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Index
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
What You're Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Part I: Working toward Retirement
Part II: Making Money Decisions in Retirement
Part III: Dealing with Government Programs
Part IV: Estate Planning: It's More than Just Dead People and Lawyers
Part V: The Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I
Chapter 1: Looking Ahead to Your Future
Planning for the Longer Term
Identifying long-term planning issues
Taking personal responsibility for your financial future
Saving and planning sooner and smarter pays off
Eyeing Keys to Successful Retirement Planning
Saving drives wealth
Keeping your balance
Understanding that planning is a process
Chapter 2: Protecting Your Employment Income and Your Health
Assessing Your Need for Life Insurance
Understanding the purpose of life insurance
Determining your life insurance need
Assessing your current life coverage
Figuring out what type to buy
Choosing where to buy life insurance
Shielding Your Employment Income: Disability Insurance
Why most people lack disability insurance and why you need it
Identifying needed disability coverage
Shopping for disability coverage
Investing In and Protecting Your Health
Take care of your ticker
Exercise (and sweat)!
Hydrate with good-quality H2O
Include fiber in your diet
Manage your stress
Get your calcium
Chapter 3: Developing a Retirement Plan
Deciding When to Retire
Knowing How Much You Really Need for Retirement
Figuring out what portion of income you need
Grasping what the numbers mean
Eyeing the Components of Your Retirement Plan
Social Security retirement benefits
Pensions
Investments
Your home's equity
When Setting Up Your Plan
Crunching the Numbers
Understanding assumptions and how they work
Making the numbers work
Dealing with excess money
Making Plans for Nonfinancial Matters
Personal connections
Personal health
Activities, hobbies, interests
Chapter 4: Identifying Retirement Investments and Strategies
Defining Investments
Understanding risk
Eyeing your returns
Considering how investments are susceptible to inflation
Being aware of tax consequences
Monitoring sensitivity to currency and economic issues
What You Need to Do Before You Select and Change Investments
Knowing your time horizon
Factoring some risk into your investment plan
Keeping the bigger picture in mind
Allocating your assets
Surveying Different Investments
Comparing lending investments to ownership investments
Looking into stocks
Investing in mutual funds and ETFs
Comparing investments and risks
Managing Investment Portfolios
Funds of funds and target-date funds
Index and exchange-traded funds
Assessing and changing your portfolio
Chapter 5: Grasping Retirement Accounts and Their Rules
Eyeing the Characteristics of Retirement Accounts
Focusing on the tax benefits
Being aware of restrictions and penalties
Identifying the Different Types of Retirement Accounts
Employer-sponsored retirement accounts
Self-employed retirement savings plans
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
Rolling Over Retirement Balances
Deciding what road to take
Choosing a custodian and rolling over your balance to an IRA
Choosing Beneficiaries for Your Retirement Accounts
Taking Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs
Calculating your RMD for an IRA
Computing the RMD for other retirement plans
Part II
Chapter 6: Managing Budgets and Expenses
Pointing Out Some Retirement Worries You May Have
Running out of money
Supporting others
Addressing your worries
Spending Your Nest Egg
Considering the 4 percent rule
Naming the factors affecting your use of retirement assets
How Spending Really Changes in Retirement
Managing Your Expenses
Bigger-picture issues
Taxes
Housing
Utilities and communication
Food
Transportation
Personal care and fashion
Travel and fun
Health care
Insurance
Children and grandchildren
Chapter 7: Guiding Investments and Distributions in Retirement
Guiding Your Investments through Retirement
Estimating your investment income
Rebalancing your investments
Looking Closer at Annuities
Annuities: A cross between a retirement account and insurance
Contributing in your working years
Annuitizing in your retirement years
Choosing Your Pension Options
Selecting between a lump sum or monthly payments
Deciding among monthly payment options
Eyeing Withdrawal Strategies for Your Investment Accounts
Chapter 8: Making Important Housing Decisions
Analyzing Moving
Considering the pros and cons of moving
Eyeing the options for where you can move
Tapping Your Home's Equity: Reverse Mortgages
Defining terms and costs
Determing whether a reverse mortgage is right for you
Searching for more information on reverse mortgages
Looking At Tax Issues Regarding Your Housing Decisions
Being aware of capital gains exclusion rules
Converting your home to a rental: Yes or no?
Chapter 9: Considering Your Long-Term Care Insurance Needs and Options
Understanding Long-Term Care
Naming the types of long-term care
Predicting who will need long-term care
Estimating how much long-term care will cost
Planning to Pay for LTC
Considering LTC Insurance
Knowing the basic features of LTCI
Checking out two more important LTCI factors
Financing LTC Yourself
Figuring out whether you can finance your own LTC
Deciding when to buy LTCI
Comparing tax-qualified and nonqualified policies
Opting for life insurance instead of LTCI
Taking advantage of the reverse mortgage
Evaluating Employer and Group Coverage
Examining Combination Policies
Reviewing the new policies
Evaluating the new policies
Combining LTCI and Self Insurance
Part III
Chapter 10: Making Your Best Choices under Social Security
The Lowdown on Social Security
Determining When You're Eligible for Benefits
Reviewing your earnings history
Defining when you can retire
Taking a Closer Look at Spouses' and Survivor Benefits
Understanding the choices for spousal benefits
Ensuring spouses are taken care of: Survivor's benefits
Identifying When You May Need to Receive Benefits
What are your cash flow needs?
Will waiting pay off?
What other income do you have?
Do you want to continue to work?
What are the potential income taxes on benefits?
What's your life expectancy?
