A Long Island retirement planning lawyer can help you to make plans for financial security during your senior years. There are many issues to consider when planning for your financial life during retirement. It is beneficial to begin making your retirement plan early so you can take advantage of tax breaks that can make saving for your retirement easier. You should also consider the costs of healthcare as a senior, and you should make sure you understand the rules for when and how you can withdraw from tax-advantaged retirement accounts without incurring penalties. 
Mark S. Eghrari & Associates PLLC helps with all aspects of retirement planning, whether you are young or old. We help you to set investment goals, take steps to achieve them, use tax breaks to grow your wealth more easily, and create a smart financial plan during your golden years. We also provide you with assistance in understanding the kinds of financial issues that seniors face.
For example, one common question that seniors have is what they should do about their credit cards when they retire. Long Island Business News recently published an article on this subject that can be helpful to seniors. The article advises older Long Island residents that their credit cards should not retire when they do.
Why Your Credit Cards Shouldn’t Retire When You Do
According to Long Island Business News, approximately 34 percent of all baby boomers are at risk of hurting their credit scores after they have retired. The problem is, many seniors plan to either stop using credit cards entirely or plan to seriously cut back their use of credit during their retirement years. If you stop using your credit cards, your cards may no longer remain active. This could result in your credit cards being closed, which would reduce the amount of available credit you have. The age of your credit accounts could also be shortened if creditors close accounts due to inactivity, which could hurt your score as the length of your credit history is an important factor in assessing your creditworthiness.
If you stop using your credit cards as a senior and your credit score goes down as a result, you could have a problem opening up new accounts. Inactivity that prompts your old cards to close would also mean you don’t have a line of credit on those cards that is open for you in case a situation arises where you need to charge something.
You could also be prevented from getting a loan for something like a new vehicle that you wish to purchase. Long Island Business News, for example, told the story of a 70-year-old who had years of responsible credit use but who surprisingly found that she was not able to qualify for a good deal on a car loan because her credit score had fallen. Her credit score declined dramatically due to the fact that she had largely switched to using her debit card during retirement instead of continuing to use her credit cards.
Hurting your credit score as a result of inactivity during your senior years could prevent you from getting many different kinds of loans that could come in handy as a senior, which has become a bigger problem as the average life-span has increased. As Long Island Business News explained, the average 65-year-old today is likely to live into his or her mid 80’s and might need credit to do things like find housing, co-sign a loan, refinance a home or take out a home equity line of credit. Even some independent living facilities reportedly do a credit check prior to admission, which could be a big problem for a senior whose credit score has fallen dramatically due to not using credit cards after retirement.
Getting Help from A Long Island Retirement Planning Lawyer
A Long Island retirement planning lawyer at Mark S. Eghrari & Associates PLLC will provide you with the assistance you need throughout your life to become a financially-secure senior. From making plans for retirement savings to making financial decisions during your golden years, we are here to provide the advice you need to make smart choices.
To learn more about how we can help you with financial issues during your life and leading up to retirement, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online to get personalized advice about all of your financial and retirement planning questions. Call today so our firm can provide the help you need.
Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney
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