Thursday, June 22, 2023

Retirement: How to retire with max Social Security benefits

Want to score the biggest retirement benefits from Social Security? This is the salary you have to pull down to get $4,555 a month.

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Retirement

Thu Jun 22 2023
 
Picture of an older, retired woman reviewing her finances on a laptop.

Want to score the biggest retirement benefits from Social Security? This is the salary you have to pull down to get $4,555 a month.

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You've saved and saved during your working years, and now it's time to retire. Among the many decisions you have to make as you enter retirement is where to spend your golden years. While you may want to stay close to your family and friends, you might also want a place with affordable housing, a reasonable cost of living, and a low tax base so your retirement income goes further. Safety and access to health care are also big factors. To help you make the decision, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the best and worst states for retirement 2022 from financial services company and personal finance website Bankrate. Bankrate analyzed multiple data points and assigned a weight to each category: Affordability (40%), well-being (20%), culture and diversity (15%), weather (15%) and crime (10%. States are ranked worst to best using Bankrate's overall score. For context, we included the 65 and over population and total population for each state, using five-year data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 American Community Survey. Each state has pluses and minuses. The state with the most allure for retirees is, not surprisingly, Florida. The Sunshine State scored highest for its year-round sunshine, diversity, and concentration of other older adults. However, that's tempered somewhat by the state's propensity to be hit by hurricanes. Housing prices in the state, as Bankrate notes, have risen, but that cost is offset a bit by lower taxes. No. 2 Georgia boasts similar advantages for retirees. ( Are these states indeed where retirees are moving ?) A bit of surprise is how well several Midwest states did in the comparison. No. 3, Michigan, ranked first in affordability and scored high marks in low taxes and cost of living as well as health care. Affordability pushed Ohio to fourth place. Also affordable is No. 5 Missouri, where you can enjoy a moderate climate. However, The Show Me State received a low score for crime. The worst place to retire? According to Bankrate, Alaska received low grades for affordability and, of course, its cold weather. But if you move to Alaska, you'll pay the nation's lowest taxes. ( Before you retire, consider these eight things about your 401(k) .)
 

How to retire early

Many Americans retire early though you need to wait until age 62 to receive Social Security retirement benefits. Here's how to save for an early exit.
A man holds a placard with the slogan "Who is afraid of the big nasty people?" during a protest in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. French unions are seeking to reignite resistance to President Emmanuel Macron's higher retirement age with what may be a final surge of nationwide protests and scattered strikes Tuesday.
 
Protesters protect themselves from tear gas smoke behind umbrellas and garbage containers during clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration on the 11th day of action after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote, using article 49.3 of the constitution, in Nantes, western France, on April 6, 2023. - France on April 6, 2023, braced for another day of protests and strikes to denounce the French President's pension reform one day after talks between the government and unions ended in deadlock.
 

Do French retirees fare better than Americans?

President Emmanuel Macron recently forced through a plan to raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64.
Patrice Onwuka
 

Inflation and ill-advised policy is leading boomers to 'unretire'

Older Americans are increasingly 'unretiring' to deal with elevated prices. Unfortunately, financial insecurity from inflation may be here to stay.
 

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