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THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021 Page 21 S y Senior How Much Will You Need Sa e a Dear Savvy Senior, Is there an easy way to fi gure out how much I will need to save for retirement? My wife and I are both in our late fi fties and want to fi gure out about how much we’ll need in order to retire comfortably. Ready to Retire Dear Ready, How much money you need to retire comfortably is a great question that all working adults should ask themselves. Unfortunately, far too few ever bother thinking about it. But calculating an approximate number of how much you’ll need to have saved for retirement is actually pretty easy and doesn’t take long to do. It’s a simple, threestep process that includes estimating your future living expenses, tallying up your retirement income and calculating the diff erence. Estimate Living Expenses The fi rst step – estimating your future retirement living expenses – is the most diffi - cult. If you want a quick ballpark estimate, fi gure around 75 to 85 percent of your current gross income. That’s what most people fi nd they need to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement. If you want a more precise estimate, track your current living expenses on a worksheet and deduct any costs you expect to go away or decline when you retire, and add whatever new ones you anticipate. Costs you can scratch off your list include work-related expenses like commuting or lunches out, as well as the amount you’re socking away for retirement. You may also be able to deduct your mortgage if you expect to have it paid off by retirement, and your kid’s college expenses. Your income taxes should also be less. On the other hand, some costs will probably go up when you retire, like health care, and depending on your interests you may spend a lot more on travel, golf or other hobbies. And, if you’re going to be retired for 20 or 30 years you also need to factor in some occasional big budget items like a new roof, heating/air conditioning sysBY JIM MILLER to Save for Retirement? Mh W d tem or vehicle. Tally Retirement Income Step two is to calculate your retirement income. If you and/or your wife contribute to Social Security, go to SSA.gov/MyAccount to get your personalized statement that estimates what your retirement benefi ts will be at age 62, full retirement age and when you turn 70. In addition to Social Security, if you or your wife has a traditional pension plan from an employer, fi nd out from the plan administrator how much you are likely to get when you retire. And fi gure in any other income from other sources you expect to have, such as rental properties, part-time work, etc. Calculate the Diff erence The fi nal step is to do the calculations. Subtract your annual living expenses from your annual retirement income. If your income alone can cover your bills, you’re all set. If not, you’ll need to tap your savings, including your 401(k) plans, IRAs, or other investments to make up the diff erence. So, let’s say for example you need around $60,000 a year to meet your living and retirement expenses and pay taxes, and you and your wife expect to receive $35,000 a year from Social Security and other income. That leaves a $25,000 shortfall that you’ll need to pull from your nest egg each year ($60,000 – $35,000 = $25,000). Then, depending on what age you want to retire, you need to multiply your shortfall by at least 25 if you want to retire at 60, 20 to retire at 65, and 17 to retire at 70 – or in this case that would equate to $625,000, $500,000 and $425,000, respectively. Why 25, 20 and 17? Because that would allow you to pull four percent a year from your savings, which is a safe withdrawal strategy that in most cases will let your money last as long as you do. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. Senio nior nr ior DIDOMENICO | FROM PAGE 2 score the need for this legislation. GreenRoots Waterfront Initiative Organizer Noemy Rodriguez spoke about language access barriers that prevented her community’s meaningful participation in the process of public comment against the construction of a local substation. Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts Executive Director Lizz Matos recounted injustices faced by people of color within the prison system. Among these is the use of classifi cation scores, which determine the minimum security level permitted for an inmate, and are often based on factors that are proxies for race, such as the number of years of completed college. Lawyers for Civil Rights Staff Attorney Lauren Sampson shared examples of disparate impacts within the education system, including the overrepresentation of boys of color who receive special education services and their underrepresentation in advanced placement classes. On March 29, the Legislature referred S.996/H.1792 to its Joint Committee on the Judiciary, where a hearing will be scheduled. WALKER | FROM PAGE 17 he has remained for the past year and a half. As the league’s talent and marketing manager, Walker said, one of his primary responsibilities is to attract younger fans. “It’s definitely hard; it’s an uphill battle,” he said. “A lot of people think the NBA is the biggest league in the country – the NFL far outpaces what the NBA is doing.” He has also worked with a number of celebrities in this capacity, including Kevin Hart, Cole Bennett, Lil Wayne, Desi Banks and Lil Baby. Although the NFL has a much greater corporate culture than Nike, Walker said, he has always tested the boundaries and strived to find different ways of doing things. “Every day when I go to work, I feel like I’m on this mission to change the narrative,” he said. Following the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the league’s CFO, Joseph Siclare, offered to speak with any employee who needed to talk. Walker was one of the few who took Siclare up on his offer. “I shared how we need to be bold; you can’t tiptoe around this topic,” said Walker. “I broke down in tears afterward. I felt that he listened.” Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen A note from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Join me this Sunday night and every Sunday night between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Show.” Jump in my time capsule and come back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. My special guest on Sunday, May 23 at 6 p.m. will be Tony Dow, best known for playing Wally Cleaver on the beloved and iconic television series “Leave it to Beaver.” Listeners are always invited to call in and talk with Tony. There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on Audacy.com” Download the free Audacy app on your phone or tablet Listen online at www.wmexboston.com Or tune into 1510 AM if you have an AM radio. Visit us at www.bobkatzenshow.com THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2021 session through May 14. The Senate has held 28 roll calls so far in 2021. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator votes and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. In the Senate, 39 of the 40 members did not miss any roll calls and have 100 percent roll call attendance records. It is a Senate tradition that the Senate president only votes occasionally. Senate President Karen Spilka follows that tradition and only voted on 11 of the 28 roll calls while not voting on 17 of them. Sen. Spilka’s offi ce did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on her voting record. We specifi cally asked if Spilka was in the Statehouse building for all the formal and informal sessions; how the tradition developed that the president rarely votes; has she ever thought of breaking that tradition and being recorded on all roll calls; and how does she choose on which roll calls she will vote? The vast majority of the 40 senators are not in the Senate chamber during a session because of the COVD-19 pandemic. Most are watching and listening to the session from their home, business or Statehouse offi ce and voting remotely. Senators’ votes are communicated to Senate officials during the session or prior to the session if senators are informed in advance that there will be a roll call vote. If a member wants to speak on an issue under consideration, they do so on a separate “debate phone line” and their voice is then heard in the Senate chamber and by anyone watching the broadcast online. 2021 SENATE ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS THROUGH MAY 14 The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes on which the senator voted. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Sen. Sal DiDomenico 100 percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of May 10-14, the House met for a total of two hours and 48 minutes while the Senate met for a total of two hours and 46 minutes. Mon. May 10 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:16 a.m. Senate 11:14 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. Tues. May 11 No House session No Senate session Wed. May 12 No House session No Senate session Thurs. May 13 House 11:00 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. Senate 11:26 a.m. to 1:46 p.m. Fri. May 14 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com

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