There are a number of common pitfalls that can derail a retirement plan. In this article, I’ll discuss nine of the most common ways preretirees and retirees can stumble in the path to retirement and how to avoid them. Everyone may make mistakes, but knowing how to avoid these pitfalls can keep you from jeopardizing the retirement you want and deserve. Retirement pitfall No. 1: Relying on factors outside of [...]

After a lifetime of scheduled work, seniors have earned the right to relax and enjoy the flexibility of free time in their Golden Years, but that doesn’t mean lounging the day away in front of the TV or by the swimming pool. “We see many individuals who are tired after years of work and they want to relax,” said Dr. Manzoor Shah, Internal Medicine of Evangelical, Lewisburg. “While relaxing is [...]

Need some healthy activity starters to get you going? See if any of these suggestions point you in the right direction. Don’t change the channel to avoid boring commercials. Take advantage of that time to march in place, lift a few soup cans over your head or walk up and down the steps, said Deana Carson, of Evangelical Community Health and Wellness. and don’t forget to stretch, so important for [...]

It’s a sure bet that no one — regardless of age — enjoys handing over any of their income to the IRS. In retirement, though, doing so can feel like even more of a sting. Assuming you’ve left work earnings entirely behind you, any amount owed to Uncle Sam comes from your retirement income and savings — both of which also are expected to fund your golden years for, oh, [...]

Searching for "retirement planning rules" produces 221 million results on Google. Yes, there's a lot of advice out there. But even the most common tips can put you on the wrong path, leading to retirement planning mistakes. Here are some of the leading legends, and why they should be taken with a large helping of salt: Myth 1: You Should Max Your 401(k) Contributions It's not a myth that participants [...]

Social Security might seem like fixed income, but it’s not. There's plenty you can do to increase this retirement benefit. Where do you start? Social Security bases your retirement benefit on your highest 35 years of earnings and the age you start receiving benefits. If you have less than 35 years of earnings, Social Security uses a zero for each year without earnings when calculating the amount of retirement benefits [...]