Retirement

Elder fraud is exploding, while crypto and speedy money transfers are making it tougher to recover stolen funds. Here are tips for staying safe. By Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes Staff The call began with a seemingly routine request. “I was wondering if you could help me with an international inheritance case,’’ the older woman said.

Retirees with more guaranteed lifetime income spend more in retirement and do so without worrying about running out of money. The additional spending is meaningful, according to researchers David Blanchett and Michael Finke, who recently updated research they produced in 2021. Retirees who receive steady income from Social Security, pensions, and annuities spend about twice

Many pre-retirees find they haven’t saved enough money to generate sufficient retirement income to support the life they want in retirement. If this describes you, it’s understandable that you might be disappointed and frustrated as you move closer to retirement. Your most realistic course of action? Look for your retirement Plan B. This post describes

A smart use of any retirement savings you’ve set aside in Roth IRAs and/or Roth 401k accounts can help you reduce the income taxes you’ll pay during retirement and also boost your wealth for future needs and goals. This post looks at three possible ways to strategically use your Roth accounts during your retirement to

The Inflation Reduction Act has generated many initiatives to cut drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. So, it’s possible that those past the age of 65 and still working probably don’t care about any of them. However, the IRA may have created a dilemma. Will the drug coverage incorporated into the employer group health plan still

Imagine this: You’re retired, lounging in your favorite chair, feet up, sipping something chilled as the sun sets. Your home is clean, everything is organized, the laundry is neatly folded, the trash has been put out for tomorrow’s pick up, and to make the day even better, you can smell your favorite meal being prepared.

Social Security celebrates its 89th birthday today, and there is much to celebrate. Social Security touches the lives of virtually every American. Almost 97 percent of the older population in the United States will receive Social Security benefits, averaging more than $1,800 monthly for retired workers. Social Security has evolved into one of the most

Young adults in the U.S. have been skeptical about Social Security at least since the days when I was one of them. Today’s younger generations are no different, and that’s affecting their retirement planning. About 47% of non-retirees believe Social Security won’t pay them any retirement benefits, according to a 2023 Gallup survey reported in

In May of 2016, I wrote an article titled “Leadership Has a Shelf Life.” I described how leaders often stay too long because of the uncertainty of what’s next for them and for the organization. It is hard to do what is in the best interests of the organization and also in one’s best interests.

When our parents get old, family members do have an opportunity to share the load of ensuring their safety and care. It doesn’t always work out well, with family conflicts being as they are. But in many situations, siblings can help one another in tending to the needs of a parent in declining health. The

When discussing Social Security filing strategies with clients, I often run across the confusion between a spousal benefit and a survivor benefit. There is a difference as they are two totally separate benefits. When your spouse passes away, the ability to collect a spousal benefit or continue to receive a spousal benefit ends as your

We are tempted to both give and receive bad advice when we wish something were true. I wish, for example, that college and career advice could be as simple as “follow your passions.” But it’s not. “Follow your passions” may be part of great college and career advice, but it falls woefully short on its

It’s a common problem these days, with nearly one in seven older people diagnosed with some kind of dementia. These folks lose their financial judgment early in the process of cognitive decline. Caring family members get alarmed, and try to reason with their impaired elder. That leads to conflict, as reason fails. Is there a

The Inflation Reduction Act is keeping drug plan sponsors, pharmacies, Medicare educators and anyone who works with Medicare drug plans very busy. So far, the IRA has: Dropped any cost sharing for Part D vaccines Capped insulin costs at $35, and Eliminated the 5% Catastrophic Coverage coinsurance. Many more changes are coming. The biggest one

Are you a pre-retiree or retiree who’s nervous about the recent stock market volatility? Worried that it might be the start of a stock market crash, as predicted recently by a few pundits? Unfortunately, “worry” is not a strategy! Instead, you’ll want to plan ahead to survive stock market crashes without knowing when they’ll happen,

Protecting retirement assets through analysis of various topics, such as time horizon, income needs, risk tolerance, and more, is often best discussed with a wealth advisor acting under fiduciary standards. A prudent wealth advisor closely monitors their clients’ normal activities and actions to help safeguard against potential elderly exploitation of assets. Elderly exploitation, commonly referred

Weight-loss drugs have been all the news recently. There are finally medications that can help people lose weight and that is a good thing. In recent years, obesity rates have nearly doubled among older adults in the U.S. Two of every five Americans ages 65 and older are obese. Wegovy is one drug that some

Did you know more people turn 65 each day in America than are born? And by 2030, there will be more people over 60 than those under 18? This generation of “elders” in the developed world is “the longest lived, wealthiest, healthiest, most highly educated, and largest percentage of elder population in history,” says John

When you think about retirement, you might picture sunny Florida with its warm climate and retirement communities. But it’s not the best state to retire, according to a new report from Bankrate, which just issued its annual ranking of the best states to retire in the U.S. To come up with the comprehensive analysis, Bankrate

Until recently, I’ve never been enamored with the notion of living a longer-than-average lifespan. Perhaps this is because my primary observation was that old age didn’t look all that appealing. I’d observed grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and aged family friends face a seemingly hyperbolic hill of discomfort, disease, and, ultimately, death. Sure, I wanted