Retirement

If you have been taking life expectancy distributions from an inherited IRA, should you care about the new RMD (required minimum distribution) tables effective in 2022? That’s a question raised by S.L., and the answer is “yes.” Anyone who is a beneficiary of an inherited IRA will need to address specific questions with his or

Distinguishing good from evil on Wall Street is a challenge. Be grateful there are analysts doing most of the homework for you. An ethical portfolio excludes the shares of irresponsible companies. Which ones are those? Once upon a time that was a fairly simple matter. A handful of mutual funds had portfolios omitting certain industries,

To zero in on the best socially responsible funds, use these sortable fund tables. How to invest with a social conscience? For most investors the easiest and the best way is to own a fund. Join a big crowd. At year-end Morningstar counted 534 U.S. funds, with $357 billion in assets, in its “sustainable” category,

A big change related to qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) has been highlighted in the Feb. 28 release of the official IRS Publication 590-B for the 2021 tax season. The QCD change affects those over age 70 1/2 who make deductible contributions to their IRAs. Reminder: “A QCD is generally a nontaxable distribution made directly by

Mindfulness is hot right now, maybe even hip. But for most, it still rests somewhere on a continuum between “woo-woo out there” and “yeah, I don’t have time for that,” rather than being utilized as a practical pursuit that can be applied in surprisingly tangible ways. Yet I believe that it is and can, even,

By Lazetta Rainey Braxton, Next Avenue This noted Generation X money adviser explains how financial planning is changing to be more accessibleFellow members of Generation X, I bear some good news. Financial advisers are not just reserved for the wealthy anymore. That’s timely, and I think heartening, considering this finding from a recent study by

Some people claim early because they are afraid benefits will be chopped. What are the chances of this? “I’m 66. Married, filing jointly. I have high IRA balances. Also, no debt, our mortgage is paid, and we are both healthy and locally active with a low cost of living. I’m thinking about postponing Social Security

By Grant Easterbrook, Next Avenue Approximately 20% of the American population is retired, which amounts to close to 66 million people. Despite the large retiree market, however, there has been relatively limited venture capital investment in new tools and services to help with “decumulation.” Decumulation is the phase of life when retirees must manage drawing

By Kelly K. James, Next Avenue When Ellen and Carl Otterness’ daughters were young, the couple wrote wills. Their primary goal was to name a guardian for their children if something happened to both of them. Then they didn’t think about it … for decades. Their now-adult daughters are both over 40, with husbands and

There’s some new guidance on early IRA withdrawals that pre-retirees should know about. It changes the interest rate on early withdrawals and allows a switch of method. IRAs are wonderful planning tools, since they allow the accumulation of retirement funds on a tax-deferred, or in the case of Roth, tax-free, basis. With the ‘Great Resignation’

Across the nation politicians are naïvely calling for state pensions to dump their Russian investments to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine. Since state pensions have in recent years agreed to let Wall Street fund managers keep secret their investment holdings, states don’t even know the Russian assets they hold.   Yesterday, state

Medicaid spending is something that fluctuates fairly substantially from state to state. Medicaid income limits, too, vary by state, which can make it hard to know if you qualify depending on where you live. Here, we’ll breakdown Medicaid spending by state and Medicaid income limits by state. Medicaid Limits by State Many states actually have

Workplace retirement plans often are not helping participants avoid social environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, risks, warns a report from Morningstar’s newly created Center for Retirement and Policy Studies released Tuesday. U.S. retirement plans offer investment options that are more likely to have higher ESG riscompared with the overall distribution of ESG risk in

On Monday, the IRS released the official version of IRS Publication 590-B, “Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs),” for the 2021 tax season, and the publication’s “What’s New” section leads off with a popular topic: “Life Expectancy Tables Updated.” The New RMD Tables I’ve been on the receiving end of questions from readers asking where

If you filed your 2021 tax return early online, opted for a direct deposit into your bank account, and the IRS found no “issues” with your return, look at your bank account — you may see your refund on deposit. So says a Feb. 24, 2022, IRS press release, “Tax Time Guide: Use the ‘Where’s My

Social Security benefits are a favorite target of identity thieves. Today’s thieves are more sophisticated than their predecessors who would go down streets and pull Social Security checks from mailboxes. Today’s thieves have a variety of techniques using email, fake web sites, and telephone calls. The scams will escalate as the Baby Boomers age, and

As a taxpayer, you have one goal come April: pay the least amount of taxes you can. One way to do that successfully is by hiring an accountant to do the filing for you. This accountant can be worth their weight in gold if they discover ways to earn you a refund that you wouldn’t

Investors know all too well the inevitability of market downturns. While we hummed right along through 2021, this new year and specifically the past few weeks are a sore reminder of what can happen in dramatic fashion. The real threat of continued rising inflation and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has started testing investor’s

After you are gone, your trustee will either need to hold assets in trust for your children or distribute the assets to them. You will not be here, so you need to make sure the trust contains instructions that express your intentions. Here are some points to think about in making these important decisions. •    Decide

You probably know some lively, spirited older people and plenty of others who seem listless and bored with life. What makes the difference? Mental health basics, together with attending to physical health surely contribute to how we age and to our vitality. Some folks who seek advice at AgingParents.com describe their elders as doing reasonably