Retirement

A friend of mine recently started his Social Security benefits at age 66, justifying his decision because interest rates have risen recently from virtually zero to the four percent range. That made me question if the conventional wisdom still applies: This wisdom says that for most people, delaying the start of Social Security benefits as

The economy grew at a substantial 2.9% in inflation-adjusted terms in the last quarter of 2022. This faster-than-expected performance occurred amid substantial headwinds, mainly higher interest rates. But, continued monetary policy tightening and, more importantly, massive fiscal policy uncertainty over Republicans’ stance on allowing the federal government to pay its bills could derail the economy

Planning for a long retirement requires pre-retirees and retirees to thoughtfully consider many decisions that can significantly impact their financial security. One effective way to engage with these decisions is to answer thought-provoking questions, a technique shared in a recent report from the Stanford Center on Longevity that explored how pre-retirees and retirees can improve

Senator Katie Muth, a Board Member for the $40 billion Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) will never forget the first meeting of the pension board she attended and the ESG presentation she heard which included cryptocurrency as a solution for the un-banked in African countries. “I was really looking forward to the ESG presentation

Has SECURE 2.0 been over-hyped? Or will it prove to be a game-changer? Financial professionals are split on the issue. But there’s one thing for sure: in some cases, the blunt force of reality may dampen the enthusiasm of the headlines. You can’t escape it. Everywhere you look, you find prognosticators predicting the best of

The Secure Act 2.0 just upended retirement planning…again. The age when retirees must begin drawing from non-Roth retirement accounts increases to 73 in 2023, then 75 in 2033. Individuals who have already started RMDs can’t stop. Raising the age when withdrawals must begin is great as it gives investors more planning opportunities. However, it doesn’t

SECURE 2.0 improves Roth retirement options, including allowing employer matching contributions direct to a Roth retirement plan and delays Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for many. On December 29, 2022, as part of the omnibus spending bill, President Biden signed into law the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). The law contains significant changes to

Has SECURE 2.0 been over-hyped? Or will it prove to be a game-changer? Financial professionals are split on the issue. But there’s one thing for sure: there are a few things you can expect to take advantage of sooner than you think. Much has been made of the ability to create a “Backdoor” Child IRA

While there is no chance the federal government will enact long-term care financing reform any time soon, several states are busy developing public insurance programs of their own. These initiatives could be a critical step as the nation wrestles with how to pay for personal care for older adults and others with disabilities or chronic

Mike Tyson famously said “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Unfortunately, this can be as true when it comes to retirement planning as it is in boxing. Here are some ways LIFE can get in the way of even the best laid plans and what you can do about it:

SECURE 2.0 was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. It introduces a significant number of changes to contributions, simplicity of participation, and the date for beginning Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). However, one interesting twist is a provision that allows a 529 education plan to be rolled into a Roth. Aside from a great opportunity

Data security has been increased for tax returns, credit cards, and other traditional targets of cyber thieves. Now, the online thieves are making sophisticated attacks on employer retirement plans and the accounts in the plans. Data security at retirement plans varies, and the security can be breached several different ways. The cyber thieves probe to

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Inflation plus rising interest rates on your variable debt may be putting the squeeze on your budget. There are two ways out of that problem: Lower your spending or raise your income. If you have cash available to invest, high-yield dividend stocks can be a nice

Many people often wait until December to withdraw their required minimum distribution (RMD) from their IRAs and 401(k) accounts. While that may have worked for them in prior years, 2022 offered a hard lesson in why it may be better to be more proactive. Background The IRS requires certain retirees to withdraw minimum amounts each

The path to retirement can be long. The early years are often focused on meeting expenses and beginning to set aside as much retirement savings as possible. Then the middle years bring an increased focus on minimizing expenses and growing retirement and nonretirement assets. As one gets closer to retirement, that focus often changes once

Here at AgingParents.com, we hear just about every age-related problem you can think of. Families bring up issues about cognitive decline most often. We’re in the advice business for families of elders. When I first learned of a minority group using its common ground with ethnically related elders as a particularly slimy way to steal

A classic mistake made when considering annuities is to focus too much on current interest rates and the direction they seem likely to move. Annuities are income vehicles, so it’s natural to consider interest rates and the outlook for future rates. But too often the relationship between some annuities and interest rates is misunderstood, and

The Secure 2.0 Act is a landmark legislation that promises to revolutionize how US workers save for retirement. With the legislation officially signed into law by President Joe Biden last week, proponents are optimistic that millions of Americans can look forward to a retirement future with more security, options and control. So what all is

Wealth inequality by race remains staggeringly high, but it has gradually declined throughout the pandemic. This is different from the experience of the Great Recession, when after 2007 the disparity between Black and Latino households, on the one hand, and White households, on the other hand, widened. But, this difference is also no cause for

In response to public concerns, the McLean Citizens Association will host a virtual Public Informational Meeting to discuss two of the three Fairfax County Virginia pension funds’ cryptocurrency-related investments tomorrow. Fairfax County’s Retirement Systems Executive Director Jeff Weiler, who has publicly stated that cryptocurrency is “no different from any other investment” and the Chief Investment