Retirement

In addition to the human tragedy, the serious situation in Ukraine certainly gives many investors cause for consternation, particularly those who have been in the market 10 years or less. However, history tells us that not only is volatility normal, but volatility can create opportunities, since some loss-averse investors will make a beeline for the

Digital financial planning is a force multiplier that allows advisors to serve more people in a more insightful way Changing Landscape The financial planning landscape has changed with a quantum shift in demographics and an increasing interest from younger generations wanting to learn more about financial planning. According to ICI Research, there are some 38%

Most estate planning discussions assume assets flow in only one direction, from older generations to younger generations. That focus neglects some opportunities to increase family after-tax wealth. It’s not unusual for adult children to help care for their parents or have more wealth or higher incomes than their parents. In those situations, reverse estate planning

It’s a simple bill, and a short one, too: The Lifetime Income for Employees Act, or the LIFE Act, introduced back in mid-February as HR 6746, has one objective: to enable employers to default their employees’ 401(k) investments not just in the (by now) traditional “target date” funds but also in annuity contracts. Specifically, for

Boost your yield and your principal gets nibbled. Here’s how to assess the trade-off. “I bought the Invesco Senior Loan ETF, ticker symbol BKLN, in 2017 and haven’t seen the light of day since. I bought it when I learned that it’s floating rate and if interest rates rise it should not lose value. Any

“C’mon, Dad, hurry it up!” said every kid (ever) having his or her picture taken on a family vacation. “Hold on,” Dad said, “I’ve almost got the lighting right…” Little did Dad know that we might have been onto something as kids. Indeed, taking a picture changes something about an experience, doesn’t it? And the

With everything going on in the world right now, there is a feeling of general unease blanketing our nation. While I cannot speak to the politics of foreign governments, I can mourn for the lives lost in the current struggles and share my thoughts on how I see the markets reacting. “It’s different this time.”

By Ronnie Genser, Next Avenue My unexpected journey to my “second act” began on September 20, 2011, the second day of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year 2011) when my beloved husband Sandy (Sanford) Weinberg, age 61, had an unexpected massive heart attack around 11 pm. Sandy was a health care management professor at the graduate

By Leslie Hunter-Gadsden, Next Avenue Entrepreneurs often begin with an idea and manage their new business alone — at least in the early stages of their startup. So, in essence, they are often “solo-preneurs” with hopes of possibly adding a few staff members as their business expands. For Patricia Wynn’s Hillsborough, N.C.-based lifestyle assistant business,

The U.S. Department of Labor came out this week with an unusually strong warning about cryptocurrencies pushing their way into 401(k) retirement accounts. Over the last few months, some financial institutions have started marketing crypto investments as potential options in these highly regulated accounts, and that’s a problem according to the DOL. “At this early

By Carol Ungar, Next Avenue When Vivian Kirkfield’s feet touched the ground after skydiving, she had an epiphany. “I realized that if I could jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I could do anything.” For Kirkfield, who received the skydive as a gift from her son when she turned 64 in 2011, that meant

Soon, California residents with personal care needs will be eligible for Medicaid long-term care no matter how much money and other assets they have. On July 1, the state will increase the program’s asset limit from $2,000 for an individual to $130,000 and from $3,000 for a couple to $195,000. The state plans to end

America’s state and local government pensions invest as much as 40 percent of their assets in secretive, offshore “alternative” hedge, private equity, real estate and venture funds which warn that certain unidentified “mystery investors” pay lower fees, are provided greater information about investment strategies and portfolio holdings, have been granted liquidity preferences and receive superior

EcoVillage in Ithaca (EVI), New York is a cohousing community that has thrived since its founding in 1992. Co-housing communities attract all ages and in the last decade a large handful of them have been developed solely for adults over 60. EVI is multigenerational and operates a farm that helps to support its residents. There

Insights into an Important Decision Most retirement plans today are defined contribution plans which promote an expectation of the potential for a large account balance. Some offer the option to convert that balance into a lifetime income, but most do not. Retirees who want a lifetime income stream can always make that choice by buying

Before long, many may start to view The Great Resignation as a Great Big Mistake. Over 3 million Americans decided to retire early amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The percentage of the US population in retirement has been gradually increasing for years, but this was a significant rise above the prevailing trend. Source: Federal Reserve Bank

How many family caregivers are women? Who most often takes the lead in planning for and carrying out the needed tasks to manage the needs of an aging parent at home? Women often take on the primary childcare role in families and when parents age, they are most often the ones who take on the

Looking past the gas pump to me on the other side, a 60-something year old woman states, “I waited a long time for this.” Jiggling the nozzle out from my tank, “What’s that?” I ask. She replies blandly, “Retirement.” Continuing, as if speaking to a larger invisible audience, she points up to the pump price

The sustainable-investing movement is picking up momentum. Here’s how to participate. Should your portfolio align with your notion of corporate responsibility? If you think it should, join a small but rapidly expanding population of ESG investors, those sensitive to the environmental, social and governance qualities of the companies that use their capital. This three-part guide

For over a year, the $100 billion-plus State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio has refused to disclose critical information regarding its riskiest investments— information requested by tens of thousands of deeply concerned school teachers whose promised retirement benefits have been slashed. Public scrutiny of the state fund’s investments has been effectively thwarted by pension officials