04-06-2020
Rethinking retirement plans post-pandemic - with Elizabeth Kiss
In connection with the covid-19 health crisis, workers have lost their jobs outright, have been laid off with no recall to work date, have been furloughed, or are generally working fewer hours than they previously were. Those who are self-employed, work in the gig economy, and small business owners have also experienced reductions in income. While the economy is emerging from safer-at-home orders, many household incomes are still not back to the levels they were at earlier this year. In this episode, we talk with a financial expert about navigating money challenges and looking ahead to retirement – from the perspective of early-, mid- and late-career workers. Guest for this episode: Dr. Elizabeth Kiss is an associate professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences and a Family Resource Management specialist with K-State Research and Extension. In this position, she assists in the development and delivery of a statewide Cooperative Extension program focused on developing the financial knowledge and skills for sound financial decision-making of Kansans. She supports the work of Extension agents across the state by providing linkages to current research, educational resources, and statewide and national organizations. Her specialties include: Family resource managementFamily and consumer economicsPersonal financial planning Links to Resources: When Your Income Drops: Making Ends Meet Unemployment Insurance Relief During COVID-19 Outbreak (Department of Labor webpage) Retirement Confidence Survey, Expectations about RetirementOlder workers: Employment and retirement trendsFamily FinancesKnow Your CreditK-State Research and Extension homepageK-State Research and Extension COVID-19 Resources page Notes Rainy Day Fund to Cover Three Months Expenses 2018: 49.8% of Kansans (source) 2020, April: U.S. families (source) 23% of those with incomes less than $37,50048% of those with incomes between $37,500 and $112,60075% of those with incomes above $112,600 Considering Retirement? The possibility of finding another job. Might your previous employer bounce-back? Might you be called back to work?Are you willing/able to work in another field?Are you willing/able to move for a job? Your overall savings How much do need? Do you know what your base living expenses are?How much do you have? What is your level of savings? What unemployment or severance benefits do you qualify for and for how long? Your age and Social Security benefits. Full retirement age vs retirement at age 62 or sometime before your full retirement age Health insurance needs. Age 65 or over – MedicareUnder age 65 – where will you obtain health insurance? Spouse, marketplace.gov, other sources? Health Insurance Smarts: Ways to Get Health Insurance, https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3169.pdf Full Social Security Retirement Age Full retirement age, also called "normal retirement age," was 65 for many years. In 1983, Congress passed a law to gradually raise the age because people are living longer and are generally healthier in older age. The law raised the full retirement age beginning with people born in 1938 or later. The retirement age gradually increases by a few months for every birth year, until it reaches 67 for people born in 1960 and later. https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/ageincrease.html Some age markers Age 62 – youngest age at which you can claim Social Security benefits Age 65 – youngest age at which you can claim Medicare benefits Age 70 – age after which an additional month of age at claiming no longer entitles the beneficiary to an incremental benefit increase
