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The INDEPENDENT, August 17, 2011
What to consider when deciding whether to put retirement on hold
by Jason Alderman (www.prac
ticalmoneyskills.com)
One indicator our economy
is still hurting is that more and
more people are postponing re-
tirement. According to the De-
partment of Labor, those over
55 and still working have in-
creased steadily since the re-
cession began – 28.9 million at
last count – and some surveys
show more than a third of em-
ployees expect to work past
age 70 or never retire.
Would-be retirees have
faced a perfect storm of nega-
tive situations:
• Having to tap retirement
savings early to cover bills or
tide them through unemploy-
ment.
• Plunging home values di-
minished or erased the equity
many had hoped to draw on in
retirement.
• Unable to afford – or quali-
fy for – health insurance they’ll
need until Medicare kicks in.
• And many boomer parents
have put their own savings on
hold while helping their kids
struggle through the recession.
If you’re hoping to retire in
the next few years, consider
the following:
How much will you need? Fi-
nancial planners often suggest
people may need 70 percent or
more of pre-retirement income
to maintain their current
lifestyle, but it’s difficult to gen-
eralize. For example, some
people downsize housing or re-
tire to less expensive areas
and thus need less. Others can
expect increased medical, utili-
ty and other bills to outpace
earnings on their savings.
Start estimating your retire-
ment needs by using online
calculators:
• The Retirement Estimator
at www.ssa.gov/estimator au-
tomatically enters your earn-
ings information to estimate
your projected Social Security
benefits under different scenar-
ios, such as age at retirement,
future earnings projections,
etc. You can also download a
more detailed calculator to
make more precise estimates.
• Check whether your 401(k)
plan administrator’s website
has a calculator to estimate
how much you will accumulate
under various contribution and
investment scenarios. If not, try
the various retirement calcula-
tors at www.bankrate.com.
• AARP offers a retirement
calculator to help determine
your current financial status
and what you’ll need to save to
meet your retirement needs.
After you’ve explored vari-
ous retirement scenarios, con-
sider paying a financial planner
to help work out an investment
and savings game plan. If you
don’t have a personal referral,
good resources include www.
cfp.net, www.napfa.org and
www.fpanet.org.
Social Security issues. To
make ends meet, many people
begin drawing reduced benefits
from Social Security before
reaching full retirement (65 for
those born before 1938 and
gradually increasing to 67
thereafter). This can have sev-
eral financial consequences:
• Your monthly benefit will be
reduced by up to 30 percent.
(Conversely, if you postpone
benefits until after reaching full
retirement age, your benefit in-
creases by 7 to 8 percent per
year, up to age 70.)
• Although many states don’t
tax Social Security benefits,
they are counted as taxable in-
come by the federal govern-
ment. So, depending on your
overall income, you could owe
federal tax on a portion of your
benefit. IRS Publication 915 at
www.irs.gov has full details.
• If you begin drawing Social
Security while still working,
your benefit could be signifi-
cantly reduced depending on
your income. Read “How Work
Affects Your Benefits” at
www.ssa.gov for details. (Rest
assured, however: Those re-
ductions aren’t truly lost since
your benefit will be recalculated
upward at full retirement age.)
One last suggestion: Once
you’ve settled on what you
think will be a sufficient retire-
ment budget, try living on it for
a few months first before retir-
ing to make sure it actually
works.
Community Calendar
VERNONIA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Mondays
6:30 p.m., 410 North Street
Alcoholics Anonymous
Thursdays (Big Book Study) 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street
American Legion Post #119
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue
Booster Club
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., VHS Library
Boy Scout Troop 201
Tuesdays
7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin
Boy Scout Troop 860
Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., LDS Church
Cemetery Beautification Comm.
2nd Thursday
6:30 p.m., Library
CERT
4th Wednesday
For Info Call 503-429-3018
Chamber of Commerce
2nd Wednesday
For Info Call 503-429-6081
Community Coalition
2nd Monday
12:30 p.m. School District Ofc.
Cub Scout Pack 201
Scout Cabin
For Info Call 503-429-4250
Friends of the Library
1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library
Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2
For Info Call 503-819-0143
Izaak Walton League
3rd Thursday
For location call 503-429-7193
Kiwanis Club
2nd & 4th Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong
Lions Club
1st & 3rd Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong
Municipal Airport Committee
1t Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Pioneer Museum
For Info Call 503-429-3713
Public Works Committee
4th Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Cares Directors
For Info call 503-429-1414
Vernonia City Council
1st & 3rd Mondays
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Community PTA
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., WGS Library
Vernonia Garden Club
2nd Tuesday
1:30 p.m., Vernonia Library
Vernonia Grange
3rd Monday
7:00 p.m., Grange Hall
Vernonia Health Center
3rd Thursday
6:30 p.m., 510 Bridge St.
Vernonia Learning Center
1st Wednesday
6:00 p.m., VLC
Vernonia Parks Committee
3rd Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Planning Comm.
1st & 3rd Thursdays
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Pride
2nd Thursday
1:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Ridge Riders
Last Thursday
7:00 p.m., Senior Center
Vernonia RFPD Board
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia School Board
2nd Thursday
6:00 p.m., District Office
Vernonia Sr. Center Board
2nd Friday
10:00 a.m., Senior Center
Vernonia Transfer Station
2nd & 4th Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Behind VHS
Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters
2nd Monday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
WOEC Directors
3rd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., WOEC
MIST-BIRKENFELD
M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg.
2nd Tuesday
M-BRFPD Board Workshop
4th Tuesday
M-B Ambulance Drill
1st & 2nd Thursdays
M-B Fire Drill
1st & 2nd Wednesdays
M-B Helping Circle
2nd Monday
M-B SAR Drill
3rd Wednesday
M-B Volunteer Assoc.
1st Tuesday
Natal Grange
2nd Wednesday
T.O.P.S.
Mondays
Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-0869
BANKS
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
American Legion Post #90
Banks City Council
Banks Fire District #13
Banks Library Commission
Banks Planning Commission
Banks School Board
Banks Youth Group
Chamber of Commerce
CPO 14
Everybody’s Hometown Band
Friends of the Library
Lions Club
Sunset Park Assoc.
T.O.P.S.
Friday
Wednesday
2nd Tuesday
2nd Tuesday
2nd Wednesday
3rd Tuesday
Last Tuesday
2nd Monday
Sunday, Wednesday
1st Thursday
3rd Monday
Tuesdays
2nd Tuesday
1st & 3rd Mondays
3rd Wednesday
Wednesday
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall
9:00 a.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
7:30 p.m., Main Street Post
7:30 p.m., City Hall
7:00 p.m., Station 13
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., City Hall
7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library
7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg.
12:30 p.m., Fire District Office
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., BHS Music Room
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., Brown Derby
8:00 p.m., Gun Club
7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg.
COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.)
Board of Commissioners
Wednesday
10:00 a.m., Courthouse
Citizens for Senior Justice
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church
Columbia Comm Mental Health
1st Tuesday
5”30 p.m., 58646 McNulty Way
Columbia Soil & Water District
3rd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes
County Fair Board
2nd Monday
6:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg.
County Parks Commission
3rd Tuesday
Times vary, 1054 Oregon St.
Mental Health Advisory Comm.
Quarterly
For Info call 503-397-7211
Comm. on Children & Families
3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30
Local Alcohol & Drug Plan. Comm.
Quarterly
For Info call 503-397-7211
Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.