TAMPA, Fla. — The Secure Act 2.0 was recently passed in Congress. It will allow you to keep money in your retirement account for a longer time, raising the age for required withdrawals from 72 to 73.
“The main reason why they did that is that they don’t want people to spend all their money before they actually end up needing it,” said Celine Pastore with SimplePath Retirement.
Employers would have the ability to help you save for retirement as you pay off your student loans. “Rather than you contributing to a retirement plan because maybe you need to pay off your student debt, you can now do both,” continued Pastore.
In addition, more people will have access to a 401(k) plan, including part-time workers. The bill calls for the automatic enrollment of employees in a plan. “Now it’s going to be an automatic opt-in and you have to proactively opt-out. That is automatically going to make more people save for retirement,” said Pastore.
Older adults are also looking forward to their social security checks increasing by 8.7%. That’s the largest cost-of-living adjustment increase seen in four decades. “In Florida, that COLA is going to be equal to $130 extra in your bank account every month,” said Cristina Martin Firvida with AARP.
According to AARP, nearly one in five residents receive social security benefits. That’s about 65 million people, many of them right here in the Bay Area. You can start receiving your social security at age 62, but AARP recommends that you hold off as long as possible. “The longer you wait, the more you will have in your monthly benefits. So, if you can wait until age 67 or even 70 to start receiving your social security benefits, it’ll make a huge difference,” said Firvida.
Though the rate of social security increases every year, many older adults have complained about rising Medicare premiums canceling out any extra money they may see at the end of the month. “But the great news this year is that Medicare has already announced the premiums for next year and the premiums are going to go down. That almost never happens,” said Firvida.
