Retirement

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how income earned after previous earnings are inflation indexed at 62 affect how benefits rates are calculated, recalculation of WEP reductions due to substantial covered earnings and the family maximum benefit. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic

A major weakness of the HECM reverse mortgage program is that it is a stand-alone. Potential synergies from integrating HECMs into retirement plans have been ignored. This article provides one illustration. It shows how a HECM can be combined with an annuity to neutralize the high risk that accompanies a high-yield asset portfolio. Consider Mary

If you want to optimize your savings opportunities, can you contribute to your 401(k) at work and to an IRA (individual retirement account) at the same time? Forbes.com readers want to know. P.H. wrote: My daughter has both a 401(k) at work and also contributes to a Roth IRA. Are there contribution limits here? She is 54

With the New Year, it’s meant to bring an air of optimism. But many people seem to be looking towards 2022 with dread in regards to their finances. According to a recent survey by Bankrate, only one-third of respondents expect their financial situation to improve this coming year. Those that believe their finances will significantly

Along with a great many other agencies and private sector offices, Social Security offices shut down and sent their workers to work from home when the pandemic hit in March 2020. But their work-from-home mandate continues long after offices have opened up, driven by a union refusal to agree to return. In some cases, the

As 2021 comes to a close, it’s an important time to make sure your financials are buttoned up for the year. After all, there is no sense in losing out on money, paying penalties, or incurring additional taxes unless absolutely necessary. Here are some ideas to consider as we approach 2022. Making sure you are

You’ve likely seen the “same old” New Year’s resolutions pop up from year to year for pre-retirees and retirees: save more, spend less, downsize, declutter, and so on. While adopting these resolutions could improve your life in retirement, they don’t sound like much fun to think about around the New Year.  Here are four different

Household debt is ubiquitous, but some forms of debt are riskier and costlier than others. These include payday loans, credit cards and car loans. They can also include student loans. Households of color often are more likely to owe such debt than is the case for White households. The associated costs and risks make it

My brother, Dr. Dave Ghilarducci, the deputy public health officer in Santa Cruz County is both worried and understanding of people who don’t get vaccines. (On January 30, 2020 Dr. Dave was asked if America was ready for the novel coronavirus, he said “our hospitals aren’t ready for Saturday night.” The data hits you like

To be clear, when I say, “Manchin-approved,” I refer to his insistence that programs not overspend and that be fully-funded gimmick-free, and his declaration just before Christmas that he would not vote on the Build Back Better bill in its current form, or in any version that the Biden administration was willing to agree to.

Households are sinking deeper into debt. Some of this debt creates especially large financial risks for households. They still need to repay that debt, even if they lose a job or encounter a health emergency, among other unforeseen events. As the pandemic rages on and gains speed again, the chances of such emergencies go up,

It came upon my wife and me slowly at first, and then, once we noticed it, it was almost impossible to ignore.  As just one example of what we saw, when we visited middle-to-upper end destinations in Mexico, we started to notice that bands of young women seemed to be everywhere. We would see them in

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about why Social Security’s estimates of future retirement benefits may fluctuate, requesting that a benefit rate be recalculated and how rates might increase even after 70. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask

Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes have dropped dramatically but more work needs to be done, four Democratic Senators led by Senate Aging Committee Chair Bob Casey of Pennsylvania are warning. The deaths have dropped from more than 5,600 weekly from Thanksgiving 2020 to the first week of January 2021 to 425 per week for the

There are only a few days left before the end of the year to make charitable contributions for 2021. If you are like most taxpayers (an estimated nine out of 10, according to the IRS) who take the standard deduction as opposed to itemizing charitable contributions, there are important reminders. As in all cases, be

American consumer spending rose under one percent  .6% in November, but last month it was little higher, the October’s increase was 1.7%. So spending is trending up. However, the press is reflexively reporting the new data with downbeat phrases like, “spending slowed”; like it was a bad thing. In contrast to the press this morning

By Craig Miller, Next Avenue We’ve all heard someone say it: they’ve decided to keep working beyond retirement age to “keep their mind sharp.” Now, that widely held notion has some science behind it. Three researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany have released a study showing measurable differences in cognitive decline between

When I taught economics at the University of Notre Dame, I learned that banning abortion in effect violates a keystone of Catholic social teaching that gives a “preferential option to the poor” and vulnerable. In America, young mothers are among the most vulnerable among us. I was honored to teach at Notre Dame for 25

A while back, I wrote about the “age gap” where a person could take a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) at age 70 ½ before his or her RMD-age of 72. RMDs are required minimum distributions. Here are some additional QCD questions raised by my Forbes.com readers. QCD Details For a quick review, QCDs are a

The pandemic hit many households especially hard as they were financially ill prepared for the onslaught of job losses, health care emergencies and childcare and school closures. Many faced financial hardships, even with quick and generous government financial assistance. A lot of people still struggle as the country heads into its second, severe coronavirus winter