Retirement

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, called the “SECURE Act” makes significant changes to how IRAs and certain retirement benefits must be treated post-death. We reviewed many of the changes and planning implications of this new law on your IRA and retirement benefits in “SECURE Act New IRA Rules: Change

As 2019 draws to a close and the calendar turns toward the new year, it is an opportune time for investors to position their stock portfolios for 2020; with the S&P 500 near a record high and interest rates on the decline, high-yield dividend growth stocks are especially attractive for income investors, asserts Ben Reynolds,

A record high S&P 500 has done more than just confound prognosticators. It seems it has also made us feel quite confident in our finances. This assuredness has impacted how we plan for the year. According to a new survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, only 14% of those surveyed will set

Getty You’re probably spending more money on your grandchildren then you realize, and it could hurt your retirement. Grandparents are spending a lot of money on their grandchildren, according to an AARP study. On average grandparents spend $2,572 annually on the grandchildren, according to the study. But that’s only an average. Many spend much more.

Shutterstock We expect investment experts to have crystal balls that allow them to see how the stock market is going to perform in the future. Of course, they don’t have crystal balls, and their predictions often aren’t helpful. The problem with expert predictions of the stock market isn’t that they are wrong — which they

A Therapy Dog tag isolated on white. Clipping path available. Getty On a snowy afternoon a week before Christmas, a therapy dog named Koko brought the gift of her presence to a New Jersey nursing home. The beautiful Koko, four years old, fleetingly touched the lives of about 30 residents of a 70-bed nursing facility

Getty Many of the best retirement saving strategies use employer-sponsored retirement plans like a 401(k), or individual plans like an IRA or Roth IRA. These retirement savings vehicles provide credit protections, preferential tax treatment to the investments, and in some cases, sizable tax deductions for contributions.  For instance, when you save in a 401(k), you

As a bond provides a contractual right to a series of future payments received at specified points of time, the price for a bond is simply the present discounted value of the future cash flows. The face value of a bond will be repaid at maturity. A zero-coupon bond provides only a bond’s face value,

Happy senior couple during the meeting with agent or financial consultant, signing some agreement in … [+] the comfortable office Getty The Secure Act may delay the impact of Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) primarily for Traditional IRA holders approaching retirement. RMDs function as you might expect. Essentially, they require you to take a withdrawal from

Getty The SECURE Act, which will become effective January 1, 2020, could more appropriately be called the Extreme Death-Tax for IRA and Retirement Plan Owners Act. IRA and retirement plan owners should take action to protect their financial legacy, preferably before year-end.     Why The Death Of The Stretch IRA Is Important The ticking time

Introduction and Action Steps The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, called the “SECURE Act” makes significant changes to how IRAs and certain retirement benefits must be treated post-death. Rules Committee Print 116–44 Text of the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment To H.R. 1865, December 16, 2019, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations

Before we can discuss bonds in depth, it is important that we establish a common understanding of what bonds are and how they work. As a starting point, a bond is a contractual obligation to make a series of specific payments on specific dates. Typically, this includes interest payments made on a semiannual basis until

By Carol Hymowitz, Next Avenue Contributor Getty As lifespans lengthen around the world, men and women are: delaying when they marry and have children; returning to school as adults to gain skills and working beyond traditional retirement age. In countries as dissimilar as Japan and Morocco, they’re marrying five to 10 years later on average

By Grant Easterbrook, Next Avenue Contributor Getty Recently, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade and E*Trade eliminated trading commissions on stocks and Exchange Traded Funds. Can you expect to see $0 fees and commissions coming soon for other financial products and services? Below is a look into the crystal ball for such prospects when you go to

By Holly Lawrence, Next Avenue Contributor Getty Two of America’s most influential advocates for caregivers, Maria Shriver and Ai-jen Poo, recently partnered on a poll that examines the state of caregiving in our country. One of the poll’s most significant findings, according to Shriver and Poo: We are a nation of caregivers in crisis, unified

Getty So much about retirement planning is about making smart money decisions to get you to the time when you’ll retire. But what about managing your money after you retire? The latest Friends Talk Money podcast episode, which you can hear wherever you get podcasts, has some advice on just that. Full disclosure: I’m one

Roth IRA strategies will be much more attractive under the new SECURE Act. Getty It’s not a surprise to find that there are several advantages to a Roth IRA: they can grow tax-free, they are not subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), and they can pass tax-free to a spouse or heir. The new SECURE

shot of word retirement plan Getty The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, which passed the House in a sweeping 417-3 vote, was incorporated into an end-of-year spending bill and was signed by the President on December 20, 2019. SECURE will vastly change the way savers think about saving for

For a naturally frugal person, the decision to pursue a lifestyle that embraces financial independence retire early (FIRE) tactics isn’t necessarily a tough choice. The hard part comes with figuring out what tactics to use as you start. There are very few easy to digest guides as you adjust your savings rate to 25% or

By Donna Freedman, Next Avenue Contributor Getty “Have a side hustle” is common advice for people who want to ensure their financial survival in case their full-time job goes away, survive unemployment or help boost retirement savings. About 28% of workers have one, according to the new Gallup Great Jobs Survey. One way to launch