Retirement

getty Are you one of the many Americans who work for a small company? Don’t be surprised, but chances are if your company doesn’t employ thousands of workers, it may qualify as a small company. It all depends on your industry. The Small Business Administration defines at what size a business can be classified as

Despite new challenges brought on by COVID-19 in 2020, retirement planning remains a core part of financial security. All retirement planning is deeply personal. It is not just about saving money, reducing taxes, or having money that lasts a lifetime – it is about accomplishing goals and living with dignity throughout life. Because of this

One million older workers have left the labor force amid the pandemic. getty Job growth is slowing amid surging coronavirus infections. Many workers 55 years old and older are leaving the labor force in droves, while others keep working, even at high risks to their health and that of their families. More than a million

getty Over the past quarter-century, the American labor market went through a quiet transformation. The share of workers 55 or older more than doubled, rising from 12% in 1995 to nearly 25% in 2020. At no point in U.S. history have older workers been more essential, and economists predict the trend to continue. Yet this

If you are considering large gifts and you’re able to use your IRA, there’s no more tax-efficient … [+] gift you can make. getty Every December, our attention turns to holiday celebrations and gift-giving, and while the pandemic may impact family gatherings in 2020, it’s still a wonderful time of year. It’s also a natural

Retirees can plan for giving to family responsibly. And don’t forget other ways to give! getty It’s that time of year when many retirees think about financially helping their adult children and grandchildren or donating to the charitable causes they care about. At this stage in life, it’s quite natural that retirees want to give

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue getty Running a home business can be lonely, especially during the pandemic. But creating a support group of other entrepreneurs working at home can be the solution — and it could boost your profits. Just ask Russ Eanes, 63, who founded the editing and self-publishing business Walker Press three years

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about when and whether delayed retirement credits (DRCs) are applied to benefit rates, eligibility of exes to file for benefits on a person’s Social Security record and pensions based on work not taxed by Social Security. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and

This is the strangest holiday season of a lifetime, isn’t it? We get warnings about not visiting during holidays of all kinds and the rates of infection keep going up. Given that it’s inarguable now that the rates of infection by Covid-19, hospitalizations and ICU admissions are worse that ever, we have to consider the

getty Is Social Security a “pension benefit”? Not really. It’s a social insurance program, which means something entirely different. As I I explained last month, Social Security is meant to provide a baseline level of retirement provision for all American workers. We contribute for our entire working lives, but our contributions aren’t about directly “earning”

Saving for two when one partner is the primary breadwinner or a stay-at-home parent can be … [+] challenging. getty How should married couples save for retirement with only one income? Saving for two when one spouse is the primary breadwinner or a stay-at-home parent can be challenging depending on your income. Fortunately, with proper

getty Happiness, experts say, is U-shaped: we are, generally speaking, we are happy/full of life satisfaction as young adults but, as we reach middle age, we become less satisfied, with a trough in one’s early 50s; from this trough we rebound to every-increasing satisfaction levels as we age. It’s remarkable, really, considering the physical infirmities

Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA Getty The year 2020 is one of the most eventful in recent times, and changes to the rules that govern retirement accounts are no exception. One of these changes is the waiver of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2020. As a result of this waiver, you are not required to

CHICAGO – JANUARY 15: A woman reads a Food 4 Less sales flyer as she stands in the check-out line at … [+] the new Food 4 Less (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) Getty Images The Federal Reserve found in 2019, 37 percent of adults saying they could not cover a hypothetical expense of $400

Term life insurance offers a death benefit if death occurs during the fixed period covered by the contract, when premiums have been paid and the policy remains in force. When not viewing life insurance within the framework of retirement income planning, term life insurance offers the lowest premiums to support the human capital replacement needs

Partial retirement – the new normal? getty People are living longer but they are not increasing the accumulated wealth needed to support a longer life of retirement. On the contrary, the swing from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans has increased the population of those reaching retirement age without adequate provision. One result has

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Charlotte Japp Charlotte Japp, the 30-year-old founder of the uplifting CIRKEL community platform for intergenerational networking, drew inspiration for it from what happened to her parents. “Growing up, I saw both of my parents get aged out of their careers and pretty much get forced to pivot and start their

Do you have tangible things in your life that you want to protect? Do you want peace of mind, knowing that you’ll be able to recover from a loss if the unexpected happens and that you’ll be able to rebuild your life? If you’re like a lot of young adults, you’ve worked hard to build

getty Retirement plans come in all shapes and sizes. You may think your plan is too big (or too small) to share the same concerns with smaller (or larger) plans. It turns out, however, there’s a lot in common between really large and really little 401(k) plans. This is not to say there aren’t differences

By Jon Friedman, Next Avenue getty A few months ago, I received the kind of jolt from my tax preparer that many of us will get sooner or later. He informed me that he’d decided to retire in the coming years. There’s no easy answer when you have to make an assessment that could affect