The Means AND the Ends

Retirement has become an active stage of life—one people have positive ideas about. For example, they aspire to stay socially connected, participate in their communities and remain economically active, according to the 2016 Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey.

Globally, the majority (72%) of people associate positive words with retirement, including “leisure” (46%), “freedom” (41%) and “enjoyment” (31%). People ages 65 and older have more positive associations with retirement than do younger people, ages 18 through 24.

The two most widely held retirement aspirations among respondents are traveling (62%) and spending time with friends and family (57%). Twenty-six percent mention some form of paid work as a retirement aspiration.

Achieving retirement aspirations requires more than saving, investing and planning, however; it also depends on staying in good health, the survey report notes.

Read the entire article: Healthy Lifestyle Important to Retirement Planning

My experience has been that the happiest and healthiest retirees that I know find ways to stay socially and emotionally engaged in life all around them. For some, working or scheduled volunteering forces them to do this. Worth the read. -Jeff

Our parents were able to retire and collect full Social Security at age 65. Most baby boomers have to wait until 66. People born after 1959 have to wait even longer – until age 67 – before reaching what Social Security defines as “full retirement age.” And while the younger generations can still start collecting Social Security as early as 62, they will suffer a bigger penalty – a 30 percent cut to their full benefit, rather than 20 percent for those eligible under the old 65-year-old rule.

Read the entire article: 5 New Realities of Retirement – US News