Retirement FAQs

Retirement FAQs

What is The Typical Age When Women Retire?

The average age is approximately in the early 60s according to our research and experience. This is probably due to the fact that married men are, on average, older than their wives.  So, when the man retires, we typically see the wife — who is younger — retire as well.

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How Does Health Insurance Affect the Retirement Behavior of Women?

According to our health insurance specialist, Carol Ballenger, “Women need to be sure they have it!" Health insurance is incredibly important as we age, and not having good health insurance will delay retirement if a woman — or even a couple — have group insurance and can’t find an affordable replacement when they retire. This is critically important to start planning for immediately.

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What is Really Important to Me About Money?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Is it time with your family? The freedom and independence you gain? The security knowing you have enough? Ask yourself this question, and tune in to this webinar to see what we are teaching women just like you about aligning their money with their values to enjoy an epic retirement!

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Are All Your Ducks in a Row? What If They Aren’t?

If something unexpected happened to your significant other, during this COVID period, or if you were asked to retire earlier than expected, would you have everything in order and know where every account is? If that feels like a big task or like it might be a struggle, you are not alone. That is what we are here for. As part of our normal service to our clients, we help you get and maintain order in your financial life.

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Do You Have a Retirement Plan B? What Is It?

Many companies are being forced to offer early retirement payouts to their seasoned employees or even worse, cut back by letting employees go. We encourage people to always plan for the what if’s and make sure that your retirement plan has a Plan B in place. Let the Keystone team help guide you on what to do when a crisis comes along and work with you to create a security plan for your retirement. 

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How Are Fee-Based Financial Advisors Compensated?

Fee-based financial advisors are paid a small percentage of the value of assets being managed to cover services like financial trades, consultations and performance reviews. Since your advisor's payment depends on the value of YOUR assets, it is in her or his best interest to see those assets grow as much as possible.

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Did You Take an RMD Before the CARES Act Was Passed?

If you took a required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2020 from a 401(k), 403(b), or IRA, you can now roll the funds back into a retirement account. The normal 60-day rollover period for RMDs has been extended to August 31, 2020. If you're not taking RMDs yet, consider how they could affect your tax burden in the future.

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What Is A Roth Conversion? 

A Roth Conversion refers to the transfer of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), either Traditional, SIMPLE, or SEP-IRA, into a Roth IRA. With Roth IRAs, you pay tax on the money before it transfers into the account. It's essentially moving money from the tax-deferred bucket to the tax-free bucket which can be taken advantage of during a low tax environment like we are currently experiencing. One benefit to having your money in the Roth IRA is that, unlike a Traditional IRA, you currently are not obligated to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) after you reach age 72. Another benefit is that since the money was taxed before going into the Roth IRA, any distributions are tax-free. There are many things that need to be taken into account when deciding if a Roth IRA conversion is right for you, and it's wise to involve your trusted financial professional.

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Do You Know Your Taxpayer Bill of Rights?

The IRS has established a Taxpayer Bill of Rights to protect all taxpayers in the United States. Through the Taxpayer Bill of Rights you have the right to receive prompt, courteous, and professional service and the right to speak to an IRS supervisor if you receive inadequate service. You also have the right to receive clear and easy-to-understand communication from the IRS to better understand all IRS practices. Lastly, you have the right to have all questions answered promptly, accurately, and thoroughly. With the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, we encourage you to head over to IRS.gov to fully understand what you're entitled to and to discuss all specific tax issues with a qualified tax professional.

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How Much Am I Owed From Social Security?

Social Security can be an important part of your overall retirement plan. So it's important to know how much you'll receive from your Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration has slowly stopped mailing out most Americans’ Social Security benefit statements and instead encourages people to access their statements online. Get started by setting up your account at www.ssa.gov. Need help figuring out when to start collecting your Social Security? Schedule a call with our office today!

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Why Is Income Planning More Important for Women Than It Is For Men?

On average, women work fewer years and earn less than men, but they also tend to live longer. Therefore, women must focus on the concerns that are unique to them when planning for retirement.


Women earn only about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Because they earn less, women often are unable to invest as much as men. However, in order to make up for other discrepancies in retirement benefits, women may actually need to invest more. Fewer years in the workforce and lower pay are all factors that may contribute to a lower average pension for female retirees. At the same time, women on average live longer than men, meaning they must provide for more years in retirement than their male counterparts.

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Are Your Beneficiary Designations Correct?

What people often forget to plan for - quite understandably - is what happens after they die. It’s not enough to just make the money - you have to protect it and ensure it gets into the right hands after your death.


