Social Security has always been a uniquely American Rorschach Test. Should you take what’s offered to you right now or wait a few years for what’s behind the curtain? Fortunately, you don’t have to have visions of Monty Hall haunting your Social Security claiming decision. There’s actually a fairly reliable checklist you can go through
Retirement
Carl Jung said, “One cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning; for what was great in the morning will be of little importance in the evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie.” It was actually physician and psychoanalyst, Elliot Jaques, who
Long before the Clash sang “should I stay or should I go,” Social Security recipients have asked, “Should I claim or should I wait?” Back in 1982 when the punk rock tune was first released, the life expectancy in the United States was 75 years. It didn’t make sense to wait to receive Social Security.
Estate owners dodged some bullets in 2021. Significant estate and gift tax increases were proposed early in the year, but they’ve been put on the back burner. They’re likely to be revised in 2022. Even if they aren’t, the 2017 changes are slated to expire after 2025. That would reduce the lifetime estate and gift
On November 19th, the House passed the Build Back Better (BBB) tax and spending proposal by a narrow 220 to 213 vote, almost exclusively along party lines. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Bill increases the deficit by $367 billion over 10 years. The Budget Office’s analysis doesn’t take into consideration an estimated $127
Turkey, stuffing, and cranberry jelly out of the can. Only cranberry jelly ‘fresh’ out of the can has the lines to indicate true authenticity. Thanksgiving is recognized as one of the ‘happiest’ days of the year. And, why not? For many, the elements that are thought to contribute to our happiness — family, friends, food, and fun — come
By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue If you want to know what prospects for the retirement security of women in America look like, you couldn’t do better than hearing what a bevy of brilliant experts said at the recent day-long virtual summit of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER). I was fortunate to be a participant, where
In the 2021 Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research, 50% of workers and 72% of retirees say the COVID-19 pandemic has not changed their confidence in achieving a secure retirement. Still, 33% of workers and 25% of retirees say it’s made them somewhat or significantly less confident
As 2021 comes to an end, now is a wonderful time to review some year-end planning strategies. Some of these ideas may apply to you, while others will not. However, it’s worth scanning the below checklist to see if there are any opportunities you’d like to discuss with your financial advisor, accountant, or attorney before
Just about everyone feels the stress about holidays and particularly family gatherings. Maybe it’s about some difficult relationships in your family. Perhaps it’s the host or hostess feeling the pressure to get everything ready for visitors. For many people, travel itself is stressful. For the family elder it may be much more than what gets
Climate change is leading to climate migration. And climate migration is creating an opportunity for global property investors. It used to be that northern California’s long and depressing rainy season started in October and continued until April with little sun in between. Summers were hot but pleasant. Today, winter days in Sacramento are often bright
By Laura Carstensen, Next Avenue Demographers predict that as many as half of the children born in the developed world since 2000 will reach the age of 100 and beyond. Once a rare event, century-long lives will become commonplace by 2050. The near doubling of life expectancy presents a range of challenges — along with yet
By Wes Moss, Next Avenue A recent Next Avenue article and “Friends Talk Money” podcast episode shared one of the principles from my new book “What the Happiest Retirees Know: 10 Habits for a Healthy, Secure, and Joyful Life.” Specifically, they highlighted my discovery that the happiest retirees generally have at least $500,000 in liquid assets
As you approach your retirement years and also soon after you retire, you face a serious of critical decisions that are often more complex, with higher stakes, than the saving and investing decisions you had to make throughout your working years. But by asking questions—of yourself and others with hard-won life experience—you have a better
A recent Tax Court Case, Smaldino V. Commissioner Of Internal Revenue, T.C. Memo. 2021-127, November 10, 2021 has lots of important lessons on how to do an estate plan properly. These lessons are particularly important for those that did planning in a rush in 2020 and 2021 fearing dramatic changes in the tax laws. Even
Roth IRA Contribution Ranges Like a traditional tax-deductible IRA, the maximum Roth IRA contribution for 2022 is $6,000, and the catch-up contribution for those 50 and older is $1,000, for a total maximum contribution of $7,000 for those age 50 or older. Keep in mind that these maximums assume you have earned income at or
Having a pile of money at your fingertips can sometimes lure you into a jungle you best not enter. The problem is that, sooner or later, you’re going to look at your retirement savings account and discover you have a big pile of money. Then, you’re going to have to fight back the urge to
Millions of people have retired during the pandemic, but the option of older workers to retire is not equally shared across population groups. For every worker that has a choice to leave the labor force when job opportunities disappear, many other workers lack that opportunity. It often comes down to having enough savings to supplement
By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor For years, the Social Security Administration has done a pretty crummy job telling Americans how much they’ll likely receive in Social Security benefits. But I’m glad to say that the agency just replaced its text-heavy, four-page Social Security Statement with a redesigned, more useful, more visual, two-page version. As a
By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Career transitions are hard for everyone, but the shift from military to civilian life can be particularly challenging. Soldiers coming back from the Vietnam War were too often treated as damaged goods by employers, according to research by Alair MacLean, sociology professor at Washington State University, it remains to be seen