Retirement

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Does the outline of this scenario seem familiar? Paige Wilson, age 60, had a long career in finance with her last position as managing director at an investment bank. She and her family lived in Richmond, Va. not far from her 78-year-old mother. Her mother was vital and energetic, but she

Over years of consulting with adult children’s struggles with their aging parents, some issues stand out to me. Some of the hardest ones are about an adult child who was abused, neglected or both by a messed-up parent. These offspring relate that the difficult parent didn’t just get that way with old age. Usually, I’m

Many estate executors focus on estate taxes and forget about income taxes. That can be an expensive mistake. An estate is subject to income taxes much like an individual is. The estate must file an annual income tax return for every calendar year it is open for at least part of the year. This is

The sandwich generation, those who are parents and also have aging parents, face many responsibilities. One of the most important may be checking that their parents are paying Medicare premiums. Here are two examples that demonstrate what can go wrong.  Bart, my friend, lives in Illinois. His parents have resided in Florida for over 20

On November 7, 2019, the IRS proposed doing something that it had not done in nearly two decades…update the life expectancy tables used to calculate required minimum distributions by IRA, 401(k), other retirement account owners and many beneficiaries. More than a year later, on November 12, 2020, the IRS finalized those changes, and released updated

It’s no secret that many pre-retirees and retirees have meager retirement resources, and they might struggle financially during their retirement. Perhaps one of today’s hottest workplace trends—the Great Resignation—offers a solution.  During the past two years, employers have been losing younger workers in droves and can’t seem to find enough interested applicants to fill their

By Harry S. Margolis, Next Avenue Beginning this year, workers in Washington state must pay 58 cents of every $100 they earn into the Washington Cares Fund to help pay their long-term care costs in the future. Those with qualifying long-term care insurance can be eligible for an exemption. Beginning in 2025, those Washington residents who have paid

By Jennifer Nelson, Next Avenue Traditional financial advice like the kind you got from your parents is often true but even experienced investors might rely on maxims that are outdated and no longer serving your financial well-being. In fact, quite the opposite, as sticking to adages like “cash is king” (money is more valuable than other

By Leida Snow, Next Avenue Midlife freelancers and entrepreneurs often get stuck wondering how to build their businesses; they might want to tune into the wisdom of marketing gurus Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk, as I did via #webcreators2021, a live Zoom event held last year. Godin, called the godfather of modern marketing, brags that he

At Wall Street’s casino, it’s heads you break even, tails you lose. “I am a recent retiree and my financial advisor recommended that I invest in structured investments that pay 8% but are risky. I am also on the investment committee of my temple and am wondering whether these would be good alternative to the

Sometimes individuals who speculate in stock are like gamblers in a casino. They tend to overinflate their wins and minimize their losses. The pain of loss may be acute, but they quickly forget all about it because they’re sure the next big win is around the corner. They believe their optimism is justified.  After all,

One of the high hurdles when it comes to preparing for retirement is access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Unfortunately, retirement coverage is not universal in the U.S., and only about half of workers participate in either a defined benefit plan or a 401(k) account according to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. This

Over just the past few decades, the life expectancy of people with Down Syndrome (DS) has increased from less than 30 years to nearly 60. But for many, that remarkable advancement comes at a high price. As they live longer,  up to ninety percent of people with DS will have Alzheimer’s Disease. It is, in

It’s no surprise that divorce rates spiked during the COVID-19 crisis. Being stuck at home with a spouse made many people reevaluate their relationships. Throw in the stress of raising children, financial uncertainty and the staggering number of deaths, and it is no wonder that even more people did not get divorced. The pandemic showed

Working for a company that’s just been acquired by another firm can cause great anxiety for a lot of reasons. If you’re in this situation, you might be concerned about any number of things from losing your office to losing your job. Should you also be worried about losing your 401(k) plan? What might happen

Older Americans are doing better than they ever have, Joint Economic Committee Ranking Republican from Utah and American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Andrew Biggs asserted at a JEC hearing on economic security for seniors Wednesday. Seniors have are doing remarkably well, they have never saved more for retirement, and they are more confident about their

Universal life (UL) insurance policies became popular a few decades ago, when they were touted as being more flexible and modern than traditional life insurance policies. The trouble is, they have features that need attention by policyholders as they near the end of their lives.  Another problem is that these policies were sold as tax-effective

We made it. It’s 2022. The holiday season is over and now we have… debt? While we all get back to work to pay off our generous gifting, it is a perfect time to start thinking about ways we can better plan our budget in the new year. There are a lot of expenses that,

Your Answer Could Change the Course of Your Future – Here’s How to Make the Most of Social Security Benefits for You Most articles address the question of whether you should file for benefits early or late, and that is a great question. The focus of this article is what you need to do before you

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how Social Security spousal benefits are calculated, whether it’s necessary to file in January to get a given year’s COLA and what effects of benefits rates not paying taxes can have. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic