Medicare is an important piece of the retirement puzzle. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, healthcare costs are increasingly becoming a bigger portion of the retirement expense pie, and a majority of retirees count on Medicare to help ease the cost of that burden. However for most clients transitioning into retirement, signing up for these benefits is a big mystery to them. In fact, most don’t know that they can be penalized via higher premiums due if they miss the very important 7 month window surrounding their 65th birthday...

Following is the Q1 2015 retirement savings analysis from Fidelity Investments. The analysis includes highlights of 401(k) plans, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and small business retirement plans (bolded statements are my emphasis):

401(k) highlights

• The average 401(k) balance1 at the end of Q1 was $91,800. The average balance is up 0.5 percent from last quarter and up 3.6 percent from one year ago...

It seems that Social Security is not the only retirement program that is paying out more than it takes in.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, 2013 marked the first year that the amount of money withdrawn from 401(k) plans exceeded the amount contributed. As with Social Security, the shift reflects demographics changes as more Baby Boomers retire from the workforce and begin tapping their savings, while younger workers put smaller amounts in...

The standard—and very good—advice about retirement savings is to maximize your contributions in tax-deferred plans such as 401(k)s and IRAs. That way your money compounds without being reduced by taxes and if you wind up in a lower bracket in retirement, you’ll owe less in taxes on the money than if you paid them while working full time...