Retirement

When Older Americans Month (May) was established in 1963, only 17 million Americans had celebrated their 65th birthday. Today over 60 million of us can claim the distinction of being 65 or better. However, over 22 million older adults live alone and close to 30% of them have no children or other family support as

Looking for the best places to travel in Europe? So is the rest of the world. As the summer season kicks into high gear across Europe, popular destinations are grappling with an influx of visitors. From Venice (which just started a controversial tourist tax) to Spain’s Canary Islands (where the locals are planning mass protests),

In my first report from Alaska, I focused on the policy discussions in the state regarding retirement issues. Today, I’m sharing a bit more about my experiences here in Alaska. As spring breaks, I’ve found Alaska to be warm and welcoming. The people I’ve met with this week are friendly, honest, and sincere in their

The subject of financial exploitation of elders in our country has been on law enforcement radar for decades. Significant public education programs on this topic by states, counties, and elder-focused organizations are ongoing, but are they doing any good? There was an increase in financial elder exploitation by 14% over the last year, according to

After several abortive attempts over three presidential administrations, the Department of Labor (DOL) once again has issued a new Fiduciary Rule. In 2016, Obama’s DOL issued its version of the Fiduciary Rule in the final year of his presidency. Within two years, however, the Fifth Circuit vacated that rule. In the final year of its

Amid deeply troubling public employee recruitment and retention challenges, the Alaska Senate recently passed a bill to return public employees to a defined benefit pension plan. This would reverse a 2005 decision that closed Alaska’s two statewide pension plans to new hires. I’m in Alaska this week meeting with stakeholders and sharing the findings from

With inflation remaining aggravatingly high, it’s easy to assume this works against you in all parts of life. But there are some ways that it can actually improve your net worth and financial flexibility when you’re self-employed – and in ways that you might not consider. With rising costs, come tightened budgets for many Americans.

Some think of the generation of Baby Boomers (78 million people were born into this category) as being healthy and independent. But is this accurate? Are Boomers more healthy or less so than their parents’ generation? And how do these facts affect the Boomers’ adult children, and even grandchildren? According to the Journal of the

The IRS is mailing compliance letters, known as CP59 notices, “on more than 125,000 cases where tax returns haven’t been filed since 2017.” According to the IRS, the mailings are being sent to more than 25,000 people who have more than $1 million in income between tax years 2017 and 2021, and to more than

It’s been a few years since I’ve gotten any questions about Medigap Plan F. Then, last month, that seemed to be the topic. Consider this recent question from Dennis. I am 71 years old and finally retiring. I talked with my agent about signing up for a Plan F. I think that’s the best one

Behavior, attitude, technique. If you think about these three components in any pursuit, which is the most important? For example, let’s say you resolve to get more physically active. What is the order of priority when considering your behavior, your attitude, and your technique? Most of us respond initially with attitude. I mean, surely having

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides substantial tax breaks for homeowners who navigate the rules. Most of the breaks started in late 2023 or early 2024 and last through 2032. The tax breaks are designed to encourage people to make their homes more energy efficient and reduce use of fossil fuels. Most of the

Noncompete Agreements and Your Estate Plan Huh? What do the FTC and its new restrictions on noncompete agreements have to do with estate planning? Maybe nothing, or maybe everything. If you have a closely held family business and you want to keep it in the family for the next generation, these new restrictions may derail

Living in the United States is not cheap—especially as prices continue to soar, from groceries to transportation to housing. According to recent reports, an American household spends an average of $61,334 per year on their expenses, with housing being the largest expense, at almost $1,800 a month. So why not move someplace where it costs

When a spouse or life partner dies, it’s only natural that the survivor will be grieving and lonely. To add injury to insult, the survivor usually also experiences a money crunch. And the odds are the survivor will be a woman in her 80s or 90s, when she’ll be less resilient to deal with the

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a report on the nation’s foreign-born population. The data indicates that between 2010 and 2022, the country’s foreign-born population increased by more than 15%. Making up nearly 14% of the U.S.’ total population, the foreign-born Americans totals more than 46 million people, an increase of six million since 2010.

We have a retirement income crisis, and ordinary workers don’t have much hope of retiring and maintaining their standard of living if they don’t have retirement savings and expanded Social Security. One doesn’t replace the other. Workers need both. Since we crushed unions and the wealthy got their tax cuts in many forms, the idea

The Secure Act has eliminated the stretch IRA for most people who are inheriting an IRA or 401(k). Now, beneficiaries who inherit an IRA will need to follow the 10-year rule, which can significantly increase the income taxes due on your inheritance, not to mention the new onerous rule of when and how much you

The Department of Labor (DOL) has recently introduced a pivotal update to what constitutes investments advice under ERISA, more commonly referred to as the fiduciary rule. The DOL’s stated goal in crafting a new and updated rule has been aimed at enhancing the integrity of financial advice provided to retirement savers and enhancing retirement security

The migration from high-tax states to lower-tax states that accelerated during the pandemic continues today. To fight the tax loss from the population shift, a number of high-tax states aggressively seek to identify people who moved out of their borders and continue imposing income and estate taxes on them. The states generally impose income, estate,