Tag Archives: Financial Planning

Age Milestones for Retirement Planning

age milestones

Whether you’re 22 or 52, you should be planning for retirement. Your NYSLRS retirement benefits will be based on your tier, years of service and final average earnings. For most members, age is also an important factor in your NYSLRS benefits and it’s a factor for Social Security and retirement savings strategies as well. So, as you plan for retirement, consider these age milestones.

Age Milestones

Under 50: It’s never too early to start saving for retirement. Even modest savings can add up over time as investment returns grow and interest compounds.

50: The Age 50 and Over Catch-Up provision allows you to save more pre-tax dollars in a retirement account starting in the calendar year in which you turn 50.

55: The earliest age most NYSLRS members can begin collecting a service retirement benefit. (This does not apply to members in special retirement plans.) Your pension may be permanently reduced if you retire before your full retirement age.

59½: The age you can start withdrawing money from a tax-deferred retirement savings plan, such as an IRA, without facing a potential federal tax penalty. (The penalty does not apply to New York State Deferred Compensation Plan savings if you are retired or have left public service.)

62: Full retirement age for your NYSLRS benefit if you are in Tier 2, 3, 4 and 5 or PFRS Tier 6. Earliest age you can begin collecting a Social Security pension, but the benefit would be reduced. For more information about Social Security, read When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits.

63: Full retirement age for your NYSLRS benefit if you are in ERS Tier 6.

65: Age most people are eligible for Medicare benefits.

66: Full retirement age for Social Security if you were born from 1943 through 1954. Add two months for each year from 1955 through 1959.

67: Full retirement age for Social Security if you were born in 1960 or later.

70: If you do not take your Social Security benefit, your benefit will increase each year until you reach age 70. Delaying Social Security after 70 will not increase your benefit.

73: Generally, if you have tax-deferred retirement savings and are no longer working, you must begin withdrawing some of this money when you reach a certain age. Under a recent change in federal law, you must start taking “minimum required distributions” at age 73. The minimum age had been 72, and the change does not affect those who turned 72 before the end of 2022. This age milestone will increase to 75 in 2033. Required minimum distributions do not apply to your NYSLRS retirement benefits.

One Last Number: Having a rough idea of your life expectancy is essential to retirement planning.

Retirement and your credit score

Retirement and Your Credit Score

Throughout your working years, you strived to maintain good credit. But if you’re retired, or about to retire, is a good credit score that important? The answer is yes, according to many financial experts. You don’t want to be burdened with debt in your retirement years, but you may need to get a car loan or refinance a mortgage. A good credit score will assure you can borrow the money at a decent interest rate.

But your credit score can affect you even if you don’t borrow money. A bad credit score could prevent you from landing a job or renting an apartment. It could even force you to pay higher insurance premiums.

Fortunately, maintaining a good credit score is not that difficult. In most cases, it’s a matter of continuing what you’ve already been doing.
Retirement and your credit score

How to Maintain a Good Credit Score

  • Pay your bills on time. Your payment history accounts for about a third of your credit score.
  • Don’t max out your credit cards. The ratio of debt to available credit is also a big factor. If all your credit cards have balances near the limit, your credit score will suffer.
  • Don’t close credit card accounts you’ve had for a long time. These accounts show your long history of being responsible with credit, helping to boost your score.
  • Check credit reports. Even if you’re doing everything right, misinformation in the files of credit rating companies can hurt your credit. (And, no, requesting a credit report will not hurt your credit score.)

Things like age and salary are not part of the credit score equation, so being retired does not hurt your score. However, lenders do take income into account when you apply for a loan, so you may find it harder to borrow after retirement, even if you have good credit.

Checking Credit Reports

Under federal law, the three nationwide credit reporting companies are required to provide you with a free credit report once every 12 months. But you must request it. You can do it online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. (AnnualCreditReport, a website maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies, is the only free-credit-report site authorized by the federal government. Beware of impostor sites.)