A digest of news from publications around the nation about finance, investing, and retirement.

How all 50 states tax retirees | Kiplinger

Retirees relocate for lots of different reasons, from the weather to proximity to grandchildren. Moving from a pricey part of the country to one with low housing prices could also lower your expenses and make your retirement savings last longer. But as you consider the cost of living in potential retirement destinations, don’t overlook the impact of state taxes on your bottom line. Spoiler alert: Colorado is in the middle of the pack.

These tips can help retirees make required minimum distributions easy and tax penalty free | CNBC

If you’re 70½ or older and have, or inherited, a retirement account, you need to take your required minimum distribution (RMD) by December 31. Miss that deadline, and you’ll face a tax penalty. RMDs are the minimum amount that must be withdrawn from retirement funds, such as an individual retirement account (IRA) or employer-sponsored plans like 401(k)s. The amount you need to take out varies from year to year and is based on specific calculations. But simple tips, like getting paperwork in order and double-checking your math, can make the process easier.

Don’t tell me how to retire | NextAvenue

The traditional definition of retirement – stop working at 65, full stop – is outdated. An episode of Friends Talk Money, a podcast on personal finances after 50, looks at examples where retirement in 2019 looks very different from that traditional picture.

Help needed to curtail Gen X’s anxiety about retirement | PlanSponsor

Generation X investors are less confident about their financial future than Millennials or Baby Boomers, according to E*TRADE’s quarterly StreetWise survey. Not having enough saved for retirement tops the list of worries for Gen X (ages 35 to 54), with nearly one-third (32%) choosing it.

Thousands of Americans are signing up to trade stocks for free. Here’s what to do instead | Money

In October, the discount brokerage Charles Schwab announced a new policy of commission-free stock, ETF and option trades. Following that announcement, rivals E*Trade, Fidelity and Ameritrade quickly followed suit. Schwab, which agreed in November to purchase Ameritrade for $26 billion, recently said it signed up 142,000 new customers in October, up 30 percent from the number it signed up in September. When it comes to investing, costs do matter. And anything that promises to lower investors’ costs is worth applauding. But your investment horizon should also be long-term. Making trades free seems to run counter to that, encouraging people to trade more.