Noting How Working Reduces Benefits
Taking the penalty for exceeding the annual income limit
Determining the penalty on a monthly basis
The penalty isn't always bad
Preserving Your Benefits
Deferring income
Using your corporation
Considering exempt income
Relying on special income
Being Aware of Potential Income Taxes on Your Benefits
Understanding how modified adjusted gross income works
Reducing taxes on benefits
Changing Your Mind: A Do-Over
Deciding whether you should take a do-over
Doing the do-over
Looking at What the Future Holds for Social Security
Chapter 11: Getting the Most Out of Medicare
Starting Medicare: A Broad Overview of Enrollment Deadlines
Understanding Part A
Seeing who's eligible and signing up for Part A
Defining Part A coverage
Exploring Parts B and C
Scoping out Part B
Probing Part C: Medicare Advantage
Qualifying for Prescription Drug Coverage with Part D
Examining Part D plans
Enrolling in a Part D plan
Eyeing a Medicare Supplement
Understanding Medigap policies
Standardizing Medigap policies
Choosing a Medigap policy
Obtaining quotes for Medigap insurance
Resolving Some Sticky Issues
Changing plans
Monitoring changes at work
Making a foreign move
Chapter 12: The State Health Care System Backup: Medicaid
Discovering What Medicaid Is
Considering Medicaid Eligibility
Establishing Functional Eligibility
Meeting Financial Requirements
Understanding income limits
Understanding asset limits
Examining Planning Strategies
Spending down
Creating a life estate
Setting up trusts
Buying an immediate annuity
Going the spousal refusal route
Recognizing the downsides of Medicaid eligibility strategies
Using Both Medicare and Medicaid
Eyeing Reasons Not to Seek Medicaid
Part IV
Chapter 13: The Basics on Estate Planning
Understanding Estate Planning
Studying Some Strategies Before Starting Your Estate Plan
Finish your plan no matter what
Keep track of your estate
Estimate cash flow
Don't wait for the perfect plan
Carefully choose executors and trustees
Anticipate conflicts
Answering Key Questions to Gather Critical Information
Who's in charge?
How much should I give now?
Should I apply controls and incentives?
Should heirs get equal shares?
Should I exclude someone?
How should my blended family be handled?
Should I leave only money?
Should my wealth stay in the family?
Knowing How Estate Taxes Work
Reviewing the estate tax
Considering state taxes
Finding Good, Affordable Advice
Doing it yourself
Using an expert: Yes or no?
Chapter 14: Eyeing Wills and Other Legal Documents
Writing Your Will
Pointing out some important details
Facing the limits of wills
Excluding family members
Avoiding things you can't do with your will
Assigning a Financial Power of Attorney
Recognizing the importance of a POA
Choosing the right POA
Delegating Medical Decisions
Understanding living wills
Signing DNRs
Assigning a health care proxy or POA
Authorizing HIPAA
Combining documents
Passing Other Assets
Naming beneficiaries for your assets
Examining the special case of IRAs
Looking Closer at Probate
Avoiding probate: Yeah or nay?
Considering joint tenancy
Making use of living trusts
Chapter 15: Tackling the Federal Estate Tax When You Have Too Much Money
Understanding the Estate Tax
Examining how your estate tax is calculated
Decreasing your estate taxes
Tallying Your Assets
Making sure you don't overlook certain factors
Assessing included assets
Reducing Your Estate
Considering strategies to lower your estate's value
Maximizing tax-free gifts
Taking Deductions
Looking at the marital deduction
Giving charitable gifts
Choosing Family Estate Strategies
Equalizing estates
Using the bypass trust
Taking advantage of marital deduction trusts
Putting the strategies together
Contemplating Life Insurance
Paying obligations with life insurance
Purchasing life insurance to enhance inheritances
Avoiding the Tax on Gifts to Grandkids: The GSTT
Chapter 16: Focusing on Estate Taxes and the Many Types of Trusts
Identifying the Cast of Characters
Naming the Types of Trusts
Looking at when trusts take effect
Revoking or retaining rights
Determining how income is distributed
Addressing the trustee's powers
Using Trusts in Estate Planning
Donating to charity with charitable trusts
Opting for retained income trusts
Taking care of special needs with SNTs
Spreading the wealth through dynasty trusts
Creating life insurance trusts
Part V
Chapter 17: Ten Common Retirement and Estate Planning Mistakes
Not Having at Least a Basic Financial Plan
Procrastinating About Estate Planning
Underestimating Life Expectancy
Miscalculating Inflation
Believing You'll Retire When You Expected To
Ignoring Nonfinancial Planning
Failing to Coordinate with Your Spouse
Expecting to Age in Place
Thinking Most Medical Expenses Will Be Covered
Missing the Initial Enrollment for Medicare Plans
Chapter 18: Ten Things to Know About Working in Retirement
Some Work Is Good for You
The Social Security (Tax) Impact Can Be Huge
Number Crunching Can Show You How Different Scenarios Work
Do What You Love
Investing in Education Can Boost Your Employment Value
Some Employers Are More User-Friendly for Older Workers
Taking Some Employment Risk Is Important
Examine Starting/Buying a Small Business
Your Spouse May Not Want What You Want
Volunteering Makes You Happy and Benefits Your Community
Chapter 19: Ten (or So) Tips to Know About Caring for Your Aging Parents
Leverage Off Others' Experiences
Ask for Professional Help
Invest in Their Health
Get Your Parents' Affairs in Order
Examine Housing and Medical Care Options
Use Caregiver Agreements
Separate Living Spaces if Parents Are Going to Move In
Take Care of Your Family
Take Care of Yourself
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