Getty Planning for, and financing, the retirement years isn’t easy — even before the economic and market turmoil from the spread of the coronavirus. But financing a secure retirement is even harder in large parts of rural America. Rural families, on average, earn 25% less than their urban peers. They’re also less likely to be
Retirement
Getty The reaction you get when you tell someone that you are going to retire is generally one of enthusiastic congratulations. They will tell you how much you are going to love it, how lucky you are, that you deserve it, and on and on. But how does it make you really feel? For many people, it frequently
Understanding the relationship between bond risk and time to maturity and duration of a bond provides the basis for understanding the bond yield curve. The yield curve shows the yields to maturity for a series of bonds—typically US Treasury bonds—with the same credit quality but different maturity dates, along with the term structure for interest
Getty I hope last week’s Iran head-fake didn’t have you thinking about buying so-called “safe” dividends like Treasuries. Because these tired income standbys aren’t safe at all! With your nest egg yielding a pathetic 1.9%, you’re guaranteed losses, with inflation running at 2.1%. So today we’re going to make a simple contrarian move that will:
By Kelly K. James, Next Avenue Contributor Two friends having conversation at work, woman in her 50s wearing glasses smiling and facing female … [+] manager, agreement, support, collaboration Getty When Kathy Pauss retired from her job as a school secretary a few months before turning 65, the Downers Grove, Ill. resident thought it was
CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 01: Illinois gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker speaks during a round table … [+] discussion with high school students at a creative workspace for women on October 1, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Pritzker was joined by his Illinois gubernatorial Lieutenant Governor candidate Juliana Stratton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as
When it comes to retirement planning, you may have heard a lot about the benefits of tax-advantaged retirement accounts, how to choose investments, and maybe some of the details of any pension plans that you’re fortunate enough to have. But what about Social Security? After all, it provides the majority of retirement income for many
Getty On twitter, I joked that I was drafting an article I was tempted to call, “Beating a Dead Horse Into The Ground: More Historical Context On Pensions Than Any Reader Is Remotely Likely To be Interested In.” But — I’m sorry to disappoint you — I suspect this will not be the last time
Getty Today we’re going to talk about the biggest threat to your portfolio (and dividends!) you face in 2020. It’s not a recession. It’s a near-irresistible human impulse—purposely amped up by the financial press—that could lock in big losses for you, or cause you to miss out on a huge gain, like the 486%+ some
Esther Meyers, right, shows a photograph of her then–teenage mother Rachel Kane to her to jog her … [+] memory as her twin sister Sarah Schultz looks on.(Photo by Brian VanderBrug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Family members and friends are the bedrock of our system of personal care
In 2003, Zvi Bodie and Michael J. Clowes published the book Worry-Free Investing: A Safe Approach to Achieving Your Lifetime Financial Goals, in which they argued that typical retirement-oriented investors should rely primarily on TIPS for their retirement savings. Of course, other financial assets should be included in retirement portfolios, but, they said, only once
Retirees are sacrificing their own retirement savings in order to help their adult children … [+] financially. Getty Are You Supporting Your Adult Children While Endangering Your Own Financial Security? As an 80-year-old widower I’ll call “Fred” told me, some parents may derive pleasure in helping adult children financially, especially if the children chose careers
Side view portrait of smiling senior woman sitting on couch with her dog and reading book while … [+] enjoying weekend at home, copy space Getty I wrote about the importance of pets to older adults back in 2018, but this is a topic that is timeless and grows in importance every day as more
Exit Getty A look at certain statutes with unintended consequences. “Ageism in the Workplace” is the cover feature of the February 2020 AARP Bulletin. Tales are told of older workers mistreated or axed, and of their sometimes victorious lawsuits. One must feel some pity for winners of age discrimination lawsuits. What prospective employer would ever
Getty The start of a new year is when many of us ask ourselves what lies ahead personally, professionally and financially. We happily hang a colorful 2020 calendar, jot down birthdays, upcoming vacations, and other future events. My guess is, however, you don’t mark down personal finance events and deadlines there. Big mistake. For your
©m.mphoto – stock.adobe.com It could say a lot about the state of the bull market The S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are two of the most widely-followed stock market indexes. And, while they have some very clear differences in their DNA, they tend to perform in sync much of the time.
null Getty The “race to zero” heats up again. You’ve surely heard that Vanguard is now slicing and dicing its already-low fees and commissions. That sounds great, but in reality, the low-fee race is pennywise yet dividend-foolish for us income investors. To retire on secure, high-yielding long-term investments, we actually prefer to pay a fair
Getty What’s does 2020 hold for your utility stocks (and closed-end funds)? Will these steady income plays hand us another round of big gains and dividends? Or is there trouble ahead? These are reasonable questions to ask after these “boring” stocks poured on a huge—and rather “un-utility-like”—26% total return last year! Let’s dive into three
Getty If you’re rich and live in Connecticut, chances are you’ll be hearing this from your estate lawyer: As of the New Year, Connecticut trust law has entered the modern age, and that probably means you should revisit your estate plan. Trusts sound stodgy and old-fashioned, but they’re an essential part of planning your estate
Getty An article in today’s Wall Street Journal came to my attention: “The End of Retirement,” by John D. Stoll. The gist of the article is likely not new to readers who follow the subject closely: on the one hand, we’ll need to adjust our expectations on when to retire, but, on the other hand,