Barron’s Retirement’s 10 most-read stories of the year include topics about retirement abroad and retirement with dividends. Apologies to David Letterman and his Top 10 List segment on The Late Show.
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One of the best features of digital journalism is the ability to know what readers are responding to. Barron’s retirement tries to use this knowledge to provide relevant stories on the topics you most want to know about when it comes to saving, investing and living in retirement.
The past year has brought plenty of hits, as you’ll see below, on topics ranging from how to retire abroad to managing your retirement strategy amid turbulent markets to retiring with dividends.
Yet not every story works as we’d hoped or reached as wide an audience as we imagined. Do adult readers want to know about the pot? Aren’t we so interested in the idea of crypto in our workplace retirement accounts what would the headlines make you think? Or have we just not hit on the right title to attract the widest possible audience?
Whatever the case, here’s our second Annual Check-up of Barron’s 10 most-read retirement shops of the year so far, in descending order by the number of readers who clicked on them:
April 3
When to claim Social Security is one of the most personal and controversial topics in retirement. Apparently everyone has an opinion. Here, writer Tom Wilk explores his considerations for when to claim Social Security in this column about living in retirement.
I refrained from claiming Social Security with some reservations, but it remains a lively topic of conversation with friends who were former colleagues. After all, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston Collegeabout 50% of people take Social Security before full retirement age, and less than 10% wait until age 70, when benefits reach their maximum.
“Take the money now. You’ll never make up the difference if you wait until you’re 70,” advised a friend who turned 70 in September and started taking it at 66.
21 Feb
Barron’s Retirement launched a new mailbag feature earlier this year, answering reader questions and turning to professionals for advice. This one attracted a lot of readers, probably because of its title, but the secondary questions about whether to pay off a mortgage and tax-efficient ways to protect taxable investment holdings from inflation were also quite informative.
July 16
The long bull market that drove 401(k) balances for more than a decade ended amid rising inflation, the prospect of a recession, political infighting and the war in Ukraine. What’s an Anxious Retirement Saver to Do?
To find out, Barron’s Retirement reporter Elizabeth O’Brien spoke with a number of financial professionals, as well as an expert in the fledgling field of financial therapy.
While extreme moves are a bad idea, like pulling your money out of stocks, small changes can actually help you stay on course, said Preston Cherry, founder and president of Concurrent Financial Planning in Green Bay, Wis., and president of Financial Therapy Association. For example, you might feel better about knocking back your 401(k) contribution rate by a few percentage points. “If you need to raise some liquidity, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Cherry said.
June 12
Another part of our mailbag series, this installment examines Congress’ plan to gradually raise the age for required minimum distributions to age 75 over the next decade. It won’t happen for a while, if it’s approved at all, and in any case it won’t be passed before the 72-year-olds have to take their first minimum distribution this year.
We also had answers to your questions about Social Security spousal benefits and the controversial Social Security windfall elimination provision.
July 4th
Retirement coverage shouldn’t just be about spending and saving strategies. Just as important as fiscal concerns are health concerns. This makes sense, as what is the point of maximizing wealth if we are not healthy enough or live long enough to enjoy it.
Barron’s Retirement reporter Neil Templin’s latest look at how seniors can improve or optimize their health resonated with readers.
You don’t need to run marathons to reap the benefits of exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults can get the benefits with at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week plus at least two weight training sessions.
You can meet CDC guidelines by hitting the gym twice a week and walking for 30 minutes the other five days, says Mary Edwards, fitness director at Cooper’s Fitness Center in Dallas.
January 8
I’ve long wanted to put the phrase “401(k) millionaire” in a headline, and this On FIRE column looking at the trend of savers seeking financial independence or early retirement gave me the first legitimate chance to do so.
Since Covid first grabbed the headlines, a combination of market rallies, increased savings and reduced borrowing has boosted retirement account balances above pre-Covid highs. Fidelity Investments, for example, reported a record 760,300,401(k) and individual retirement accounts with seven-figure sums in the third quarter of 2021.
While the influx of wealth may stir dreams of early retirement, financial planners say savers should consider a few things. “One of the hurdles is whether you can access your money without being penalized,” says Daniel Harrison, a financial advisor at Harrison Financial Planning in Columbia, Missouri. Another is whether you can mitigate the risks that come with a longer retirement.
June 4
Expat retirement is attracting more and more interest, but it’s not as simple as choosing a place and moving. From health care to taxes, seniors looking to move abroad should count on about a year of prep work, reporter Debbie Carlson found in this feature on Retiring Abroad.
April 23
Stock market downturns early in retirement often hurt the longevity of savings, but they can give retirees willing to do some research and steel their nerves to reap long-term returns.
Retirees in their 60s or early 70s with a longer time horizon can benefit from buying broken-down, high-quality, dividend-paying companies, for example. And with planning and research, there are ways to take the emotion out of buying in volatile times.
To paraphrase billionaire investor Warren Buffettthe time to buy is when others are afraid.
July 2
Equal isn’t always equal when parents leave retirement accounts to grown children with wide income differences, as reporter Gail MarksJarvis explores in this feature on how to manage your retirement savings to limit the tax hit to heirs.
Before the Security Act of 2019, grown children who inherited retirement accounts had considerable leeway in controlling what they withdraw annually and the resulting taxes. While they had to take some money each year and pay taxes, they could limit those taxes by spreading those withdrawals over a lifetime.
Now, for most grown children, IRAs and 401(k)s must be withdrawn within a 10-year period of the parent’s death, meaning withdrawals — and taxes — can be substantial regardless of whether the payments are taken on intervals or in a lump sum up to 11 years.
March 18
As more investors look to set aside some of their nest eggs for the steady income that can come from dividend payers, reporter Lawrence S. Strauss talks to financial professionals about how to diversify holdings, look for downside-proof companies , and perform due diligence on the foundations.
But dividend retirement requires active engagement and management, so it’s worth understanding the downside as well.
While savers need that kind of income and growth to cover what could be a decades-long retirement, this approach isn’t foolproof, and it’s certainly not for everyone. Investors looking to dividend stocks for income also risk losing principal or even a portion of the payout if there is an economic or business downturn. And younger investors may be giving up the long-term growth potential of stocks by pursuing a dividend strategy. Savers should also consider a number of other potential sources of income after retirement – bonds are one option, despite their generally low yields.
Write to Brian Hershberg at brian.hershberg@dowjones.com