New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Many people think that retirement involves doing nothing. In reality, if you want to make sure that you avoid legal and financial complications, substantial consideration must be made during the retirement period. This involves handling Medicare issues, filing for Social Security, and navigating tax and distribution-related nuances. This article reviews some important issues to consider when reviewing retirement issues.
# 1 – Aim for a 5% Return
Even people with a large amount of savings discover that they end up having much less after paying withdrawal taxes. The best way to plan around taxation issues is to aim for a return of about 5% from your investments. While it can be tempting in retirement to focus on a conservative portfolio of assets, it is in most people’s best interest to diversify their portfolio.
# 2 – Make Sure Beneficiary Designations Are Appropriate
One of the most critical aspects of estate planning is making sure that beneficiary designations are appropriate. No matter what your estate plan says, other accounts will pass according to their beneficiary designations. If you have changed your mind about who should be named as a beneficiary, do not delay updating your estate plan.
# 3 – Review Your Estate Plan
If it has been five or more years since you reviewed your estate plan, you should not hesitate to do so now. While making sure that designations are appropriate, you should make sure that your beneficiaries have the appropriate passwords and other details to access your digital assets and other accounts. Similarly, you should check your medical plans during this time to make sure that they still reflect your wishes.
# 4 – Consider Long Term Care Insurance
Many people discover that it is worthwhile to take out their own long term care insurance. If you do purchase this type of coverage, you should consider a hybrid policy that provides a death benefit to your heirs if you do not end up using these funds.
# 5 – Determine if Changing Policy Features Would Be Helpful
If you already have rising insurance premiums, it might be a good idea to reduce the cost of your policy by changing one or several elements of the policy. Some people then use these assets in health savings accounts to pay long term care premiums.
# 6 – Consider Your Spouse
During retirement review, it is a wise idea to consider how various issues might impact your spouse. Statistics reveal that wives are much more likely to survive their husbands, which means that men who performing this review should take care to make sure that their wife receives adequate care. Wives should similarly be prepared for situations where they survive their husbands.
Speak with an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney
For most people, aspects of estate planning carry long into retirement. If you are a retiree who needs the assistance of an experienced estate planning lawyer, do not hesitate to contact Ettinger Estate Planning to schedule a free case evaluation.