Retirement

If you “love” your 401(k) plan at work, you’ll be pleased with today’s IRS announcement about contribution limits. The amount that you can contribute to your 401(k) will be higher in 2022, increasing to $20,500 from 2021’s limit of $19,500.   This new limit also applies to 403(b) plans, most 457 plans and Thrift Savings

Dementia can disrupt even the coziest living arrangements between unmarried older adults. Cognitive impairment can set your aging parent up for financial manipulation. It’s very convenient for the live-in boyfriend or girlfriend to get into the partner’s bank account by coaching the impaired one to go the bank and take out money. Adult children may

The ongoing pandemic continues to put a heavy burden on older workers. Many lost or left jobs amid the winter surge in the winter of 2021. Jobs are only slowly coming back and long-term unemployment stays high. Retirement is often not an option as many older workers have little or no wealth outside of Social

One of the perennial questions Americans ask is, what are the best states to retire in financially? In order to help answer this question, Credit Karma conducted a study of the best and worst states to retire, which analyzed all 50 states across 20 different, pertinent factors, running the gamut from the overall cost of

As anyone who has ever enrolled in a company’s 401(k) retirement plans knows, it’s not easy to take out the money before you have left the workforce.  While many 401(k) plans allow participants to take withdrawals while they are still employed (commonly known as in-service withdrawals or distributions), they generally are permitted only in specific

“Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” Bob Marley “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus Some of the world’s greatest artists, philosophers, and spiritual icons have illuminated the trappings of riches, the

At a time when investors worried about inflation are considering putting money into everything from bitcoin to commodities, there’s an old fashioned—and uber safe and simple—way to keep at least some of your cash from losing value: U.S. Savings Bonds. The U.S. Treasury announced yesterday that I bonds issued between now and the end of

In August 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) completely revamped the Plan Finder. A promotional video said the new design would make it easier to learn about and compare coverage options and select the best plan. In a press release, the CMS Administrator at that time said, “Try it out and let us know what

The economy grew at an annualized inflation-adjusted rate of 2.0% in the third quarter of 2021, a sharp drop from the second quarter’s 6.7%. This slowdown reflects the broad reach of the ongoing global pandemic. Surging cases in the summer made people more leery about going out. Overseas customers of U.S. businesses struggled with widespread

Changing Winds of Tax Legislation Congress was considering tax changes that would have triggered capital gains tax on death, when gifts were made, and every so many years for assets in trusts. Congress was considering reducing the exemption, severely restricting the use of grantor trusts which had been the foundation of estate planning for decades,

The United States is not the only nation facing a retirement savings crisis. Many advanced, post-industrial democracies are struggling with similar challenges presented by an aging population. And just like in the U.S., these countries may have a variety of different retirement savings plans offered to workers. Canada, a nation with which the U.S. shares

Financial advice often boils down to what steps a person can take to achieve a specific goal. If you want to pay off your student loan debt faster, for example, then advice will detail what specific steps you must take to reduce your discretionary spending and increase your loan payments. Based on that increase, then

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about taking early reduced retirement benefits and then being able to take unreduced spousal benefits, how much survivor benefits taken at 65 would be reduced and a possible strategy for a higher earner who’s the younger spouse. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the

The nation’s infrastructure is in the news. Few of us needed politicians or pundits to tell us that our infrastructure is crumbling. As Yogi Berra noted, “you can see a lot by looking.” Have you dared to look under some of the nation’s highway overpasses and bridges? You have to wonder just how long rough-cut

Yesterday, the Biden administration unveiled its new iteration of the “Build Back Better Bill,” proclaiming that it is “fully paid for.” But this is far from true. While it has indeed reduced the overall scope of spending, eliminating such programs as paid leave and Medicare dental benefits, and trimming the scope of other benefits, the administration’s

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Will the poisonous combination of ageism and age discrimination deny experienced workers job opportunities as the economy rebounds from the pandemic downturn? That’s the haunting question troubling many older workers and their advocates. To be sure, there are so many crosscurrents in the labor market for experienced workers — from the

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue In April 2021, when Jenny Yaeger, 55, launched her Denver-based accounting and financial consulting firm for small -and medium-sized businesses, ClariFI Business Solutions, she tapped her personal savings. “Downsizing was what made it possible for me to go out on my own,” says Yaeger, the former chief compliance and finance officer at

By Kevyn Burger, Next Avenue Since the arrival of the coronavirus, the load that veteran home health aide Zulma Torres carried grew heavier. “This job got more intense. A lot of people who do what I do stopped coming in,” said Torres, 49, who works overnights in The Bronx, N.Y. “I stayed healthy and kept going

How well do you understand required minimum distributions (RMDs), which the IRS describes as “the minimum amount you must withdraw from your [retirement] account each year”? RMDs can be complicated, and there are changes coming for 2022 related to how they are calculated: In short, the divisors are increasing, which means the amount required to

President Biden’s scaled-down $1.7 trillion Build Back Better social spending and tax plan retains major benefit increases for Medicaid long-term care recipients as well as Medicare enrollees. But it trims more ambitious initiatives and drops an earlier proposal for family and medical leave. Here are key elements of the plan, which likely will change as