Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about potential effects of filing for early retirement benefits on a spouse’s benefit, when reductions for filing early can and cannot be lifted and retirement benefit estimates on SSA’s website. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic
Retirement
getty There are three risks that are most likely to derail retirement plans. The risks are real and substantial, almost regardless of an individual’s net worth. Fortunately, the potential damage from the risks can be reduced. Longevity risk is talked about a lot by economists and financial advisors but not by many retirees and pre-retirees.
getty The $15 minimum wage, on the agenda of activists for upwards of a decade and now a part of President-Elect Biden’s covid-relief plan, is, depending on who you listen to, either a boon to workers or the source of substantial lost jobs. After all, a CBO analysis from 2019 concluded that both effects would
Corporate Profits Quickly Recovered From the Initial Shock. getty The country is experiencing two quite different paths since it plunged into a recession in the spring of 2020. Many families struggle with widespread and increasing job losses, long-term unemployment, more debt, hunger, poverty and the threat of evictions among a surging pandemic. In contrast, corporations
What is a Swap Power and Why do you Care? A “swap power” is also called a “power to substitute.” It is a special right reserved to you (or someone else) in a trust you create while you are alive. This right gives you the power to swap an asset of yours, say cash, for
By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue Business owners Edith Cooper and daughter Jordan Taylor Edith Cooper When Jordan Taylor was a kid, going into the office with her mother, Edith Cooper, “was the biggest treat,” says Taylor, now 30. “Partially because the coffee machine was so much fun to play with.” Cooper, now 59, spent two
By Jonathan Littman and Susanna Camp, Next Avenue Entrepreneur Uwe Diegel successfully pitching his startup Courtesy of Uwe Diegel You may be surprised to hear it, but there’s never been a better time to pitch your startup. And for that, you can thank the pandemic. Entrepreneurship is being driven by massive layoffs and the realization
Hundreds of people line up to receive food and goods distributed by volunteers from the Chelsea … [+] Collaborative Inc. outside the Pan Y Cafe in Chelsea, Massachusetts on April 14, 2020. – Cmany families not eligible for state and federal help. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
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