Retirement

Getty The key question you must answer before claiming Social Security benefits or developing a retirement plan is: How long will retirement last? Another way to phrase the question is: What is my life expectancy? You can start to answer this question by using the average life expectancy for your age group. You also can

By John D. Anderson, Next Avenue Contributor Getty Your second half of life can be invigorated and energized by living out one or more of three opportunities. You can do all three at once, but will benefit most by focusing your energy on one, and enjoying the other two as additional fuel. They are: Pursue

Thank you, Benjamin Franklin. He’s the one who’s ultimately responsible for the extra hour of sleep most Americans will get when we “fall back” at 2 a.m. November 3 this year. (Franklin suggested the idea in 1784 as a way to save candles during winter mornings and nights. The practice became official in the U.S.

Could a poorly planned retirement contribute to divorce? Women declare, “He’s always there! I … [+] married him for life, not for lunch!” Getty Shortly after wrapping up my lecture on the future of retirement a petite older woman approached me. Confidently, she quickly positioned herself between me and other attendees that had follow up

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin While the U.S. has stayed strong, some other major economies are facing recessions. Getty Topline: Amid a global slowdown in economic growth that has seen central banks lower interest rates near zero or below in an effort to provide stimulus, here’s a look at which of

Getty Women concerned about how to make their money last in retirement will want to tune in to the latest episode of the new Friends Talks Money podcast (available on all major streaming platforms and on Friendstalkmoney.org). The reasons making money last is especially important for women: they tend to live longer than men and

Getty Most Americans make the wrong decisions about claiming Social Security benefits, and they usually make the wrong decisions because they commit two key mistakes. About 96% of Americans made less-than-optimum decisions about when to begin Social Security benefits, according to a study released earlier this year by United Income, a financial services firm. The

Think people want government out of their lives? Here’s a counterexample: Most Americans want the government to force them to save and to force employers to provide a retirement plan. The polling behind this view is so clear that I don’t know why more politicians aren’t talking about it.  Part of the growing mountain of

Overbuilt Getty What happens when rich people in blue states discover the moving van? Trump is wreaking havoc in the ritzy suburbs of New York City. His tax cut raised taxes for high-income people in high-tax areas like Connecticut and New York because it all but eliminated the deduction for state and local taxes. Just

Not contributing to a 401(k) was voted as the worst financial mistake made by Americans. Getty If you can’t remember making a financial mistake then it might be time to get your memory checked. While no one is immune to making inopportune financial decisions, some missteps are a lot more costly than others. Some mistakes

New plan finder Screenshot The Open Enrollment Period is officially on so we must all use the new Medicare Plan Finder. In the month since its introduction, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made some changes and added information. Here’s an update on how the Plan Finder works now.  Drug costs still very problematic

Finding a retirement advisor is not as easy as it sounds. The sheer amount of advisors out there can be overwhelming, let alone the different types of platforms, devices, services, and other technology that are available all trying to vie for you and your hard earned dollars. Here’s the problem. You can find thousands of

Getty You know the old expression, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” I sometimes feel that way about the high cost of health care. But Dr. Marty Makary, author of the new book about America’s health care system — The Price We Pay — is someone who’s actually doing something

Getty We’re in the midst of Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment season, which runs from October 15 through December 7. The decisions made during Open Enrollment are some of the key retirement financial decisions. Surveys show that even the affluent worry that retirement medical expenses will dissipate their wealth. Making shrewd decisions about Medicare coverage is

At what age should you see a geriatrician? The easy answer is, there’s no easy answer. Merriam-Webster defines a geriatrician as a specialist in geriatrics, which in turn is defined as a branch of medicine that deals with the problems and diseases of old age and the medical care and treatment of aging people. But

Our healthcare landlord Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) is officially back. This 6% dividend has upside once again. We are about to receive our first payout raise since early 2018, which ends our seven-quarter drought in which the big dividend was paid but not raised. I say “drought” partially in jest because OHI yielded a fat

Thanks to the financial rewards offered by the SEC, CFTC, DOJ, IRS and other whistleblower programs, trustees and pension boards today—for the first time—have a fiduciary obligation to report wrongdoing to regulators and law enforcement. If they don’t, they may be shortchanging beneficiaries and participants.   It is well settled law that trustees, pension boards

In 2006, while the Federal Funds rate sat at near 5%, the notion of negative interest rates hitting the U.S. seemed absurd. Fast-forward to today and the thought of rates turning negative isn’t so far-fetched. As the world reacted to the slow growth following the 2008 recession by pushing down rates in an effort to

null Getty Today, the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program published a report, “The Time is Now: Next Steps Toward a More Secure Retirement for All,” based and consensus ideas from its Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings, which convened “more than 70 experts and industry leaders” to “share, evaluate, and refine solutions to the nation’s retirement

I know you’ve got cash lying around you’d love to double. Heck, even the most buttoned-down investor wouldn’t turn down a quick 2X gain. So let’s go ahead and double your stake—and do it safely, too. Before you ask, no, this isn’t some wild pot-stock speculation: my 2X money plan only works on companies paying—and