Retirement

LifePart2 From reading the amount of literature devoted to it, you would think post-work life will take care of itself if you take care of the money part. However, after digging deeper and talking to hundreds of happy retirees, I have seen that neglecting the non-financial part of retirement can lead to more misery than

By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue Seth and Mark Samuelson are reaping profits from the gardening trend courtesy of Seth and Mark Samuelson It’s been nearly a year since the coronavirus pandemic upended our lives. A year when we embraced new habits (curbside pickup) and technologies (Zoom) and found solace in old pastimes (gardening and baking).

getty How does income affect fertility rates or, more generally, family size? Or, put more bluntly, do the poor have more kids than the middle class? Do they, are they’ve long been accused of, have “too many” kids? Turns out, it’s hard to find data to answer that question. We know that fertility rates vary

Chuck Bolotin with gas station attendants in Baja California Sur, Mexico Chuck Bolotin In his book on happiness, Dennis Prager points out that gratitude is a pre-condition for happiness (as well as goodness) and one of the most important emotions one can feel and cultivate. It’s one of the main reasons why, for thousands of years,

Five things that people get wrong about retirement arithmetic. Future getty There is something about retirement that leaves investors in an arithmetic fog. Maybe it’s the marginal tax rate or the compounding or the deferral that gets their numbers all jumbled up. Here are five things that people get wrong about IRAs and 401(k)s, usually

Financial firms providing services to pensions are required under ERISA to disclose compensation … [+] they earn related to plans. Can these firms demand pension sponsors keep statutorily mandated disclosure secret? getty Financial firms providing services to pensions are required under ERISA to disclose compensation they earn from plans. Can firms unilaterally demand pension sponsors

Even small fees can wreck your retirement portfolio getty Investment fees are easy to ignore. You don’t get billed for your advisor’s fee or the expense ratio of a mutual fund. They quietly take it out of your investment portfolio every quarter. Yet fees can have a huge impact on your wealth.  In this article,

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about what effect years of lower income might have on benefits taken later, when the higher income limit for the earnings test is applied and whether a divorce and subsequent remarriage can satisfy the 10 year marriage requirement. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston

By Kathleen Doheny, Next Avenue DANVERS, MA – FEBRUARY 1: A man is given his vaccination by pharmacist Joe Borge. Feb. 1, 2021 was … [+] the first day of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 rollout for seniors, 75 and over, seen here vaccinated inside the Walgreens Pharmacy, at 107 High Street, in Danvers, MA.

If you find yourself in need of funds to support a new addition to your family, your 401(k) plan … [+] might be able to help. getty Welcoming a new child to your family is an exciting time. However, if money is tight or your income has declined due to the pandemic, what should be

Click here to read the previous part of this article. The most natural use for permanent life insurance is to fund a legacy goal. Exhibit 7.4 compares the effectiveness of two strategies for meeting a legacy goal during retirement: “buy term and invest the difference” in Scenario 1 and using whole life insurance in Scenario

The world’s best buys on beachfront property in 2021 are to be found in Northern Cyprus, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Belize. These are the findings of Live and Invest Overseas’ 2021 Global Property Survey, an annual index that details what it costs to own property in the world’s top locations for living or retiring overseas.

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 19: A firefighter tries to put out the wildfire on August 19, 2020 in … [+] San Mateo, California. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images) China News Service via Getty Images Do you get the sense that disasters like blizzards, hurricanes, wildfires,

getty Yes, I have been calling for a comprehensive Social Security reform ever since I began writing at this platform. And, yes, that plan calls for a change from the current formula to a flat benefit for all, or, as I’ve also called it, a “basic retirement income.” The catch, of course, is this: how

GameStop logos displayed on a phone and a laptop screens are seen in this illustration photo taken … [+] in Poland on January 28, 2021. In the last days the GameStop stock short squeeze continues. (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images There’s a new form of shareholder activism being

A 401(K) rollover doesn’t have to stressfull. Here are ten 401(k) Rollover mistakes you need to … [+] avoid. getty Mistakes when rolling over your old 401(k) can be quite costly and annoying. Sadly, these mistakes are also quite common. On a happier note, these 401(k) rollover mistakes are easy to avoid. First off, not

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Managing Editor getty Philip Moeller, author of the helpful new book “Get What’s Yours for Health Care,” says you need to be your own advocate to save on health care expenses. “If people act like sheep, they’re going to get fleeced,” he told me. In the new episode of the

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether spousal benefits are automatic or not, the possibility of receiving spousal benefits after taking retirement benefits at 62 and an unexplained delay in Social Security processing an application. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic

The SEC should be looking at how state pensions have allowed hedge funds and other alternative … [+] investment managers to gamble state pension assets in secrecy. © 2020 Bloomberg Finance LP The nation has been captivated by revelations of millions of amateur traders collectively through social media and online trading platforms taking on Wall

Interest Payable from an old bond from 1937. getty Investors are trying to navigate through a treacherous strait in the market, with bonds generating near-zero income yields on one side and stocks with increasing volatility on the other side. With good reasons to assume that the Federal Reserve will continue to buy Treasury bonds at