Retirement

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor getty Usually around this time of year, I write a post revealing the “best places to retire abroad” based on the new annual rankings from International Living (IL) and Live and Invest Overseas and explain why the winners won. Well, their new lists are out, but I can’t write

With this understanding about how life insurance is priced, I can create a simple model to consider four different potential roles for this whole life insurance policy in retirement income planning. First, the death benefit for life insurance provides a method to meet a legacy goal using risk pooling and tax advantages that is distinct

The stock market scorecard can help you invest for retirement with confidence. Getty Images, contributor gopixa If a baseball or basketball team had a win/loss record of 70-25, you’d say it dominated the field. Well, 70-25 has been the win/loss record for the annual rate of return on the S&P 500 since 1926.  Impressive scores

Mature woman helping elderly mother with paperwork getty If you have bought into the idea that aging in place in the home you’ve maintained for 30+ years is the best answer to the question of where to live as you age, I can only conclude that you have decided it’s payback time for your children.

The red fire pumps by the real squad fire truck in Chicago Fire Department at the quarters of Engine … [+] Co. 5, filmed in the legendary series ‘Chicago Fire.’ getty In the Chicago Sun Times on Monday, a headline: “Illinois Senate passes firefighter pension bill over mayor’s strenuous objections.” “With the spotlight focused elsewhere

getty What will happen to your bitcoin when you’re gone? Do you know who will be able to access your email, social media accounts, online dating profile, digital subscriptions and memberships, rewards points and other digital assets? Do you know the value of your online life, and have you considered addressing your digital assets in

Dutch boy saves the dike, from Hans Brinker. Illustration. BPA2# 2334 Bettmann Archive Yes, the Dutch boy who saved his city by plugging a hole in the dike with his finger, crying out, “Haarlem shall not be drowned while I am here!” is fictional, but recent reports call him to mind. The $2,000 check plan

NurPhoto via Getty Images The American justice system is going to be very busy in both civil and criminal courts in the coming months and years as a result of the Capitol riot. It stands to reason that many of the individuals who will stand trial or plea bargain for having participated in this event

The simplest and most seemingly innocent things are costing lives. It’s natural for us to want to gather, no matter what warnings the CDC issues about Covid-19. Holidays are so important that many people chose to travel for family gatherings, figuring that they could minimize risks by sanitizing surfaces and wearing masks on planes or

A party store saleswoman shows us a critical flaw in our retirement planning. getty Suzy rings up another customer in a party supply store. Surrounded by bright, bouncing balloons celebrating everything from anniversaries to birthdays, Suzy scans a bag of blue plastic spoons while speaking to a friend.  Leaning across the checkout counter between bouquets

When my son was younger (say around 10 years old) and had money in his pocket, the toy aisle was the most stressful place in the world. Should he get the LEGO set or the Nerf gun? Or the hundreds of other flashy toys in front of him? The risk of wasting his limited resources on a

UNDATED FILE PHOTO: Country singer and songwriter Johnny Paycheck (C) holds a teamsters union sign … [+] while joining a group of striking bookbinders in this photo from 1977. (Photo by Getty Images) Getty Images Do you have enough money to tell your boss, as singer Johnny Paycheck would say, “Take this Job and Shove

Yellow paper with text 2021 tax laws,concept getty Plan Now With the results of the Georgia runoff election in the Democrats Control the House, the Senate and the White House. So, the potential for harsh tax legislation increasing taxation of the wealthy, along the lines of prior Democratic proposals, might be likely to happen. What

I’ve got some good news. You’re not crazy.  That’s the message of one of my favorite books of 2020, “The Psychology of Money,” written by Morgan Housel and inspired by a popular blog post he wrote in 2018. It’s a compelling read and the book offers many great lessons, but I thought this particular encouragement was worthy

A series of strategies for tax-wise investors. Table of Contents. Location getty There are good places and bad places to park certain kinds of investments. Swapping locations can save a bundle at tax time. You have, or should have, three slots for money: a taxable brokerage account, pretax 401(k) or IRA retirement accounts and a

A series of strategies for tax-wise investors. Table of Contents. Conversion getty You can prepay income tax on some of your IRA, making future withdrawals tax-free. This is very clever if (a) your tax bracket is fairly low at the moment, and (b) you can cover the tax bill with money from outside the account.

A series of strategies for tax-wise investors. Table of Contents. Annuitant getty A Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract is a contract with an insurance company that (a) pays out a fixed monthly amount beginning at an advanced age and (b) is bought inside an IRA. The most you can put into a QLAC is $135,000 or

Whole life insurance receives its name because it provides the owner with a death benefit for the whole lifetime. It is a form of permanent life insurance. Whole life also includes an accumulation and savings component through its cash value. Whole life insurance may be viewed as a fixed-income investment vehicle that incorporates a permanent

WILMINGTON, DE – DECEMBER 23: President-elect Joe Biden announces Miguel Cardona as his nominee for … [+] Education Secretary at the Queen theatre on December 23, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Cardona, the Connecticut Education Commissioner, will face the urgent task of planning to reopen schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

Now that the 2020 is over, remorse may set in and you may be left wondering if you should have done something different to save taxes. A common question I hear is whether it make sense for retirees to take their required minimum distributions (RMDs) now or if they should save taxes by taking them