If your jeans dont button quite as easily as they used to and your shirts feel extra snug these days, youre not alone: Thousands of older folks struggle with weight gain when they retire. So, is retirement making you fat?

At a time when out-of-pocket medical costs have been steadily rising for seniors, its a question thats just as important to financial well-being as to physical health. And its possible that retirement is connected to adding extra pounds, according to several recent studies.

A study from the Institute for Health Policy Studies titled The Effect of Retirement on Weight, for example, studied a group of almost 38,000 retirees and concluded that retirement is connected to modest weight gain. The study focused on body mass index, or BMI, which is calculated by dividing a persons weight by his or her height. The researchers found that the average person added .24 to their body mass index upon retirement.

Thats not a huge amount -- typically 2 to 4 pounds. But other research suggested that some subgroups of retirees were more vulnerable. In a separate study, women who retired were more likely to gain weight than their same-age working counterparts. A third study found that men who retired from physically demanding jobs were more likely than others to gain weight within six years.

So whats the explanation for these extra pounds? Some of the weight gain may be due to the fact that many people are less physically active when they retire, and that they have less structured meal times or change their eating patterns in retirement, according to a study from the University of Iowa College of Medicine. And some of it has less to do with retirement per se than with the aging process. Our metabolisms slow as we age, explains Desmond Ebanks, a doctor and founder of Alternity Healthcare, a medical practice that focuses on older patients. In fact, we have to give up about 5% of the amount of calories we are eating every decade after 40 if we want to prevent weight gain, estimates fitness and lifestyle coach Rona Lewis, author of Does This Cookbook Make Me Look Fat?

This weight gain can do more than just impact your body image -- it can cost you, big. There is no question that being obese or overweight is more costly than being of normal weight, write the authors of A Heavy Burden: The Individual Costs of Being Overweight and Obese in the United States, a 2010 study from researchers at George Washington Universitys School of Public Health and Health Services. In fact, the study showed that each year, morbidly obese people pay $2,845 more in medical costs than their normal-weight counterparts; severely obese, $1,566; moderately obese, $807; and overweight, $346.

The good news: Weight gain does not have to be a part of retirement, says Carmella Sebastian, a doctor and the senior medical director of clinical client solutions for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. Here are five things you can do to keep yourself slim and trim -- and potentially save money.

Eat better. It sounds like a no-brainer, of course, but its particularly important for retirees -- some of whom begin to eat out more or snack out of boredom, leading to weight gain, says registered dietician Lisa Hugh, who specializes in nutrition therapy. Ebanks recommends that retirees try to stay away from many packaged foods; avoid excess refined carbs (think white flour, sweetened drinks, and any form of table sugar); eat more fruits, veggies and whole grains; and make sure they get adequate protein.

Exercise more. Exercise is important to losing weight, but seniors need to do more than just cardio. Muscle is more efficient, so weight-lifting -- even small weights -- will increase muscle mass and hence, your metabolism, Hugh says.

Get enough sleep. Inadequate sleep can lead to weight gain, says Ebanks, who recommends trying to get seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

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Is Retirement Making You Fat?

SACRAMENTO A new law that seeks to establish a first-of-its-kind state-run retirement plan for low-income workers still faces numerous hurdles in the year ahead, but its author says the idea is already generating nationwide attention.

SB 1234 by state Sen. Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles), signed into law last week by Gov. Jerry Brown, creates a California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust, authorizes a major feasibility study of the idea and seeks approval for the idea from federal regulators.

As envisioned by De Leon, the plan would require private employers to withhold about 3% of the wages of employees who participate. The state would collect the money, invest it and eventually provide a modest sum to retirees who don't have traditional company pensions or 401(k) retirement plans.

But, under a compromise that led to final approval of the legislation, the retirement program cannot begin operation until it gets a final go-ahead. Once a market analysis study is complete and federal officials sign off on the plan, lawmakers must pass another bill specifically authorizing the program.

