How retirement can be a family affair

When Anna and Anthony Iacono got married in 1972 at 23 years old, retirement wasn't the first thing on their minds. They traveled around the world, visiting places that their children would later marvel at in pictures. When they were 29, they bought their first home in Brooklyn, New York, and raised three daughters: Erica, Stephanie, and Angelica. Anna took time off to be a stay-at-home mom before returning to work in 1994.

In 2000, Tony died at age 51 from a rare cancer, leaving Anna with a family to support. She faced many financial decisions, such as how to apply for her husband's Social Security benefits for Erica and how to best invest his 403 (b). She also had to figure out how to pay for college for her daughters, Stephanie and Angelica.

It was all new for her, so she leaned on her extended family for help.

"Those first few years were very overwhelming because my husband had handled most of the finances during our marriage," Anna says. "But I was able to count on my family, and I trusted them to help me make the right choices."

Now, 16 years later, Anna is finally entering that next chapter of her life, retirement, and her immediate family is helping her navigate financial decisions that will secure her future.

Here are some of the things she's facing with the help of her family.

Revising her budget

Like her husband, Anna Iacono was a New York state employee, so in addition to Social Security she'll receive a pension once she retires in June. Even so, her new monthly income will be lower than what she has been used to, and she'll need to factor in both fixed costs such as high property taxes and new ones like additional health insurance to supplement Medicare.

"I don't have an extravagant lifestyle," Anna says, "but I'm going to take a closer look at the way I spend so I can live comfortably and don't feel deprived."

Because they know that having an outside perspective can be helpful, Anna's daughters are helping her to establish priorities for her monthly spending so that she can pay her bills and still enjoy herself.

Choosing the right advisor

After her husband's death, Anna worked with a family friend, who was a financial advisor, to help manage her investments, including her husband's pension, and to guarantee she would be able to help to contribute to her two youngest daughters' education. That financial advisor retired, so her son-in-law, Drew Gervino, is now encouraging her to sign on with his financial advisor, one her other son-in-law, William Corrigan, shares.

"It's important to have someone who is actively working to get you the best investment returns on your money," Gervino says. "I want to know that this person has my and my family's best interest at heart, and that means my extended family too."

Protecting her home

Staying in the house where she's lived for 25 years is a priority for Anna because she doesn't have any plans to downsize anytime soon. So her daughters and sons-in-law have encouraged her to put her house into a trust so that it is protected in case she should ever require expensive, long-term medical care, such as a nursing home. And it's important to do so as soon as possible because of Medicaid's five-year "look back" policy.

"We know how important this house is to our mom," says her oldest daughter, Erica. "She loves to entertain year-round - from holiday dinners and birthdays to BBQs. We want to make sure that there isn't any chance of her losing it if she were to get sick. It's a scenario we hope doesn't happen, but you can never be too safe."

Adjusting to the new normal

Like many other soon-to-be retirees, Anna Iacono is looking forward to her new life. She's planning to take more frequent trips into Manhattan to visit museums and see Broadway shows. And she's most excited about getting to spend more time with her family, especially her three - soon to be four - grandchildren.

"I'm ready to really enjoy this next phase of my life," she says. "And having financial peace of mind will play a big part in that."

Find out how to make the most responsible decisions for the ones you love.

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