Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether you can be eligible for later spousal benefits if you take early retirement benefits, working while receiving disability benefits and whether a parent’s widow’s benefit is set at the correct amount. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of
Retirement
It’s All about the Roth IRA As a financial advisor, I like to ask my clients what their financial goals and aspirations are. All too often, they say, “I just want the greatest amount of growth while paying the least amount of taxes.” But, as we all know, taxes are generally inevitable on portfolio growth.
High inflation is making the news, and many people are worried. On the one hand, rising prices are taking a bigger bite out of families’ wallets than they did in recent years. On the other hand, price spikes are concentrated in a few items and may prove temporary. Workers, especially low-income ones, have also seen
“I like to study failure,” Warren Buffett said at a shareholders meeting for Coca-Cola KO years ago. “The biggest thing that kills [businesses] is complacency.” The solution, he suggests, is restlessness. How might we apply this recipe for success in our own lives, work, and personal finances? How can we make healthy restlessness a habit?
How should American savers respond to low interest rates? One might expect the answer to be simple: just invest in stocks instead of bonds or savings accounts. And indeed, a young saver not only can heed that advice but likely doesn’t even need it, with Target Date Funds for younger savers automatically allocating their assets
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported, with the headline, “Democrats Add Drug Cost Curbs to Social Policy Plan, Pushing for Vote,” that House Democrats “agree[d] to allow the government for the first time to negotiate prices for medications covered by Medicare.” The article explains, “Starting in 2023, negotiations could begin on what Senator
After much back-and-forth, House Democrats decided to include a scaled-back version of a family and medical leave plan in their nearly $2 trillion version of the Build Back Better social spending bill. The measure would give families up to four weeks of leave a year to care for relatives who are ill, including those who
By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor If you’re curious how to become one of the happiest retirees and how to avoid becoming one of the least happy retirees, I can offer some surprising guidance. That’s because of what I learned reading two excellent, new books about all this and talking to their authors for Next Avenue
By David Conti, Next Avenue For employees, it’s not pumpkin spice season right now, it’s Open Enrollment season. That means it’s time to make the health and retirement plan choices that will be right for you in 2022. It isn’t easy, and many workers feel uneasy about choosing wisely. In its 2021 State of Work in
By Craig Miller, Next Avenue Bill McKibben, who has been called America’s foremost environmentalist, never seems to run out of steam. On the contrary, at 60, he’s firing up the boilers of activism again, engaging a whole new demographic — his own — through a climate change campaign that’s part of what he calls Third Act. McKibben’s
If you “love” your 401(k) plan at work, you’ll be pleased with today’s IRS announcement about contribution limits. The amount that you can contribute to your 401(k) will be higher in 2022, increasing to $20,500 from 2021’s limit of $19,500. This new limit also applies to 403(b) plans, most 457 plans and Thrift Savings
Dementia can disrupt even the coziest living arrangements between unmarried older adults. Cognitive impairment can set your aging parent up for financial manipulation. It’s very convenient for the live-in boyfriend or girlfriend to get into the partner’s bank account by coaching the impaired one to go the bank and take out money. Adult children may
The ongoing pandemic continues to put a heavy burden on older workers. Many lost or left jobs amid the winter surge in the winter of 2021. Jobs are only slowly coming back and long-term unemployment stays high. Retirement is often not an option as many older workers have little or no wealth outside of Social
One of the perennial questions Americans ask is, what are the best states to retire in financially? In order to help answer this question, Credit Karma conducted a study of the best and worst states to retire, which analyzed all 50 states across 20 different, pertinent factors, running the gamut from the overall cost of
As anyone who has ever enrolled in a company’s 401(k) retirement plans knows, it’s not easy to take out the money before you have left the workforce. While many 401(k) plans allow participants to take withdrawals while they are still employed (commonly known as in-service withdrawals or distributions), they generally are permitted only in specific
“Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” Bob Marley “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus Some of the world’s greatest artists, philosophers, and spiritual icons have illuminated the trappings of riches, the
At a time when investors worried about inflation are considering putting money into everything from bitcoin to commodities, there’s an old fashioned—and uber safe and simple—way to keep at least some of your cash from losing value: U.S. Savings Bonds. The U.S. Treasury announced yesterday that I bonds issued between now and the end of
In August 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) completely revamped the Plan Finder. A promotional video said the new design would make it easier to learn about and compare coverage options and select the best plan. In a press release, the CMS Administrator at that time said, “Try it out and let us know what
The economy grew at an annualized inflation-adjusted rate of 2.0% in the third quarter of 2021, a sharp drop from the second quarter’s 6.7%. This slowdown reflects the broad reach of the ongoing global pandemic. Surging cases in the summer made people more leery about going out. Overseas customers of U.S. businesses struggled with widespread
Changing Winds of Tax Legislation Congress was considering tax changes that would have triggered capital gains tax on death, when gifts were made, and every so many years for assets in trusts. Congress was considering reducing the exemption, severely restricting the use of grantor trusts which had been the foundation of estate planning for decades,