Retirement

Yesterday Congress avoided a government shutdown. But the fix is temporary. And all the uncertainty caused the stock market to plunge almost 5% for the month of September. Since Republicans are adamant about not raising the debt limit; there is more trouble ahead.   What would a government shutdown mean for ordinary Americans? Since essential

Older (aka) geriatric millennials have already turned forty, while the more senior members of Generation X are hitting age 60. Regardless of your generation, you should be asking, “How much should I have saved” (at various ages). Many millennials are already on the retirement-saving bandwagon. The same could be said for a small portion of

It’s easy to quantify the pain that high levels of debt can cause to one’s finances by either looking at the opportunity cost or the squeeze on the ability to pay day-to-day expenses. But causing pain to the actual body? According to new research, the ache you may feel or the stiffness after work may

Long-term care (LTC) is expensive. Even bottom-of-the-barrel care can break the average retirement income plan. The problem is exponentially worse for married couples who face increased odds of one or both spouses needing long-term care. Depending on where you retire, the average cost of a private room in a nursing home is more than $100,000

When the Trump Tax Act was enacted in 2017, estate planning attorneys warned their wealthy clients the approximately $11 million lifetime federal estate tax exemption was not going to last forever. It was, and currently still is, scheduled to drop back down to $5 million (adjusted for inflation) on January 1, 2026 barring action by

If there’s one thing we know about the Budget Reconciliation bill that the Biden Administration and the Democrats in Congress are aiming to pass, it’s that its cost is $3.5 Trillion. Or, according to its supporters, it’s cost-free, that is, because they are defining “cost” to mean net effect on the national debt. (President Biden

Many families face the issue of a once powerful head of the family, in charge of all finances, now showing signs of dementia. Whether it is diagnosed or not, it is an issue that must be addressed. The family’s financial security can be in jeopardy. It typically starts with an aging parent who has some

Childlessness is something the U.S. Census Bureau has never bothered to explore––until now. Those of us who have a keen interest in solo aging (adults over 55 with no children and those aging alone for other reasons) have been aware for many years of the rise in childlessness among boomers. The reverberations of this rise in childlessness

There are nearly 32 million small businesses in the United States, according to the Small Business Association. Of those, 81% are single-person entities with no employees on the payroll. According to PNC, while 60% to 70% of small business owners want to pass along their business to the next generation, only 15% have an actual

Adding crypto to your retirement investments With the recent rise in popularity and price of cryptocurrencies, many people are still trying to figure out how to efficiently invest in the new digital asset class. While would be investors are waiting for the SEC to hopefully grant approval for the creation of crypto ETFs, which would

There’s been a lot of hand wringing about a looming “retirement crisis,” based on studies that project future retirees will have less money to spend in retirement compared to their working years. And indeed, many of these studies conclude that most pre-retirees haven’t saved enough money to reach a common goal for their income in

In the past, older households were more likely to retire debt free with a paid-off mortgage. Those days are over. Student loan debt for older adults, their children, and their grandchildren has been rising for decades. Debt undermining retirement security is a sinister and under-appreciated problem, but the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is

Readers, I am embarrassed to admit that a radical change to our retirement system, tucked into the “Build Back Better” Budget Reconciliation bill, wholly escaped my notice until just recently. As explained by Ashlea Ebeling, also at Forbes, “Under the proposal, starting in 2023, employers with five or more employees would have to offer a retirement

You’ve heard that some people think they pay no fees for their 401(k) plan. You’re not one of them. You know where to look for those ‘hidden’ fees. You also know what you can or cannot do if you think you’re paying too much. What’s more, you know it takes a lot of effort to

The US is currently experiencing an uptick in inflation with CPI rising 5.3% in August. For many, this is inflation troubling while others see it as transitional. However, Social Security recipients may be getting an unexpected boost from the rising prices. Social Security benefits are indexed to inflation. Historically, Social Security benefits prior to 1972

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor We’ve all known that Covid-19 has taken a cruel toll on the health of older Americans. Now, a new study from The Commonwealth Fund foundation finds that the coronavirus has been equally brutal financially. In fact, the 2021 International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults shows Americans 65+ have been facing greater

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor Rudyard Kipling famously wrote: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…” And that about sums up a key rule for investing: Make your decisions about when to buy and sell and what to buy and sell based on thinking rationally, not emotionally. It isn’t easy. But my “Friends

By Paul Irving, Next Avenue We learned from the 2020 U.S. Census that the fastest growing metro area in the nation is The Villages, a master-planned retirement community in central Florida. In a demographically changing and urbanizing America, this dominantly white, politically conservative stronghold bucked the trend as retirees lured by warm winters, pastel-hued homes, golf

On August 31 the Trustees of Social Security and Medicare finally issued their 2021 annual report. The news wasn’t good, but not as bad as many expected. Normally the trustees issue their annual report sometime in the Spring. Last year it was issued April 22. This year the actuaries apparently spent more time massaging the

What’s a “hidden” 401(k) fee? As the name suggests, it’s likely one that’s not readily disclosed or easily accessible. If you use this definition, almost all fees are hidden because they’re too hard to find. “The plan sponsor/employer does receive an annual fee disclosure,” says Stuart Robertson, CEO of ShareBuilder 401k in Seattle. “However, this