Retirement

Does the gig economy intrigue you? Have you ever wondered what side hustle you’d be best at? According to a recent report issued by Precision Reports, the gig economy will nearly triple in the next five years. In addition, the rate of monthly new business formations, after nearly doubling at its peak at the onset

Medicare beneficiaries are accustomed to paying more for their prescription medications. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, just about half of all drugs covered under Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage, and Medicare Part B, medical insurance, had price increases greater than inflation between July 2019 and July 2020. Diabetic beneficiaries have been hit even harder.

The Great Recession, lasting from December 2007 to June 2009, was the most severe economic downturn in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Virtually all investors lost assets during the financial market crash, typically about a quarter of assets. The economic effects lasted for years, with jobs slow to recover and unemployment remaining stubbornly high.

If you had the choice, would you rather stand on the winner’s podium or watch as someone else stands on that platform? Be honest, now. When you enter a competition, do you just say you’re there simply for the experience or deep down, do you imagine yourself finishing first? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to

In our work at AgingParents.com, we often hear from adult children that the elder in their lives absolutely doesn’t want to be “put in a home”. By that they typically mean that they fear giving up their own living situation and being forced to go elsewhere for some form of care. They extract promises from

If retirement is on your radar, no doubt you’re hearing advice and recommendations from financial advisors, your spouse or partner, and well-meaning relatives and friends. The trouble is, it’s often easy to tune them out, for several reasons. You might believe you’ve heard their advice before. You might be busy with day-to-day life or not

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Social Security is the cornerstone of retirement income; in fact, a third of retirees get 90% of their retirement income from Social Security. But if you’re confused about how its benefits are calculated and when you should start claiming them, you’re in good company. A new Bank of America survey

How do you picture an entrepreneur? In a recent survey by Cox Business, small business owners listed their top three entrepreneurial idols as Steve Jobs, Ben Franklin and Walt Disney DIS . But another part of that survey may be more revealing. Roughly two-thirds of the respondents said the desire to be their own boss

For many retirees, the ideal arrangement would be to spend their last dollar on the day they die. This is not feasible, of course, because they seldom know when they will die, or exactly how long their money will last. The retiree who is determined to remain solvent to the end will very likely die

Trusts are a vital part of the wealth planning process. A trust can facilitate the efficient transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, as well as enable a family to reduce estate taxes, avoid the probate process and meet philanthropic goals. The most effective trust relationships start with a clear understanding of the

We’ve all heard the problems with relying on numbers: garbage in, garbage out; liars figure, and figures lie; 87.2% of statistics are made up; and so forth. Yet some individuals do their retirement income planning by answering some questions in an online calculator, reviewing the results, and checking the box that their retirement planning is

When Congress returns for a short post-election session, one item on its to-do list is major retirement savings legislation that has broad bipartisan support. One feature of both House and Senate bills: Expanding a deferred annuity called a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC). Both bills would increase the allowable size of QLACs. That might make

Planning can help optimize annual RMDs depending on your goals and cash flow needs. Mandatory withdrawals from retirement accounts begin for most taxpayers at age 72. But retirees who don’t need the money often have questions. For example, what’s the best time of year to take required minimum distributions, how to reinvest it, or if

The concept of “quiet quitting” started on social media, namely TikTok, leading to misleading and deceptive conclusions that American workers are shirking their duties and slowing down work. Employers fearing the hard truth that workers have some control over their labor effort has been a staple in Marxist economics, see Harvard professor Stephen Marglin’s essay

Let’s face it, some elders are not just stubborn, they’re flat out dangerous to themselves. They insist on independence. They refuse when you offer to step in and help. They think they are fine when everyone around them can see they’re not. And the aging parents who live alone, have poor balance, falls, and still

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has given its recipients a 8.7% raise after four decades, and record high inflation. Retirees will see their monthly payments increase by $146, to an estimated average of $1,827 for 2023. When you consider the average annual SSA income received by African American men 65 years and older was $14,409

It’s the question everyone wants answered: is this market correction the same as the ones we’ve seen in the past, or is it worse this time? There’s a tendency to believe that anytime the market corrects or there’s a bear market, that it’s going to be different this time. Here’s what I think: the reasons

Maximizing your Social Security income should be a key part of your retirement plan. As Americans often enjoy longer retirements, the guaranteed lifetime income for Social Security is an even more important part of maintaining your financial security as you age. With a near record Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023, the maximum Social

Many aspiring entrepreneurs feel the creative urge represents the most important trait for success. Many great ideas, though, never become viable businesses. Take a look at some of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time. Did Henry Ford invent the automobile? No. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot first produced a steam-powered automobile in 1769. Did Steve Jobs and Steve

Poverty rates rose for older Americans in 2021 and it was the only demographic group to experience rising poverty, according to the U.S. Census. Eroding pensions, increases in Social Security’s normal retirement age, and big gaps in access to retirement savings plans at work are causing elderly income security in the United States to fall.