Retirement

Many American retirees are making significant mistakes with their traditional IRAs by planning to leave the accounts to their children or other heirs. Inheriting a traditional IRA never was a great deal and is significantly less appealing to heirs now. An IRA owner can take actions to increase the value of inheriting the assets. Most

Exceptionally long life is a subject of much study, as we see more people in the world living to age 100 and beyond. According to the Boston University centenarian study, out of a US population of approximately 336,997,624, in 2021, there were 89,739 centenarians (age 100+) or a prevalence of 0.027%.en. What’s their secret? Is

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is working hard to win the support of older voters, but what would she do to address their many concerns if she is elected president? In a campaign that has not yet shown many of its policy cards, Harris has offered only the roughest sketch of a governing agenda. But

Many of the ads for missing money are real, but you don’t have to pay anyone to find or claim the money for you or loved ones. When a check or other payment is returned to a business, the payer usually turns the money over to the state of the payee’s last address. The money

It is not a rare thing that as wealthy aging parents decline, some relatives seem to come out of the woodwork. They may not have spoken to Mom or Dad in years. But suddenly, they are so interested. They’ve learned one way or another that the parent is “losing it” and they see an opportunity.

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The IRS has issued interim guidance for a new opportunity for taxpayers created under SECURE 2.0 that allows employers to make matching contributions to retirement plans based on employees’ student loan payments. The match amount is calculated as if the employee contributed their loan amount to

Elder fraud is exploding, while crypto and speedy money transfers are making it tougher to recover stolen funds. Here are tips for staying safe. By Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes Staff The call began with a seemingly routine request. “I was wondering if you could help me with an international inheritance case,’’ the older woman said.

Retirees with more guaranteed lifetime income spend more in retirement and do so without worrying about running out of money. The additional spending is meaningful, according to researchers David Blanchett and Michael Finke, who recently updated research they produced in 2021. Retirees who receive steady income from Social Security, pensions, and annuities spend about twice

Many pre-retirees find they haven’t saved enough money to generate sufficient retirement income to support the life they want in retirement. If this describes you, it’s understandable that you might be disappointed and frustrated as you move closer to retirement. Your most realistic course of action? Look for your retirement Plan B. This post describes

A smart use of any retirement savings you’ve set aside in Roth IRAs and/or Roth 401k accounts can help you reduce the income taxes you’ll pay during retirement and also boost your wealth for future needs and goals. This post looks at three possible ways to strategically use your Roth accounts during your retirement to

The Inflation Reduction Act has generated many initiatives to cut drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. So, it’s possible that those past the age of 65 and still working probably don’t care about any of them. However, the IRA may have created a dilemma. Will the drug coverage incorporated into the employer group health plan still

Imagine this: You’re retired, lounging in your favorite chair, feet up, sipping something chilled as the sun sets. Your home is clean, everything is organized, the laundry is neatly folded, the trash has been put out for tomorrow’s pick up, and to make the day even better, you can smell your favorite meal being prepared.

Social Security celebrates its 89th birthday today, and there is much to celebrate. Social Security touches the lives of virtually every American. Almost 97 percent of the older population in the United States will receive Social Security benefits, averaging more than $1,800 monthly for retired workers. Social Security has evolved into one of the most

Young adults in the U.S. have been skeptical about Social Security at least since the days when I was one of them. Today’s younger generations are no different, and that’s affecting their retirement planning. About 47% of non-retirees believe Social Security won’t pay them any retirement benefits, according to a 2023 Gallup survey reported in

In May of 2016, I wrote an article titled “Leadership Has a Shelf Life.” I described how leaders often stay too long because of the uncertainty of what’s next for them and for the organization. It is hard to do what is in the best interests of the organization and also in one’s best interests.

When our parents get old, family members do have an opportunity to share the load of ensuring their safety and care. It doesn’t always work out well, with family conflicts being as they are. But in many situations, siblings can help one another in tending to the needs of a parent in declining health. The

When discussing Social Security filing strategies with clients, I often run across the confusion between a spousal benefit and a survivor benefit. There is a difference as they are two totally separate benefits. When your spouse passes away, the ability to collect a spousal benefit or continue to receive a spousal benefit ends as your

We are tempted to both give and receive bad advice when we wish something were true. I wish, for example, that college and career advice could be as simple as “follow your passions.” But it’s not. “Follow your passions” may be part of great college and career advice, but it falls woefully short on its

It’s a common problem these days, with nearly one in seven older people diagnosed with some kind of dementia. These folks lose their financial judgment early in the process of cognitive decline. Caring family members get alarmed, and try to reason with their impaired elder. That leads to conflict, as reason fails. Is there a

The Inflation Reduction Act is keeping drug plan sponsors, pharmacies, Medicare educators and anyone who works with Medicare drug plans very busy. So far, the IRA has: Dropped any cost sharing for Part D vaccines Capped insulin costs at $35, and Eliminated the 5% Catastrophic Coverage coinsurance. Many more changes are coming. The biggest one