Retirement

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

I have a friend who lives in another state, and for a year I’ve not been able to figure out whether she’s retired. I don’t know if it’s an ego thing, her fear of getting old, or just something she thinks is none of my business. That’s her call, but I submit there are a

A friend, new to Medicare, asked me whether Medicare covered annual physicals. I told him, “No, it doesn’t.”   A week later, he told me I was wrong. He found proof that Medicare does indeed cover these examinations. “Physical exams, right there, on the HHS.gov website, in the list of services that Part B covers.” (Health and

Just about anyone will tell you they’re tired of staying home, avoiding groups and trying to stay safe from infection. Our aging loved ones are particularly hard hit, because when any surge happens they are the first to have to go back into strong protective measures. If your aging parent lives in a seniors’ community

Quite a few retirees may be shocked when they check their Social Security payments this month. If you heard about the largest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in decades, you would expect that your Social Security check would be increasing in 2022. That may not be the case for all retirees. If you are fortunate

Retirees who have assets in an IRA and make contributions to charities can use qualified charitable distributions (QCD) to reduce their federal income taxes. However, there are a few key rules you must comply with, or you could lose the tax savings. Background The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed during the Trump administration,

Hong Kong is culling (cute) pet hamsters by the thousands in a fierce effort to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Experts say there is little risk from getting infected from an animal. But when a HK pet store owner had tested positive for COVID-19, tests found that the shop’s hamsters imported from The Netherlands

Continuing to work after age 62 can affect your level of Social Security retirement benefits, whether you are receiving benefits at the time or not. Knowing how continuing to work might change benefit levels can lead to better decisions about when to claim benefits and whether to continue working. You can begin claiming Social Security

There was a time when I thought the optimal goal of financial planning was to collect vast amounts of information, boil all of that information down to an extensive list of assumptions and finely-tuned projections, and then to “click a button” and calculate precisely what a client should do based on those assumptions.  I thought

“Since my husband’s death—now a year ago—I have been a bit at sea financially (as well as emotionally). When his estate is finally settled, I will need to make decisions about a host of topics. Investment advice is not what I need, but an objective financial advisor that I could pay by the hour to work

Annuity laddering involves staggering the purchase of annuities over a period of time. A laddered annuity differs from a deferred annuity, which involves a single purchase but with payments deferred for some period selected by the purchaser. Both the laddered and deferred annuities considered here have fixed payments – variable annuities are a completely different

If the current state of politics and other woes in the U.S. have you looking thoughtfully at alternative places to live, this post is for you! Every January International Living posts their “Annual Global Retirement Index” for the year ahead. I like to hop on that and spread the word, so for the third year in a

Your friend or family member has named you as trustee of their trust. What do you do next?  Some people who serve as trustees do what they think they are supposed to do – without a true understanding of the role – or worse, whatever they want to do. In reality, accepting the role of

Searching for RMD Tables Online? If you do an online search for the new RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) tables to use to calculate your 2022 RMD, you might find yourself running in circles. Where, just where, are those 2022 tables? The online searches I tried today take you to the old tables, even if you specifically search

The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund says it hired BDO USA, LLP to conduct a so-called forensic audit. While the pension claims to “operate transparently,” in response to an Illinois FOIA request it produced a redacted copy of the contract with BDO which failed to disclose critical information regarding the cost and scope of the forensic