Retirement accounts with ill-conceived beneficiary designations could potentially cost your family tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars if done wrong. Correct beneficiary designations are crucial for retirement plans, and there are a lot of pitfalls and mines to avoid when naming both the primary(s) and contingent beneficiary(s). To avoid penalties and taxes, you really need to seek counsel from a competent advisor.

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What Is The Difference Between Qualified and Non-Qualified Retirement Plans?

Qualified plans are such plans like 401Ks, 403Bs, 457s, Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs and Government-Thrift Saving Plans. The contributions that you make to these plans are pre-taxed and you will not have to count it as income at that time, meaning that you get to defer those gains until some point in the future. Also, there are contribution limits depending on what type of plan you have.


With non-qualified plans, your contributions are not tax-deductible and there are no limits on how much you can contribute. However, it does get to grow tax-deferred until some point in the future.


Learn more about Qualified & Non-qualified plans by watching the video here! Discover which plans are more restrictive, when you will become taxed, and what penalties you run.

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Are You Being Offered an Early Pension Payout or Buyout Option?

Today, we are seeing an influx of people receiving early buyout options from their companies. Due to COVID, companies are restructuring and looking at their employees that have been employed the longest and at the highest pay grade.


If you are being offered an early pension payout option or buyout option, then you must ask yourself, "Is this right for me?". If you do not feel confident in making a decision or calculating whether an early payout would be a good option for you, then we recommend giving us a call or watching the video here.

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Are You Looking for Ways to Increase Additional Cash Flow?

Due to COVID-19, 65% of people are looking back into their budgets to gain additional cash flow today. To help increase cash flow for your household, we are offering three tips to help!


With mortgage rates being at record lows, we recommend refinancing your mortgage at a 30 year rate. Rates have also dropped for property and casual insurance. Our recommendation is to shop around and see where you can get the highest coverage at the lowest rate.


To hear further explanations of our tips on how to increase additional cash flow and to hear our third and final tip, watch the video here!

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What Should I Do With My 401(k) Once I've Left My Company?

For most of you this question is pretty straightforward. Our recommendation is to roll over your old 401(k) into a self-directed IRA. This will be a non-taxable event, meaning that you will not be charged or hit with any fees for doing this.


By rolling over your old 401(k) into a self-directed IRA, you will open up more investment choices and opportunities. Also, you'll gain more freedom from possible restrictions that your old company may have put into place.


If you are looking for immediate liquidity, then watch the video here for what you can do to avoid charges and fees!

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Are You Working with a Fiduciary Financial Advisor?

When working with a financial advisor it is key to make sure that they are a fiduciary. When they are a fiduciary, they are legally and ethically bound to put your interests above their own, meaning that they can't be thinking about the investments they are making the most money on over another when they help you choose investments.


You may be surprised to know that not all financial advisors work this way. Some financial advisors can and do recommend investments that do not align with your interests or objectives, which can be legal. Watch our video here for more information on how to protect yourself when planning for your financial future!

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What Does It Cost to Use a Financial Advisor?

The short answer is usually about 1 - 1.5% of whatever the asset total is that is being advised around on an annual basis. Now you're probably asking, 'Why should I even use a financial advisor?'. The answer is simple. Usually, when planning for retirement, laying out your distribution schedule and your income plan for the rest of your life and managing the investments inside of that plan, it's the first time you're doing this. Often when we're doing something for the first time, we make mistakes. A financial advisor can help you avoid those costly mistakes.


See why you should never outsource a financial advisor when planning for your future by watching the video on our YouTube channel here!

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Should We Pay Our House Off Before We Retire?

The simple answer, is that this is a very personal question that requires a lot of thought on what's best for you.


Let us break it down. Maybe you have an aversion to debt and have an emotional cost to pay when you don't pay off your mortgage before retirement. Maybe you have a low interest rate and can take the money you're saving on your mortgage payment and invest it, strategically, somewhere else for a better return.


Either way, we encourage you to sit down with an advisor to discuss which option would be best for you. You can view our entire answer to this question by watching Glenn's YouTube video here.

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Is Your Personal and Professional Email Secure from Hackers?

Due to the growing need for online communication, email remains the top security concern today. When it comes to email security, classic measures like the latest antivirus software will never fully block cyber-attacks, especially advanced social engineering attacks. 


Today more and more email security risks are developing with alarming speed. This means that big and small businesses, as well as yourself, must find ways to protect your major communication tool against emerging email security risks.


