Dear Liz: I'm 26 and make $45,000 per year. I currently have about $60,000 saved with no debt. Roughly half of my assets are in retirement accounts, and the other half are in non-retirement accounts. I strive to save 30% of my income (about 15% in pre-tax retirement accounts and 15% in taxable accounts). I hope that my savings habits will provide me the option to retire early. But I am concerned that I am locking up too much of my money in retirement accounts and that a couple decades down the road, I will not be able to access my money when I would like to. How should I balance various savings vehicles and tax benefits, so that I have most options down the road?
Answer: Your savings habits are admirable, but you shouldn't worry too much about "locking up" your money. There are a number of ways to tap retirement funds if you really need the cash. Ideally, you'd leave the money alone to grow tax-deferred until you're ready to retire, but you're not required to do so.
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One way to save for retirement with plenty of flexibility is to fund a Roth IRA each year. You don't get a tax deduction upfront, but you can withdraw your contributions at any time without penalty. If you don't tap the money until you're 59 1/2 or older, your contributions and your earnings are tax free if you've had the account at least five years. Another advantage of a Roth is that you're not required to start distributions after age 70 1/2, as you are with other retirement accounts.
Dear Liz: I earned more than my wife, who died at age 57 after 18 years of marriage. When I turn 60, can I take survivor Social Security benefits based on her work record and then request my benefit at age 70?
Answer: In a word, yes, and doing so may be smart.
Survivor benefits are different from spousal benefits, which inflict some severe penalties for starting checks early. When you start spousal benefits before your own full retirement age, you're locked into a permanently smaller check and you can't later switch to your own benefit, even if it's larger. The only way to preserve the ability to switch is to file a restricted application for just the spousal benefit at your own full retirement age (which is 66 for people born from 1943 to 1954 and gradually increases to age 67 for people born in 1955 and later). Then you preserve the right to change to your own benefit when it maxes out at age 70.
With survivor benefits, starting early means a reduced check -- your widower benefit at 60 would be 30% smaller than if you waited until your full retirement age -- but you can switch to your own benefit later. And if you don't work, starting survivor benefits at 60 is the better course, said economist Laurence Kotlikoff, coauthor of "Getting What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Social Security."
"Getting a reduced benefit for 10 years, from 60 to 70, is better than getting an unreduced benefit for fewer years," Kotlikoff said.
If you work, however, the math becomes less clear. When you start benefits early, your check is reduced $1 for every $2 you earn over a certain limit, which in 2015 is $15,720. That penalty disappears once you hit your full retirement age.
Online calculators can help you determine the best Social Security claiming strategy. AARP and T. Rowe Price are among the sites that provide free calculators, but they don't factor in survivor benefits. Consider spending about $40 for one of the more sophisticated calculators, such as Kotlikoff's MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com, that can include this important benefit.
Dear Liz: A cousin's boss died and in his will left $85,000 for each of the company's 10 employees. What are the tax consequences for her?
Answer: Unless your cousin lives in one of the few states that have an inheritance tax, she won't owe taxes on the bequest.
If she lives in Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, she could owe a maximum of 16% of the money to her state. Typically the rate depends on the relationship between the deceased and the heir, with close relatives paying less than more distant relatives and friends (or employees).
-- Liz Pulliam Weston