Washington County Weekend Post

GMTODAY.COM SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 • WASHINGTON COUNTY POST • 3A Whether it's advice from their parents, a response to television ads urging view- ers to save for retirement, or their own financial savvy, many of today's young pro- fessionals recognize the importance of saving for retirement from the moment they receive their first paychecks. But men and women over 50 may not have been so practical, and many such professionals may feel a need to save more as their retirements draw ever closer. Saving for retirement might seem like a no-brain- er, but the National Insti- tute on Retirement Security notes that, in 2017, almost 40 million households in the United States had no retire- ment savings at all. In addi- tion, the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that Americans have a retirement savings deficit of $4.3 trillion, meaning they have $4.3 trillion less in retirement savings than they should. Men and women over 50 who have retirement sav- ings deficits may need to go beyond depositing more money in their retirement accounts in order to live comfortably and pay their bills in retirement. The fol- lowing are a few simple ways to start saving more for retirement. • Redirect nonessential expenses into savings. Some retirement accounts, such as IRAs, are governed by deposit limits. But oth- ers, such as 401(k) retire- ment plans, have no such limits. Men and women can examine their spending habits in an effort to find areas where they can cut back on nonessential expenses, such as cable tele- vision subscriptions and dining out. Any money saved each month can then be redirected into savings and/or retirement accounts. • Reconsider your retirement date. Deciding to work past the age of 65 is another way men and women over 50 can save more for retirement. Many professionals now continue working past the age of 65 for a variety of reasons. Some may suspect they'll grow bored in retirement, while others may keep working out of financial need. Others may simply love their jobs and want to keep going until their pas- sion runs out. Regardless of the reason, working past the age of 65 allows men and women to keep earning and saving for retirement, while also delaying the first with- drawal from their retirement savings accounts. • Reconsider your cur- rent and future living sit- uation. Housing costs are many people's most consid- erable ex- pense, and that won't necessarily change in retirement. Even men and women who have paid off their mortgages may benefit by moving to a region with lower taxes or staying in the same area but downsizing to a smaller home where their taxes and utility bills will be lower. Adults who decide to move to more affordable areas or into smaller, less expensive homes can then redirect the money they are saving into interest-bearing retirement or savings accounts. Many people begin sav- ing for retirement the moment they cash their first professional paycheck. But even adults over the age of 50 sometimes feel a need to save more as their retirement dates draw closer, and there are many ways to do just that. How to save more for retirement after age 50 Monthly mortgage pay- ments are the biggest single expense for many homeown- ers. So it's understandable why plenty of homeowners would love to trim those costs. A host of factors deter- mine how much homeown- ers pay for their mortgages each month. The cost of the home, the amount of the ini- tial down payment and prop- erty taxes, which are often folded into monthly pay- ments, will factor heavily into the cost of home owner- ship. While homeowners may feel as though there's little wiggle room to cut the costs of their mortgages, there are several ways to do just that and potentially trim years from the life of a home loan. • Make bi-weekly pay- ments. Making bi-weekly instead of once-a-month pay- ments can save homeowners substantial amounts of money. A year's worth of once-a-month payments equates to 12 payments per year. But homeowners who pay on a bi-weekly basis will make 26 half payments, or 13 full payments, per year. That extra annual payment can be applied directly to the princi- pal, dramatically reducing how much homeowners pay in interest over the life of their loans. • Stop paying PMI. Homeowners whose initial down payments are less than 20 percent of the sale price will have to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI. But once the balances on such mortgages falls below 80 percent, homeown- ers can cancel such insur- ance. Homeowners may also be able to stop paying PMI by having their homes reap- praised. • Refinance the loan. Refinancing a loan also can save homeowners substan- tial amounts of money each month. Homeowners are typ- ically eligible for lower inter- est rates when refinancing their loans, meaning they will pay less in interest each month. However, refinancing is not free, so homeowners should first check the going home interest rates and examine their credit scores to see if the interest rate they're likely to get upon refinancing will save them money. The cost of refinanc- ing might be more than homeowners can save. • Request a tax reassessment. Real estate values increase and decrease, and homeowners who feel their homes have decreased in value can request that their homes be reassessed. Homeowners whose homes are assessed at a value lower than the cur- rent value can expect to pay less each month in taxes. Homeowners hoping to cut mortgage costs have various options at their dis- posal. Simple ways to cut mortgage costs

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