Retirement

“Are you measuring yourself in the gap or the gain?” No, this isn’t a question pitting retail clothing against laundry detergent. It’s a question posed by Greg McKeown, the author of the essential book Essentialism, in his recent 1-Minute Wednesday newsletter. Your answer matters, both in the way you approach money and life—but especially money. “Gap thinking means

Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about how spousal benefits are calculated, a potential way to reverse a benefit reduction due to a temporary circumstance and paying Social Security taxes when self-employed. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning,

By Craig Miller, Next Avenue David Pogue, author of “How to Prepare for Climate Change” courtesy of David Pogue You may know David Pogue as the affable gadget guru on “CBS Sunday Morning” who shows up around Christmas in a Santa suit, giving tips on digital gifts — in verse. But for the past two

By Lisa Iannucci, Next Avenue Frances McDormand, starring in “Nomadland” Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures For four decades, Jean Hardwick had a good, stable career, health and life insurance and a Sarasota, Fla. home she owned and loved. Then in 2015, catastrophe struck. After a near-fatal reaction to a prescription medication, Hardwick, now 60, found

getty Here’s the problem. According to a 2019 paper by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the median tenure of all wage and salary workers ages 25 or older is only about five years. Don’t blame the gig economy. EBRI says this tenure has remained relatively constant over the past 35 years. That’s well before

A teacher awaiting retirement getty A round-up of reports across the country. Florida: ending pensions for new employees? From Tampa Bay Times, “After years of discussions about the tricky issue of overhauling Florida’s retirement system for government employees, a Senate committee this week approved a proposal that would shut future workers out of a traditional

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor NEW YORK, USA – JANUARY 30: A GameStop store in Manhattan (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via … [+] Getty Images) Anadolu Agency via Getty Images You’ve undoubtedly heard about the recent stock market frenzy over Gamestop GME and other so-called “meme stocks” that skyrocketed and then plummeted. That’s

This article is part of a series. Click here to read the previous articles. Another way to use life insurance as part of a lifetime plan is to view the death benefit as the psychological support needed to purchase a life-only income annuity as part of an integrated plan combining investments, whole life insurance, and

This article is part of a series. Click here to read the previous articles. Scenario 4 also uses term life insurance, but the difference is that partial annuitization takes place with a joint life income annuity at the retirement date. The use of an annuity allows for a slight increase in the distribution rate from

Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about what factors can potentially reduce benefits for a surviving spouse, whether cost of living allowances also increase spousal benefits and whether a public pension will affect a spouse’s own retirement benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder

Protect against property value risk with a reverse mortgage getty Part of the motivation to be a homeowner is the opportunity to accumulate growing equity in a home. Equity growth, however, is heavily influenced by market changes over which the owner has little control. House prices appreciate much more in some areas than in others,

cash getty The continued message of the Biden administration is this: the passage of the American Rescue Plan, their name for the $1.9 trillion spending bill, is vital for the country to make it through the pandemic: in addition to aid for the unemployed, health insurance purchase subsidies, food stamp boosts and the like, the

Getty getty Most owners of second homes leave a lot of money on the table, especially when it’s time to sell the house or pass it on to the next generation of owners. There are three basic choices for transferring ownership of the second home, but the details of each option are flexible. Most vacation

Estate planning handwriting sign on the sheet. getty If you have been thinking about making large gifts to take advantage of the current $11,700,000 lifetime federal estate tax exemption, you have probably been contemplating a spousal lifetime access trust, commonly known as a SLAT.   A SLAT is an irrevocable trust that you create for the

Some issues with Social Security can create problems when enrolling in Medicare. getty If your time for Medicare enrollment is approaching, just imagine being shut out when you try. That’s a real possibility and it happens more frequently than it should. Here’s a real-life, sad story. Helena’s 65th birthday came in August 2020. When she tried

Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether and when recent higher earnings will increase a retirement benefit already filed for, whether filing for and suspending a retirement benefit would be advantageous and benefits potentially available on an ex’s record. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and

bailout money getty Last week, I walked readers through the particulars of the latest version of a bailout plan for the troubled multiemployer pension plans. I explained that the new plan, one component of the “Covid relief” reconciliation bill, was a significant disappointment insofar as it consisted wholly of plowing cash into the most-troubled plans

Scammers who incessantly try to defraud seniors pay attention to headlines. News items describing scarcity of vaccines, long lines of seniors camped out, waiting to get Covid vaccines, fear of contracting a new variant—all are like invitations to scammers. They adapt quickly and invent ways to capitalize on fear. Fear is around us, particularly among

To complete the 3 Rs, it’s a good idea to involve your financial professional. They can help! getty In the old days, everyone learned the three Rs, ‘Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic.’ These basics were big buckets that contained a basic education. If you could master those, you’d find yourself in pretty good shape. At times,

By Diane Eastabrook, Next Avenue FRANKFORT, KY – JUNE 19: Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines outside the … [+] Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) Getty Images At the end of 2018, Ida Lane, 63,