Save the Date

It has been said that wisdom comes with age. However, as a counterpoint, someone once said, “Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.”¹

Either way, one thing that does come with age is eligibility for retirement benefits. There are several key retirement milestones tied to specific birthdays or ages. Take this quiz to see how “wise” you are when it comes to these important birthdays.

Match the following ages to their respective retirement milestones:

59½; 62; 65; 66; 70½

____ 1. You become eligible for full Social Security benefits at this age, assuming you were born between 1943 and 1954.

____ 2. At this age you must start taking withdrawals from most employer-sponsored retirement plans and traditional IRAs (the first distribution must be taken no later than April 1 of the year after you reach this age). Required minimum distributions are calculated based on life expectancy tables set by the IRS. The penalty for failing to take a required distribution is 50% of the amount that should have been withdrawn.

____ 3. You are eligible for Medicare coverage at this age.

____ 4. You can take penalty-free withdrawals from employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRAs, and annuities. Before this age, withdrawals are subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty. Distributions from tax-deferred retirement plans are subject to ordinary income taxes (with annuities, only earnings are taxed).

____ 5. You are eligible to start collecting reduced Social Security benefits. Collecting benefits early may permanently reduce your benefit by up to 30%.

1) ThinkExist.com, 2010 (quote is by Tom Wilson)

Answers: 1. 66; 2. 70½; 3. 65; 4. 59½; 5. 62

The information in this article is not intended as tax or legal advice, and it may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalties. You are encouraged to seek tax or legal advice from an independent professional advisor. The content is derived from sources believed to be accurate. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. This material was written and prepared by Emerald. © 2010 Emerald.