By Julia Yarbough, Next Avenue Miami-Dade (Fla.) Fire Rescue firefighter and paramedic James Weldon, 55, recalls the myriad of emotions pumping through him during a routine rescue call when he was a rookie 17 years ago. Not because of the severity of the medical treatment, but for the words the female patient in her 80s hurled his
Retirement
If you have been following the new changes in the law governing inherited IRAs, you need to know that the current IRS Publication 590-B (2020), the bible on individual retirement account withdrawals, contains an error. I confirmed this with an IRS spokesperson, who stated that the RMD example for inherited IRAs in IRS Publication 590-B
When COVID-19 first shutdown the economy, fears spiraled, ranging from would businesses survive, to could this destroy the American economic system and ruin the future of retirement. It turns out, from a retirement perspective, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. With vaccination rates rising, the end of the pandemic is within
There is some good news to come out of 2020 and 2021 after all, and it’s concerning the 401(k)-retirement investment vehicle. Employers and Employees alike stand to reap significant benefit from new legislation that represents some of the most sweeping changes to the retirement space in decades. On January 1st, 2021, the Setting Every Community
Social Security paperwork nightmares from the need of some people to send in drivers licenses, birth certificates, and passports to a lengthy and complex application form required for disability benefits dominated a Senate hearing today on the giant program. Requiring applicants to put important original documents in the mail that they regularly need to have
Prince’s estate and the legal actions following his death deliver important estate planning lessons to most of the rest of us. Prince Rogers Nelson, the entertainer known generally as Prince, was a successful musician, entertainer, and record producer. He died at age 57 and left a valuable and complicated estate that was made more complicated
“I’ve climbed more than 60 mountains since I retired 18 months ago,” said Glen Anderson who lives in the Pacific Northwest. “The climb up Mount Adams was twelve miles, a 6700-foot ascent and at the top, I was at 12,276 feet elevation.” The COVID pandemic did not stop Anderson from making the most of his
April is National Financial Literacy Month. What began with the National Endowment for Financial Education as Youth Financial Literacy Day in 2000, has evolved into a month-long observance for people of all ages to learn about and improve their finances. Financial literacy is critical for understanding how to save, earn, borrow, invest, and protect your
For several decades, parents have had the option of saving for college through 529 plans. Although Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code didn’t appear until 1996, the first such plan is generally recognized as the Michigan Education Trust, which began in 1986. While based in part on Federal tax law, each state must sponsor
The problem with financial literacy is that it gets off on the wrong foot. The very moniker is condescending, implying that those it serves are financially illiterate, that they have no idea whatsoever how to use money. Thus, in addition to condescension, we must add inaccuracy to the list of financial literacy’s foibles, because having
This year and perhaps next could turn out to be the best time in a long time to convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. That’s primarily because of a widespread belief that increases in income and estate taxes are likely to be enacted in the next year or two. Also, Stealth Taxes, such
By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue IyaSokoya Karade remembers clearly the day she had to close the doors of her business due to the pandemic. Karade, 55, is the CEO and founder of the Athletic Arts Academy in Orange, N.J., a 10,500-square-foot youth athletics training facility. “Being a provider of in-person services, we were mandated to shut down March
Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported on some initial details on the American Families Plan, the third of the Biden administration’s massive spending bills, expected to be unveiled next week, and following on the American Rescue Plan already passed and the American Jobs Plan of infrastructure and social spending. The proposal is expected to
Caveat Emptor: This piece is not about the fairness of our tax system. It is a simple analysis of the proposed business tax plans in DC at the time of this piece. Draw your own conclusion about the fairness of the tax system, and who should pay what. There are tax increases in the works
Today’s column addresses questions about whether it’s always best to wait until full retirement age to take survivor’s benefits before switching to retirement benefits at 70, how the earnings test is applied this year and benefit amounts for disabled adult children. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and
By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue After living with the Covid-19 pandemic for a year, are Americans feeling less confident about their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement? The new Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) 2021 Retirement Confidence Survey has the answer: No (by and large). In fact, the nonpartisan group’s survey found, retirees and workers overall are more
A power of attorney (POA) is essential to every estate plan. Under the POA an agent (or more than one agent) is appointed to act on the principal’s behalf when he or she isn’t able to. The agent can pay bills, manage assets, and perform other essential tasks for the principal. At some point, many
The pandemic has kept our aging parents away from us and us away from them for over a year. This isolation is not total. Some people have access, some ignore warnings, and some are intent on using the pandemic to hide their actions. There are no lengths to which predators won’t go to get ahold
The Washington Post reports that business lobbyists are quietly trying to kill President Biden’s efforts to increase federal spending on Medicaid home and community-based (HCBS) long-term care services. The reason: The White House wants to fund the $400 billion increase—part of the president’s $2.2 trillion infrastructure spending program— by raising corporate taxes. And make no
By Richard Haiduck, Next Avenue Gen Z digital natives have grown up comfortable in a world of technology, but they can also benefit from wisdom that comes from experience. Combining the expertise of Gen Z and boomer generations could be a new formula for a startup business to succeed. At least that’s what I’m finding in