Retirement

Starting the new year off with a strong, strategic financial plan to kickstart your financial goals for the next 12 months can have a lasting impact on your future beyond 2022. This, of course, includes the ever-important consideration of retirement planning. Luckily, recent legislative changes have increased contribution limits for the 401(k), as well as

Presuming that you’ve seen the caregiving commercials and are even more worried about caring for your parents – you’re not alone – over 53 million Americans are currently caring for an elderly relative or friend who needs help just navigating daily life. Yep, that many – 1 in 5 – spend an average 24 hours

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about published maximum Social Security benefit rates, payment of delayed retirement credits when filing after full retirement age and how spousal benefit rates are calculated. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask Larry

Thanks to some rigorous studies in recent years, we now know that social isolation is a key factor in predicting early mortality. In fact, it is more closely linked to mortality than obesity or high cholesterol. However, social isolation cannot be defined simply as living alone. In fact, more people live alone today than ever before, not just in

Over 27 years after William P. Bengen published what he referred to as the SAFEMAX rate in the October 1994 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, the four percent rule still stands as one of the most widely used rules of thumb in retirement planning. Let’s take a look to see how it has developed

Here we go again. The stock market at times can do some very scary things. It’s possible that the market has entered a cycle where those scary things may happen more often than normal. In January alone, there’s been three days where the potential for a correction – or a 10% fall from the market

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but filing your 2021 tax return may be one frustrating experience — especially if you’re expecting to get a refund. Recently, U.S. Treasury Department officials conceded in a phone call with reporters that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will face “enormous challenges” this

A study conducted by the American Psychological Association in 2021 shows 61% of Americans cite “money” as a “very/somewhat significant” cause of stress. This was the leading cause of stress (unless you were employed, in which case “work” was the top source of stress). You can’t blame Covid alone for this. An anxiety and stress

In 2008, then-Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote a column about corruption in Illinois, “In Combine, cash is king, corruption is bipartisan.” Commenting in the middle of the trial then underway for political fixer Tony Rezko, Kass relates a conversation with former-Senator Peter Fitzgerald, “the Republican maverick from Illinois who tried to fight political corruption

Back last June, the FDA made the controversial decision to approve a medication intended to treat Alzheimer’s disease, despite the lack of solid evidence of that drug’s effectiveness, and the strong appearance that it had cherry-picked studies to include only a single trial and exclude those which showed no effectiveness. What’s more, the drug, Aduhelm,

By Emelie Smith Calbick and Betty Wong, Next Avenue Every entrepreneur has experienced it. Those days when nothing seems to be going right. Those frustrating times when you can’t see a path to success ahead. Before you throw in the towel and give up, learn from these entrepreneurs on how they push through the tough times. In October, our

Does second-to-die insurance create a tax bonanza? Not exactly. “I’m thinking about a second-to-die policy that would pay off after my wife and I are both gone. “Here’s some proposals the agent came up with, based on gifting premium dollars to a trust owned by the two boys. I need to work through all the

Talking about one’s end of life wishes is typically uncomfortable for most. We think of the subject as one for our aging parents to have with us when they are “old”. We don’t usually think it is a necessary subject for younger adults to know about. The truth is, many younger adults are already caregivers

To bunch or not to bunch? That is the question. Over the past few years, mostly since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) at the end of 2017, there have been significant conversations around whether you should utilize a bunching strategy as part of your tax planning – combining large gifts,

Ask most retirees what’s the one thing they wish they had known before they retired and they’ll probably tell you, if they had to do it all over again, they would have liked to have that one piece of advice that would have made things significantly easier. Here’s your chance to get that “one” piece

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how early retirement benefits affect later spousal benefits, eligibility for divorced spousal benefits and taking reduced survivor’s benefits before retirement benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask Larry answers here. Have

The market has started to create a ‘correction’ or a 10% decline. As of January 24, 2022, the NASDAQ was in correction, the S&P 500 was down about 11.1% (from January 3), and many crypto currencies are down as much as 50%. In addition, many stocks are fully off their highs. Down markets can be

Workers may be delighted (or they may be unexpectedly disappointed) at the prospect of being a part of the Great Resignation, but what about those who own their own businesses? What do the motives behind all those people quitting their jobs mean to entrepreneurs? “There are a number of reasons behind the Great Resignation, most

Cost of living benefits promised to retired teachers in Ohio were slashed a decade ago and then totally eliminated 5 years later, as payments by the state teachers’ pension to Wall Street’s highest cost money managers secretly skyrocketed. Retired teachers have suffered over the past decade as Wall Street has prospered. An Ohio lawmaker wants

Consumer spending changed a lot during the pandemic. Among the industries that took off in 2021 are fun industries like restaurants, amusements, gambling venues, hotels, performing arts and air transportation. Plants, puppies, and pots and pans were hot items in the last 22 months as people feathered their nests. Soaring sales of sourdough starter surprised