The new law is an important first step toward preventing a tidal wave of "discarded seniors" forced to retire with little savings or income after lifetimes of often difficult manual labor, De Leon said.

The state senator said he had already conferred with U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, a former California legislator and U.S. representative from Los Angeles. The retirement plan also has sparked interest from officials in New York state, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, De Leon said.

The bill "is definitely getting quite a bit of attention" from the national leadership of the AFL-CIO and other unions, said Steve Smith, spokesman for the California Labor Federation, a prime supporter of De Leon's proposal.

"It's really trying to address a problem that very few people are trying to address in this economy: the real retirement crisis. Here in California, as many as half the workers retire in poverty" with only Social Security benefits to sustain them, he said.

The bill creates a seven-person oversight board that includes the state treasurer, director of finance and controller. The governor would appoint two individuals with expertise in retirement plans and small business; the speaker of the Assembly and the Senate president would make one appointment each.

The board would contract with experts to conduct the market analysis using private or federal funds and would pursue the project only if it concludes that the retirement system would be self sustaining.

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State-run retirement plan idea for private sector draws attention

How much money will you need to retire? Probably more than you think! Extended life spans, reduced employer benefits, lower market returns and increased costs of living have forced us to have to save more. Unfortunately, most Americans are doing a poor job of securing their future. The Employee Benefits Research Institute reports that if current trends continue, by 2030, the annual shortfall between the amount retired Americans need and the amount they actually have will be at least $45 billion. If you want to avoid having to flip burgers at age 75, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to calculate now how much you'll need in the future.

The Need to Plan Two generations ago, corporate pensions and social security ensured a secure retirement for our grandparents. Today, pension plans have become virtually extinct, shifting the burden of retirement savings away from corporations and onto the employees. Our retirement depends largely not only on our own ability to save and invest wisely, but also on our ability to plan.

According to a survey from Allianz Life, 28% of workers between ages 55 to 65, are concerned they won't be able to cover basic living expenses in retirement. Most of these people will be forced to extend their work years or accept living in poverty. How can this disastrous scenario be avoided?

How Much You Need in Total Your first step in planning is determining how much you'll need.

Many studies indicate that retirees will need to between 70% to even 100% of their pre-retirement income to maintain their current standard of living. So, a reasonable target is one that will provide you with an annual income similar to the income you have now. Then you need to consider a "safe" withdrawal rate. This is the percentage of your retirement nest egg you will withdraw each year during your retirement. Research indicates that, if they have saved enough, retirees can best preserve their assets if their annual withdrawal rate is 6% or less. This provides a quick and dirty formula for determining the total amount you need to save by retirement: divide your desired annual income by the withdrawal rate.

So, for example, if you want to target a retirement income of $60,000 per year, you need to save $1 million ($60,000 / 0.06). The following table offers some quick estimates of how much you might need to accumulate before you can retire.

Clearly, planning for retirement is not something that you do shortly before you stop working. Because of the magic of compounding, the earlier you start, the less you'll have to save on a monthly basis - as illustrated in the table above. Lower rates of return or higher inflation, of course, will require a much higher contribution.

Planning for retirement is a lifelong process. Throughout your working years, your planning will undergo a series of stages in which you will evaluate your progress and targets and make decisions to ensure you reach them.

Resources for Saving for Your Future Now that you have an idea of how to determine how much you need, it's time to start using the tools available to you. First you need to learn about the types of retirement savings accounts, such as IRAs - and start reaping the associated tax benefits.

The Bottom LineIn summary, planning for your retirement is an ongoing process. The earlier you start, the better off you'll be. The key is to save, save, save! The more time you have on your side, the better your outcome should be. This requires discipline, self study and time. So, take advantage of the many tools available to ensure your success.

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Will Your Retirement Income Be Enough?

The Office of Personnel Management processed more retirement claims in September than in August, after receiving thousands more applications last month.

OPM completed 12,563 retirement claims in September -- the most claims processed in a single month so far this year and 1,063 more than it expected to complete last month. The agency received 11,952 new claims in September, 4,952 more than it anticipated, and 2,979 more than it received in August. The backlog now stands at 41,176 claims, down 33 percent since January.