Discover how you can protect yourself and your company from a security breach by reading this helpful article here.

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After This Election, What's Going to Happen to My Money?

No matter what, we don't know what exactly is going to happen to the stock market after this election.


Every generation has gone through a crisis in the U.S., but we have always made it through. This upcoming election is no different and at Keystone, we always make sure our clients are ready for the next crisis to come. If you are fearful that your financial plan relies so heavily on one short-term crisis, then chances are, you have the wrong plan.



If you are nervous that your financial portfolio is not strong enough to get through the upcoming election, watch our video here to see how we can help!


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Should I Be Worried, With the Election in Limbo, About My 401(k)?

We understand how you could be struggling with what decision to make when it comes to your 401(k) right now.


What we have seen this week, is that the market is not letting what is occurring now, the aftermath of the election, to effect it, so you should not either. When a new potential vaccine was released this week, the market was willing to hit new highs even with everything going on. This means that the market is not depending on the outcome of the election.


We encourage you to watch our video here to see why you shouldn't be overly worried and how you can sit tight with your long-term strategies right now.


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What Should We Do With Our Long Term Care Insurance?

We have been hearing from a lot of our clients that their long term care premiums have been increasing year after year. We wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about three different options that you have, but first, never drop any insurance without sitting down to discuss the benefits of your policy and the options that you have.


The first is to just pay the premium if you are able to. The second is to ask your provider to keep your premium the same but to lower your benefits. The third is to look into a hybrid, long term policy.


To dive deeper into your different options, be sure to watch our video here.


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How Should I Respond with My 401(k) During This Time, Before the Election is Certified?

Historically, the market has told us that its success or failure does not depend on who the current President is. The stock market varies little depending on who is sitting in the White House. With that being said, we are seeing really good indicators that tell us that the market is doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing. For example, the good news about the COVID-19 vaccinations has had a positive impact on the stock market, even during this time before the election results have been certified.


To discover why you should have your 401(k) strategy as a long-term strategy, and to not be dependent on the election, be sure to watch our video above.


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What's Your Risk Number?

When it comes to your retirement income plans, market volatility and its impact on your savings are probably, and understandably, at the top of your mind.


To help alleviate some of that stress due to factors you cannot control, we've set up a system to see if you are being 'Risk Smart' with your retirement income plan. Click here to see if your portfolio is right for you and your preferred retirement lifestyle today.




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What Do We Need to be Concerned About and What Can We Look Forward to in 2021?

We know you probably have been asking this question lately, especially as it relates to the economy. Will the economy bounce back? Will it not? One thing that we are absolutely positive about, is that no matter what happens our economy will get through it.


For example, we have seen many small businesses negatively impacted by COVID, but we have also seen them find new ways to thrive. This means that there are a lot of new factors that we will see enter our marketplace in 2021, something that we have to look forward to.



There are going to be positives and negatives in 2021, but you can rest assured that we'll be prepared. If you have any concerns when it comes to your financial plan in 2021, be sure to watch our video above or schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation with one of our experts.



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Do I Have to Take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for 2021?

As we get into 2021, we have been receiving this question a lot. Since RMDs were suspended in 2020 under the CARES Act, many think that this applies to this new year and it does not. The short answer to this question is yes, you must take an RMD this year!


To learn more about who is affected in 2021, what the penalties for not taking an RMD are, and other options you have instead of taking an RMD, watch our video above. If you do have to take an RMD, we highly encourage you to have a plan in place and not wait until December 2021 to take your RMD. If you need any assistance, schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation with us here at Keystone Financial Resources.



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Do I Have to Take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for 2021?

If you are retired or very close to retiring, you may be asking yourself this question and have no idea what the answer is.


In many cases, yes, your social security benefit is taxable. However, there are cases where your social security benefits are not taxable. This is because your total provisional income does not meet certain criteria.


To learn more about what that criterion is and to find out if your social security benefits are taxable or not, watch our video above. If you need any assistance, schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation with us here at Keystone Financial Resources.



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How Are Your Distributions Taxed?

Since we are in the middle of tax season, we thought we would take some time to answer a question that we receive often!


To understand how your distributions are taxed, you must first understand what type of accounts you are pulling from. Watch our latest video with our very own Dillon Woodruff explaining the 3 different buckets - or accounts - that you are pulling money from, why your distributions are taxed a specific way, and how to formulate a strategy that works for you! If you still have questions, be sure to schedule your FREE 15-minute consultation with us!





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