Retirement

The pandemic is a constant reminder of the need for emergency savings – but underlying that reminder is the need for financial know-how to make the best decisions in a most challenging world. For the workers who need it most, however, the trick is getting them vital financial help and info. This article has morphed

By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue “Recalculating” author Lindsey Pollak has timely advice for career shifting Lindsey Pollak “Since the beginning of 2020, every single person around the world has experienced a collective, unplanned, unwanted disruption — far worse for some than others — and it has changed every single one of our career trajectories in

By Erin Flynn Jay, Next Avenue Amy Renz got a PPP loan but thought she wouldn’t qualify this time Amy Renz The Biden administration is offering a lifeline to small-business owners who’ve been struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic and the aid can be especially helpful to some with home businesses. The need is

More getty The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) was implemented to provide businesses, and individuals having trades or businesses, with financial assistance in order to keep their businesses open and their payroll intact.  Many businesses and individuals who had no need or limited need for a PPP Loan applied and received one anyway, notwithstanding limited vocal

I had it all wrong. Early in my career as a financial advisor, my goal, even more than gaining clients, was to gain knowledge. I was operating under the assumption that bringing knowledge where it is lacking is an advisor’s primary value. But while a certain degree of knowledge is a prerequisite, of course, I

Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether the 2015 changes in the Social Security law actually ended spousal benefits for everyone, suspending a retirement benefit after it converts from a disability benefit and whether delaying makes sense with significant assets. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University

Image of Joe Biden signing an executive order in the oval office. AFP via Getty Images Change is in the air. With newly elected president Joe Biden finally in place, we can expect his administration to enact several changes throughout 2021. Because this will be a busy year for the new President, he probably won’t

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Managing Editor getty Every tax-filing season seems full of complexities and consternation. But the one we’re now in is especially fraught, due to the pandemic: Stimulus checks. Unemployment benefits. Working from home tax issues. New Covid-19 rules for 401(k) and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) hardship withdrawals and loans. Frankly, it’s

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue John and Mary Benbow, 67, and 68, respectively, of La Jolla, shown holding his finger over his … [+] social security number on his Medicare card (Photo by Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Even as America’s balkanized health care system struggles

View of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at Wall Street (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by … [+] ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Investors reacted positively to the job’s numbers this morning. At 4:00 pm the S&P closed up and peppy at a 2% increase while the 8:30

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue getty A small-business credit card can be hugely helpful when you’re launching a business or have one up and running. But new investigations into potentially aggressive and misleading sales practices of American Express AXP ‘ card for entrepreneurs made me think this is an apt time to share advice on

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated this week that he does not plan on taking any action to reverse the recent course of accommodative monetary policy until inflation rises to a significant and sustained level. He said that although he does anticipate inflation rising as the economy opens up, he views this as a short

Student Loans getty The new Interim Final Rule issued by the SBA on March 3, 2021, reverses the prior rules by indicating that independent contractors and employers who were otherwise eligible to receive PPP loans may do so regardless of whether the borrower or a 20% or more owner is in default under Federal Student

WATSONVILLE, CA – FEBRUARY 4: Monterey Mushrooms employees work in a packing facility on Thursday, … [+] Feb. 4, 2021, in Watsonville, Calif. The company hopes to use empty mushroom growing rooms as COVID-19 vaccination sites for employees as well as field workers, packers, and processors from the region’s other farms. (Aric Crabb/MediaNews Group/The Mercury

ERC getty On Monday, March 1st, the IRS released 102 pages of well-written and reasoned guidance on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) in the form of Notice 2021-20. While further guidance will be forthcoming as to the application of these rules for 2021, the provisions of the Notice provide considerable guidance in a number of

Protect yourself from Social Security scams. Be on the lookout for fake calls and emails. getty If you’re shopping at CVS tomorrow, you might hear the voice of Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul over the speaker system, warning Americans to beware of Social Security telephone and email scams. Screens behind customer service desks at Walmart

Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Angus King (I-ME) propose to redirect ill-targeted covid relief … [+] funds to valuable public investments. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images In the coming days, the Senate will take up the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill that passed the House of Representatives last week on a party-line vote. It’s

Crypto has a low correlation with stocks. What does that mean? Mining rig in Norilsk (photo by Andrey Rudakov) © 2021 Bloomberg Finance LP Stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities. Bitcoin. Bitcoin? Is cryptocurrency an asset class deserving of a place in every endowment and retirement portfolio? There is now being built on Wall Street a

Regulators and law enforcement are looking into flagrantly illegal “side letter” agreements which … [+] pay private equity investors aware of fraud to not tell unsuspecting others. getty While mutual fund investors are assured equal treatment under the federal securities laws, private equity funds are the Wild West—industry practice is to grant certain investors secret

Health workers administer the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a couple in a car at a drive-thru … [+] vaccination event for residents 65 and older at Dewey O. Boster Park and Sports Complex on January 7, 2021 in Deltona, Florida. Employees of Volusia County and the Florida Department of Health provided 1,000 vaccinations on day