The following article will be of interest to the baby boomers in USA,
especially the part at the end. If you have other tips like it, please share.
Others may ignore it.
Dilip Deka
==========================================================
Millions spend golden years making green
10:51 AM CST on Monday, February 25, 2008
By BOB MOOS / The Dallas Morning News
Cecil Lawrence's friends tease him that he's crazy to work at his age. The
90-year-old glass salesman just laughs and suggests that they're even crazier
to sit at home and watch soap operas.
"I guess they're content to be old folks," he said.
Like Mr. Lawrence, about 2.7 million Americans are skipping retirement and
working into their 70s, 80s and even 90s. Most remain on the job, retirement
experts say, not for the money but for the personal satisfaction.
The lifelong workers still account for only 10 percent of their generation,
but the proportion of over-70 Americans who have "retired retirement" has edged
up since the 1990s as people live longer, enjoy better health and hold less
physically demanding jobs.
And the number will only increase with the baby boomers. Seventeen percent
say they expect to work indefinitely, though financial necessity will be a
bigger reason for their passing up Golden Pond, according to the MetLife Mature
Market Institute.
Policy analysts who fear an "entitlement crisis" with the retirement of 78
million boomers welcome the trend toward longer working lives, saying it offers
financial benefits for older individuals and the economy as a whole.
Postponing retirement by just five years would boost the average worker's
annual retirement income by 56 percent and add $1 trillion a year to tax
coffers by 2045, enough to erase Social Security's deficit, says the Urban
Institute's Retirement Policy Center.
Older workers bear the burden of convincing businesses that they can remain
productive, said William Zinke, a human resources executive who's created a
nonprofit group, the Center for Productive Longevity, to change employer
attitudes.
"Although age discrimination is illegal, it exists far more than we'd like to
think," he said.
Many employers view older workers as particularly expensive, either because
they demand higher salaries or incur more health care costs than younger
workers, said Gordon Mermin, a policy analyst with the Urban Institute.
But by the time workers reach their 70s, many aren't looking for traditional
health benefits, because they're covered by Medicare.
Only 15 percent have employer-provided health insurance, and 14 percent have
pension coverage, the institute says. Only 27 percent work full-time, while 38
percent put in fewer than 20 hours a week.
Many businesses also worry that older workers are harder to train and will
retire too soon for the investment in them to pay off. But older employees'
loyalty, sound judgment and even temperament can make them good role models for
younger workers, Mr. Mermin said.
"The key is an understanding employer who's willing to make some
accommodations," said Cynthia Metzler, president and chief executive of
Experience Works, a national group that provides training and employment
services to older workers.
Tax, pension and age anti-discrimination laws have discouraged employers from
establishing formal "phased retirement" programs that allow workers to reduce
their hours but stay on the payroll, Mr. Zinke said. But some employers do it
informally.
And plenty of older workers don't need a boss's approval. Among workers 70
and older, 42 percent are in business for themselves, the Urban Institute says.
KNOW THE TAX LAWS BEFORE YOU WORK
Some seniors complain that income tax laws discourage them from working.
Once you're past your full retirement age, you won't lose any of your Social
Security benefits just because you're working.
But a portion of your Social Security benefits may become taxable.
To determine whether you owe any federal income taxes on your benefits, the
Internal Revenue Service looks at your "combined income." That consists of your
adjusted gross income (including wages from your job, pension payments and
withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA), any nontaxable interest income, plus half of
your Social Security benefits.
If this combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000 (or between $32,000
and $44,000 for a couple filing jointly), you may have to pay income taxes on
50 percent of your Social Security benefits. That doesn't mean you'll pay half
of your benefits in taxes. What it does mean is that 50 percent of your Social
Security benefits must be added as income when filing your tax form.
If your combined income exceeds $34,000 (or $44,000 for a couple filing
jointly), you may owe income taxes on up to 85 percent of your Social Security
benefits.
A tax adviser may be able to help you avoid this maddening situation: Say
that on Dec. 31, the final dollar of annual income you earn from your job
triggers taxes on your Social Security benefits. That last dollar not only
would be taxed as income, it also would prompt the taxation of a lot more
income.
No matter how much you enjoy working in your golden years, you may wish you
had stayed home that day.
Bob Moos
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
