Retirement

By Mark A. Stein, Money & Policy Editor, Next Avenue By almost any measure, more Americans are in or are rapidly approaching retirement with more debt than at any time in the country’s history. At the end of the most recent quarter, people aged 70 and over owed a total of $1.63 trillion, according to

People often associate the entire realm of digital assets with Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, but digital assets are much more than that. In fact, digital assets comprise all electronically stored pieces of information used and owned, ranging from emails, text messages, social media posts, self-recorded videos, photos, blogs, websites, downloaded videos, and songs, to art, NFTs,

By Marie Sherlock, Next Avenue “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” In this revered quote, anthropologist Margaret Mead neatly sums up the grassroots magic of giving circles: that a few like-minded souls working together can make a difference.

Throughout history, elders in cultures around the world were the ones who were responsible to think about the future, pass on their wisdom, and make critical decisions to positively impact future generations. The best example of this is the Seventh Generation Principle. Native American tribes believe in the idea that “our decisions today should consider

By Deborah Lynn Blumberg, Next Avenue Gerry Galewski of Milwaukee retired at age 69 after a 47-year career working in computer technology, most recently for a software development company. Galewski lasted six months before he got restless and “unretired,” taking a job stocking shelves at his local supermarket. “It was a way to keep me

Recently, I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting with Dr. Daniel Crosby, the author of several great books, including his newest, The Soul of Wealth. We met ostensibly to discuss the book, which we did, but he shared something else with me that is tangential to its themes, which was not explicitly mentioned. Whether

Many people are surprised and shocked when they learn what happens when retirement account owners neglect simple details about the tax code and their accounts. A review of some recent court cases brings the points home. The newest case involved the 401(k) of the late Jeffrey Rolison, who had worked at Procter & Gamble for

Last month, I was talking with a friend about his Medicare Advantage plan for 2025. He will begin taking a Tier 5 medication in January and wanted to know about the coverage and costs. I found that the drug would be covered and his costs would be capped at $2,000. He would probably meet that

Charitable giving often isincluded in financial and estate plans, and this is the time of year when there’s an increased focus on giving. But many people don’t optimize the impact of their donations by developing a giving plan. Few people are deliberate and strategic in their charitable activities. Many gifts are one-off events that don’t

Alzheimer’s disease impacts nearly 7 million Americans today, and over 11 million family caregivers shoulder the responsibility of caring for them. Despite its prevalence, families are often lost in knowing what to do to safely care for their loved ones. Here at AgingParents.com, a nurse-lawyer, psychologist team advising elders’ families, Alzheimer’s disease management is the

The incoming Trump Administration has been sending mixed signals about the fate of Medicare. But if Trump advisers and GOP lawmakers are serious about slashing government spending it is hard to see how they will ignore the program, which last year cost $850 billion and accounted for about one out of every six dollars the

As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to plan for the New Year. One important budget item that many are reluctant to address is Medicare costs. A quick overview of the 2025 costs should provide a head start. Costs That Apply to Anyone on Medicare There are some costs that any Medicare beneficiary faces.

In a recent interview with Shane Parrish, Whole Foods founder John Mackey talked a lot about wealth—what it means to him and what it doesn’t. He told a particularly compelling story about what he didn’t want wealth to look like for him. He was going to meet with Jeff Bezos to discuss Amazon buying Whole

The Biden administration appears to have pulled off the elusive economic soft landing, getting inflation in check without crashing the economy into a recession. While inflation has been easing downward, it has still been pinching retirees’ budgets. The bad news is that shrinking inflation rates also mean a smaller Social Security cost-of-living (COLA) for 2025.

“I don’t want to live a long time. My parents really suffered in their final years.” I’ve heard this sentiment from relatives and friends who watched their parents really struggle with health and financial issues in their final years. It’s also a common thought of surviving spouses who find themselves alone and frail. If you

It Happens With Aging Parents At A Distance Like many adult children with aging parents, the brother and sister in this true scenario were increasingly worried about their 90-year-old Mom who lived alone. Mom had cognitive impairment, probably dementia, but it had never been formally diagnosed. The siblings are in their 60s with full time

This article is written to provide you with the reasoning for the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). There has always been a debate as to whether this provision is fair or not. Share your comments below describing your thoughts. For years there has been much talk about repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) for those retirees

If you are like many people, you put off finalizing estate tax planning until the results of the 2024 election were in. Some people held off on any gifting to make a final decision. Others set up trusts and gifted smaller amounts to them as a placeholder. Now that the White House and both houses

When it comes to ambition, pacing and purpose, every generation has its own healthy operating beliefs. There’s overlap but overall, the development of wisdom is cumulative and comes about from the processing of life experience, something that happily retired baby boomers who are happy in retirement have in abundance. Nevertheless, for baby boomers, the temptation

Holiday season is scammers’ season too. Millions of people shop online at this time, with record spending expected. If your aging parents are online shoppers, help them to see the tactics thieves use to steal their personal information. Personally, I do a lot of online shopping for the convenience. I have gotten these fake text