Retirement

By Sheila Weller, Next Avenue At 76, Sandi Bachom is one of the most tireless documentary filmmakers of the past 10 years of political turmoil, from Occupy Wall Street to the January 6 insurrection. “Like Zelig with a camera,” as the liberal cinematographer/director/producer/editor is often called (and a straw bowler and often a natty vest over

In the news: “Disgraced Gov. Cuomo files for $50K pension ahead of delayed resignation.” According to the New York Post, “Disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed retirement papers with the state to receive a $50,000 annual lifetime pension — just days before his resignation takes effect over his sexual harassment scandal. “’The governor just filed his application for service retirement.

Social Security beneficiaries probably will receive the highest benefit increase in years when the 2022 COLA is announced later this year. Social Security, as you know, gives beneficiaries an annual cost of living adjustment, or COLA. The COLA is based on the 12-month change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) through September. The Social Security

Chances are at some point in your retirement saving (or spending) life you’ve been asked a question or two about your appetite for risk. For a while, back in the era of Modern Portfolio Theory, the whole concept of “risk” and the investor was the cat’s pajamas. In the old days they even had entire

The cost of a college education continues to soar with no end in sight. College tuition rises at more than twice the rate of inflation, growing by about 8% per year, on average. At this rate, the cost of a college education will double every nine years. This has many parents understandably concerned about paying

My mother used to say, “If I put $1 away every time (blank) happened, I could have retired by now.” Today, we could fill in the blank with, “the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) touches the Plan Finder and there are new problems.”  Since its introduction in August 2019, I have written a

In the news last week, headlined “Social Security could get its biggest raise since the 1980s”: “Social Security recipients could be in for some good news, as financial experts say a Cost-of-Living-Adjustment, or a COLA, could increase their monthly checks next year. “Social Security entitlements haven’t gotten a decent boost in decades and the program

A lot has changed about IRAs in the last couple of years, and more changes are coming if the President and majority in Congress have their way. It’s important to re-assess your strategies. Here are the key changes of the last few years. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) don’t have to begin until age 72 for

It’s only been a few weeks since billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos earned their astronaut wings in separate, back-to-back flights to the edge of space. However, in many ways, the debate over whether or not the billionaire space race benefits this planet and its inhabitants is just getting started. At the center of the

A Reference Guide for Social Security Benefits Many people are not aware of the Social Security benefits they are entitled to. I understand why they don’t – it’s very confusing. Here’s a straightforward, easy-to-reference guide to the various benefits available to you that will enable you to make an informed and correct claiming strategy. Let’s

The internet can be quite a useful yet massively confusing place. Searching for instructional videos on saving for retirement with an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) generates more than 450,000 hits. That is a lot of information. It is also way too much information for people who have regular jobs as hair dressers, dentists, home care

The FBI’s investigation into alleged false investment performance at the $67 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System may suggest law enforcement is finally focused upon public pension shenanigans. That’s not likely. If you want to understand how pension looters and high-level investment scammers frequently escape prosecution, begin with studying the legal and regulatory structure

A recent report from the United Nations warns that we’re running out of time to avoid catastrophic worldwide disruptions from global warming. The U.N. report describes the science confirming the evidence that many of us have been experiencing first-hand—extreme temperatures, droughts, wildfires, and flooding.   While it’s understandable to feel helpless in the face of such

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Senior Editor With bank accounts and CDs paying bubkis (Yiddish for nothing) and bonds yielding not much more, the stock market has been about the only way to earn something on your money lately (up 18% overall in 2021). But what if you’re insecure about investing in stocks? Then, you might

Regular readers know that one of my pet peeves are legislation names with too-clever acronyms, and the WISH Act is pure cringe, on this metric: it’s the Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home Act, introduced by Rep Tom Suozzi (D-NY) at the beginning of July. Its objective is to create a new federal

The Conference Board’s star economist, Dana Peterson maybe humming that catchy tune “Take that Job and Shove it.” Why? The business group reports that workers are quitting at record rates, so employers must scramble even harder to fill out their workforce. Michael Papadopoulos, Associate Economist at The Conference Board, (in a Conference Board email blast)  reports curious

“I am more concerned about the return of my money than the return on my money,” said Mark Twain. The famed author of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “ranked among the highest-paid authors in 19th century America,” and married into wealth as well, yet he proved even more adept at losing money, through venture capital and

By Craig Miller, Next Avenue A few years ago, Lee Hilliard and his wife Linda, of Manchester, Conn., were torn over what to do with their investment portfolio. The 72-year-old retired media consultant and his wife, who’s 64, had come into some Chevron CVX shares from Linda’s inheritance in 2016 and then again after her mother

By Constance Brossa, Next Avenue When it comes to helping people work out, Shannan Schaffer is in perpetual beast mode. The former flight attendant taught her first indoor cycle class at a YMCA in Charlotte, N.C. 31 years ago. She’s still at it. “Pedaling to nowhere is my calling,” says Schaffer, who’s in her late 50s,

It is time to change the rules: If you want to work around vulnerable older adults. You must be vaccinated. For their safety. For yours. And for the safety of your own family. Eight months after the vaccine was made widely available to health care workers, only about 60 percent of nursing home staff has