're itching to retire as soon as you can. However, more and more Americans find themselves working longer than they anticipated, sometimes working years past the traditional retirement age.

The average worker age 65 and older doesn't expect to be able to retire until age 72, a new survey from Provision Living found. Of those who are still working, 60% say the decision is a financial one. Nearly 4 in 10 say they simply can't afford to retire, and another quarter say they're still working to support their families.

While it's a good thing that workers aren't retiring before they're ready, centering your retirement plan around working as long as possible may not be the best idea.

Image source: Getty Images.

If your savings are falling short, you may simply choose to continue working into your 70s or beyond to make up for it. On the surface, this is a smart idea. Working even a few years longer can help you save thousands more for retirement, and because you're retiring later in life, you won't have to save quite so much.

That said, delaying retirement has its drawbacks -- particularly if life throws a wrench in your plans.

Close to half (43%) of retirees say they had to retire earlier than they had planned, a report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found. Of those who were forced into an early retirement, the most common causes included health problems that prevented them from working and job loss due to company restructuring or downsizing.

These types of situations are out of your control and can crop up out of the blue, making them difficult (if not impossible) to plan for. However, if you're banking on the idea of being able to work forever, you're potentially putting your retirement at risk if things don't work out the way you'd planned.

Nobody wants to think about the possibility of health issues or layoffs ending their career early, but it's important to at least have that thought in the back of your mind if you're expecting to work past the traditional retirement age. More importantly, though, it's a good idea to have a backup plan in mind, just in case you're forced into an early retirement.

The easiest way to avoid letting an earlier-than-expected retirement catch you off guard is to simply save more when you're younger. That way, you can continue working if you'd like, but in the event that you have to leave your job sooner than you anticipated, you won't be left in the lurch with next to nothing saved.

That option is not always possible or realistic, though, especially if you're already in your 50s or 60s with little in savings. In that case, you'll need a different strategy to maximize your retirement income.

For example, you may choose to delay claiming Social Security benefits for as long as you can. Although you can begin claiming at age 62, for every year you wait to claim, you'll receive approximately 8% more per year until age 70. That could result in hundreds more per month for the rest of your life, which can go a long way if your savings are falling short.

Besides maximizing your income in retirement, it's also important to minimize your expenses. Establish a thorough budget and map out all your costs to ensure you're not overspending on unnecessary expenses, and try to cut back wherever you can. Depending on how far behind you are on your savings, you may even choose to take drastic measures such as downsizing your home or moving to a less expensive city.

Even if you don't think it could happen to you, it's always important to plan for the unexpected. You could be in excellent health and in good standing at your job, but that doesn't mean life won't throw curveballs at you in the future.

Be realistic when choosing a retirement age, and make sure you're thinking about any potential drawbacks of working as long as possible. You may very well be able to work for as long as you'd like, but it's smart to have a backup plan in mind just in case that strategy doesn't pan out. By expecting the unexpected, you can bolster your retirement plan and enjoy your golden years as comfortably as possible.

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This Is the Age When the Average Older American Expects to Retire - The Motley Fool