A growing influx of new retirement claims this past summer, however, has slowed OPMs progress in tackling the backlog. The current inventory is down just 1.4 percent since August, partly because OPM received more new retirement applications in September than it has since January when it was hit with 21,479 new claims. Still, the agency is slightly ahead of its backlog projections: OPM estimated an inventory of 42,978 as of September.

Despite the slow and steady progress OPM has made tackling the backlog, many federal retirees still wait several months for their applications to be fully processed. On average, it takes 156 days to process a claim, but many retirees wait much longer than that for their full annuity checks.

After the influx of claims in January, the number of applications filed this year started to increase steadily in May. Since the beginning of 2012, OPM has received 86,676 new retirement claims. In the last nine months, the agency has processed a total of 93,878 retirement claims. During fiscal 2011, the agency processed 82,837 applications.

OPM administers benefits for 2.5 million federal retirees and processes about 100,000 new claims annually.

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Federal Worker Retirement Claims Surge in September

Financial planning is full of rules of thumb. One of the most famous is the "Four Percent Rule," which simply says that in retirement you can safely take out no more than 4 percent of the combined value of all of your financial assets each year with an expectation that your money will last 30 years or more, which is longer than the average length of time Americans spend in retirement.

However, the Four Percent Rule may be much more valuable as a guide rather than a steadfast rule.

A bit of history: The rule was originated by my fellow NAPFA member and fee-only financial advisor Bill Bengen. His conclusions, published in the October 1994 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, were based upon a number of simulations of historical market behavior.

The result was a commonly used formula for managing retirement expectations, based on a number of assumptions about retiree needs and market performance. For example, at age 65 if you have a retirement portfolio of $1 million, and don't want to run out of money until you're 95, you can safely withdraw up to $40,000 a year.

But what if real life strays from these underlying assumptions? For example:

--What if you need more than 4 percent annually?

--What do you do if you live to be 100 or 110?

--What if you get really spectacular returns in your first few years of retirement so that by the time you're 95, you find you have a much bigger surplus than you expected? You may realize that you could have afforded a more comfortable lifestyle during retirement.

--What if, in the first few years of your retirement, the stock market drops by 45 percent?

Questions like these very quickly show the real value of the rule: it's a good place to start.

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Using the 'Four Percent Rule' for Retirement Planning

The U.S. Treasury Department is examining individual retirement accounts as vehicles for potential tax avoidance, a top tax official said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers released on Wednesday.

Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about the individual retirement account, or IRA, of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and asked the agencies to look into potential tax skirting by IRA holders. Romney has disclosed that his IRA contained up to $101 million, despite annual limits of much smaller amounts.

Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service "have been aware of this risk for a number of years and have been taking actions to curb abuses," Mark Mazur, Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy, said in the Sept. 19 letter to three Democratic House of Representatives members.

The IRS organized a team last year to improve compliance and enforcement of retirement account tax issues, Mazur said.

The IRA and Treasury are trying to estimate the number of IRA audits that involve asset valuation issues and gauge the size of any tax compliance problems, Mazur said.

IRAs are subject to contribution limits, which prompted some speculation at the time about how Romney's got so large, as shown in financial disclosure forms the former Massachusetts governor filed with federal election officials in August 2011.

"Gov. Romney has been eligible to contribute to retirement plans since he entered the workforce in 1975," a Romney campaign spokeswoman said in a statement on Wednesday. "Likewise, the investments in the IRA have appreciated sharply."

Aaron Albright, a spokesman for Democratic Representative George Miller, who received the Mazur letter, said: "Governor Romney's financial disclosure forms raised significant issues on whether this presents a problem of how people possibly misevaluate their IRAs to evade taxes."

House Democrats have called on the tax-writing committees in Congress to address IRA tax avoidance concerns.

