Retirement

There’s been a growing interest lately in phased retirement, as indicated by the results of several surveys. For example, more than half (52%) of pre-retirees wish to continue working in some way after they retire, according to The Retirement Outlook of the American Middle Class, a survey whose results were recently released by the Transamerica

Major milestones are a good opportunity to pause, reflect, and think about where we are heading. This year is a major milestone for the retirement industry as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) reaches its 50th anniversary today. ERISA is the federal law that for the first time set important standards for

A standard life presents a standard quantity of opportunities. But wouldn’t you like more than a standard quantity of opportunities? A higher quantity of opportunities equals more possibilities for you to get some good ones to choose from. So how can you be presented with a higher quantity of opportunities? The most apparent answer is

Have you ever fantasized about packing up and moving to a new country? You’re not alone. The good news? It doesn’t have to cost a fortune—if you choose the right place. So where to move? Vietnam has been named the world’s most affordable place to live for the fourth year in a row, according to

Get there first. That’s the best parenting advice I ever got, and it applies to every one of the most important values we choose to pass on to our children, as well as all the thorniest issues we choose to address—sex, alcohol, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, and yes, money. For all of us parents, there

Japan is cool, modern and traditional. And … cheap? That is what Hannah Kirshner found to her surprise. We are talking about buying property. The young American writer and food stylist has two properties in Yamanaka, a little hot spring town in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. Kirshner always had been interested in Japanese culture. In 2015,

Updated, Aug. 29, 2024: This post has been adjusted to correct the number in the headline. By Lucy Lazarony, Next Avenue Many Americans in their 50s don’t have nearly enough savings set aside for retirement. How bad is the shortfall? According to Prudential’s 2024 Pulse of the American Retiree survey, with just a decade until

Here are the documents you need to collect before filing To make the process of filing for Social Security benefits easier, it’s important to know what documents you need when applying. Here’s a directive from the Social Security website: “You must present original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them. We (Social

Seemingly everyone agrees there’s a retirement crisis – everyone, that is, except for retirees themselves. In an April Wall Street Journal article, I noted that 86% of seniors in a Federal Reserve survey described their financial situation as either “doing okay” or “living comfortably.” Just 3% said they were “finding it difficult to get by.”

“I don’t want to be a burden on my children when I’m old.” This statement is one I consistently hear expressed by older people from all walks of life. While it’s natural and noble to be worried about how you might disrupt your children’s lives as you age, “worrying” isn’t a strategy! Instead, use any

For years, I have said that Dr. Ruth (Ruth Westheimer) is my role model. Dr. Ruth, sex therapist, professor, and author, spent her life educating people about sexual health. I heard Dr. Ruth speak in the early 1980s and again in 2014. In fact, I went to see the documentary, Ask Dr. Ruth twice because

You’ve recently retired, and you go to the doctor, and get the news. “Jim, there’s now a safe surgical procedure for your terminal medical condition. All things considered, you now have a long life to live!” This sounds like great news, right? It might be an unwelcomed prognosis if you assumed that your medical condition

By Lucy Lazarony, Next Avenue Many Americans in their 50s don’t have nearly enough savings set aside for retirement. How bad is the shortfall? According to Prudential’s 2024 Pulse of the American Retiree survey, with just a decade until the traditional retirement age, 55-year-old Americans have less than $50,000 in median retirement savings. Prudential says

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Here’s the long-term care problem for many middle-income people: They want to buy a long-term care policy to defray the staggering care costs they could incur in the future but lack the cash for its premiums. There may be a solution, thanks to the SECURE 2.0 law of 2022. Roughly

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Next Avenue readers know that the U.S. workforce is aging. The ranks of workers 65 years and older has nearly quadrupled to more than 11 million since the mid-1980s, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. The trend toward an older workforce will continue, largely thanks to the

Many estate owners are concerned about what will happen to the wealth in the next generation and the effects the inheritance will have on their heirs, making how to leave wealth to the next generation one of the most difficult estate planning decisions. Wealth is accumulated and preserved for the next generation at least partly

In just two months, the Social Security Administration will announce the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025. Below, we’ll answer some basic questions about the Social Security COLA and what it means for you. What Is The Social Security COLA? Social Security’s COLA increases the benefits paid to retirees and beneficiaries each year to

Technology is rapidly transforming the landscape of life in retirement and older age. A myriad of devices—big and small—are becoming part of our everyday lives as we age. The technology is coming. The less clear question about life in older age is how will we acquire and pay for these technologies. A New High-Tech Retirement

By Kelly K. James, Next Avenue During an interdepartmental Zoom meeting, a vice president asked for feedback about a video he’d produced, on a tight timeframe, to promote our company. On the video, one employee made a comment that made our company look bad. I thought she may have misspoken (and later learned she had)

By Elana Rabinowitz, Next Avenue “We call it pretirement,” a woman said while gushing about her new life in the affluent resort town of Saratoga Springs, New York. The smile on her face was impossible to hide. “Pretirement?” I asked, as if she made a verbal typo. She explained that it’s a phrase she and