Retirement

In response to the current inflationary environment, the Internal Revenue Service announced a modest increase in the maximum contribution limits for 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts for 2024. This year, 401(k) savers can contribute a maximum of $23,000, marking an increase of over 2% from the $22,500 limit set for 2023. The new contribution limit,

The most important part of your estate plan isn’t about taxes, investments, gifts, or other financial issues. The priority of every estate plan, for people of every age, is the medical care documents. These documents should be completed even if you’re still considering other issues in the plan. This critical part of the estate plan

Former President Trump is blasting GOP primary rival Nikki Haley for wanting to restore Social Security solvency by increasing the age when today’s young workers receive full retirement benefits. In a new ad titled “Threat from Within,” Trump says he’ll “never let that happen.” On his campaign website, Trump insists he “will always protect…Social Security….”

One of the best books of 2023—and one sure to land on my list of Advisor Resources for Financial LIFE Planning—was published near the year’s end. I’ve been following Shane Parrish’s work for years as the creator and curator of the Farnam Street blog and newsletter, so his new book, Clear Thinking, was in the

If you’re married, it’s critical that you maximize the money you and your spouse will each receive from Social Security over both of your lifetimes. That’s because most married couples will receive a very large portion of their total retirement income from Social Security. For most couples, this money usually represents more than half of

Trying to get financial control can be a highly frustrating problem for adult children. They have been appointed as agent on an impaired parent’s Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA), but the parent stops them from getting involved. The dilemma is this—the kids see that Mom or Dad is losing it, forgetting to pay bills, getting

When it comes to retirement planning, conversations often center around portfolio management and investment strategies—what I like to call the bling of the financial world. Generally, you sit down with an advisor and begin your work together by listing all your assets and expenses. They, in turn, provide you with a thick report of projected

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Seniors saw a boost in Social Security benefits in 2023 to offset the rising cost of living. But there could be a downside—the increase may result in a higher tax bill this tax season for some taxpayers. Social Security benefits are designed to supplement income in

Everyone nearing retirement always seems to have a ton of questions surrounding how to maximize their Social Security benefits. These questions range from “When should I take Social Security?”, “How Can I maximize my Social Security benefits?”, “Are Social Security benefits taxable?” to “Can you help me choose the best time to start receiving Social

How happy would you be living in Mexico? In order to get some useful guidance, we asked the experts what they thought; not only expats who moved here, but also the Mexicans who were born and live here and who have watched us expats and who have come to conclusions of their own about the

Personal finance is like politics and religion. People live and die over doctrinal debates that too often take the discussion to polarizing ends and away from the root issues and optimal guidance. Much of the debate in financial planning lies in the investment realm. Active versus passive. Individual securities versus funds. Funds versus ETFs. Traditional

We’ve probably all heard about the loneliness pandemic in media reports. We hear about the national mental health crisis too. No one is free from risks to our mental health, though clearly some do better than others in keeping the risks down. How do we help our elders (and ourselves) cope with depression and anxiety,

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin On Jan. 4, 2023, 72-year-old widower Gerry Turner and star of ABC’s “The Golden Bachelor” married 70-year-old widow Theresa Nist. Turner and Nist met on the show, filmed over four weeks in August. Nist beat out 21 other women, including finalist and two-time divorcée Leslie Fhima.

I’m a professional prioritizer. As a financial advisor, it’s not my preferences that I am responsible for articulating nor my priorities that I am duty-bound to help order, but my clients’. And after 26 years in this business, I have no doubt that financial planning is more about prioritization than possession. This is because no

Lonely senior (LS), after a failed marriage, had not dated much for several years. She finally decided to try a dating app for older people. She’s attractive, professional, still working and very smart. She had not had much experience with dating apps but was glad to get on and find what looked interesting. LS started

If you want to retire early but don’t have enough financial resources, you can still turn your retirement fantasies into reality by learning from people who “retired” early. They didn’t have sufficient financial resources to support themselves for a handful of decades without any income from working, but nevertheless they made more conscious choices about

Introduction to the CCA In a recent Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) issued November 28, 2023 the IRS took the position that modification of a grantor trust, with the beneficiaries’ consenting to that modification in order to add a discretionary income tax reimbursement provision for the grantor, resulted in a taxable gift by the beneficiaries. The

Congress is debating whether to impose new restrictions on immigration as the price of a deal to provide new aid to Ukraine and Israel. But some of the biggest victims of this misguided policy will be frail older adults, younger people living with disabilities, and their families. For their sakes, Congress should make immigration easier,

In micro-economic textbooks, the main factor assumed to affect the quality of a market is the number of sellers. A single seller, termed a monopolist, is the worst because that seller has maximum power to affect price. At the other extreme, a market with so many sellers that no one of them could affect the

Have you ever fantasized about quitting your job and moving to a place where it’s so affordable that you don’t need to work? Or perhaps you just want to move out of the U.S. to live out your dream life overseas. For eight years now, I have been reporting on the most affordable countries to