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US Authorities Eye Retirement Accounts as Possible Tax Dodges

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As couples plan for retirement, there is a helpful checklist they ought to consult to make sure they have enough money to maintain their accustomed lifestyle after they quit working.

By Richard Satran, TODAY contributor

Its the impossible dream to many people: coming up with enough money to retire well. But Fidelity investments has come up with a new strategy to figure out if you are saving enough and not just making it a race to The Number.

The Number, of course, is the total you need to assure an adequate retirement. For some of us its like those medical charts telling you the optimal weight for your height. Great, but how do I get there?

For the savings-challenged, Fidelitys Number is still daunting: You will need to have saved eight times your final salary by age 67 if you want to maintain a lifestyle similar to the one you have had while working, the company's planners figure. But Fidelity says its easier to get to the peak if you think of it as a series of manageable milestones through life.

To reach the 8x altitude, Fidelity says, here are check-down markers for getting to the golden peak at the right time:

Seems easier than climbing to the 8x level all at once, right? Thats the idea. If you follow the rule of thumb, your savings along with Social Security will likely deliver 85 percent of your ending salary until you reach age 92.

These savings targets offer a rule of thumb to help employees get engaged in retirement planning by making it simpler and more achievable, said James M. MacDonald, president of workplace investing at Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity admits the rule of thumb might not work in all situations. But it offers a plan for millennials, gen-Xers and baby boomers increasingly skeptical that they will ever be able to retire.

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Retirement made easy: Here's the magic number

Retirement is a big transition that you need to prepare for. Retiring before age 60 has even more challenges. While there are many financial obstacles for early retirees, personal challenges could be even more difficult. Here are some ways you can ease the transition into early retirement:

Finance. Early retirement can be financially challenging. Leaving your job will reduce your income significantly, and your retirement benefits may not kick in right away. The earliest age that Social Security benefits will be available is 62, and leaving the work force early could negatively impact the size of your Social Security checks. You also generally can't access your individual retirement accounts (IRA) until you are 59 1/2 without incurring a 10 percent penalty. You need to take these ages into consideration and plan accordingly.

If you are thinking about early retirement, you probably have other sources of income. These sources can be from your pension, spousal income, rentals, investments in taxable accounts, CDs, or peer to peer lending investments. You need to add all these up to come up with a monthly income figure.

Income calculation. For example, if you want to retire at age 55, then you need to estimate your retirement income at various ages. You may want to delay retirement account withdrawals to avoid the early withdrawal penalty or postpone signing up for Social Security in order to get bigger payments later on in retirement. Here's an example of retirement income streams you might begin to tap at various ages:

55-60: Income from a pension, spouse's job, rentals, savings, or investment accounts

60-67: Add income from IRA and Roth IRA withdrawals

67-70: Add income from Social Security

70+: Add income from required minimum distributions from retirement accounts if applicable

The biggest challenge is funding retirement from 55 to 60 because of the reduction in income. Once you get passed this stage, you will have your IRA and Social Security to draw upon.

Expense calculation. The other side of cash flow is your monthly expenses. Some of your expenses will go down when you retire, but some other costs will increase. Job related expenses will drop, and you can estimate some of these.

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Take an Early Retirement Test Drive

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmMdX6BbPAs

04-10-2012 04:38 Michael Schumacher has announced that he will retire at the end of the Formula One season.

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Michael Schumacher announces retirement - Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhVeC3yyIYQ

03-10-2012 14:19 What is long-term-care insurance? This type of policy covers basic daily needs over an extended time. While health care insurance or Medicare helps pay for immediate medical expenses, say, a surgeon's bill, long-term-care insurance helps people cope with the cost of chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, or various disabilities. The policies pay for assistance with everything from the basics — bathing and dressing — to skilled care from therapists and nurses for months or even years. Financial Advisor Adam Moeller in Denver Colorado says "long term care costs can easily use up your retirement savings quickly." Moeller says "new hybrid products combining insurance and an annuity can be particularly helpful."

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What is Long term care insurance? Retirement Planner Adam Moeller Denver, CO - Video