Financial Nations

The whole point of retirement is to improve your life—at least, that’s the case for most people. However, many people assume that if they stop working, their life will somehow magically be better. While not working does give you time and energy to pursue your goals and interests, you’ll need to do more work to

There are significant tax-reduction opportunities available when employer stock is held in a 401(k) plan. The opportunities are more significant now, as are the potential consequences of a suboptimal decision, because prices of many stocks increased significantly in recent years. Yet, many people diminish their benefits by rushing their decisions. The key tax break is

If you asked 100 people what the purpose of financial planning is, the reflexive answer of the majority would likely be to have more money. And this underlying belief, spoken or not, is likely why financial planning so often results in under-implemented plans and satisfaction levels that score just marginally above “meh” on a scale

When’s the last time you made a friend? Not just someone you see at work, or someone who is an acquaintance – a real friend. Someone you can call on and confide in, and who has your best interest at heart, and who can lean on you as well. In a previous article, I described

Daughter of elderly mother (EM) called in a bit of a panic. She had just found out that her 80 year old mother, living alone in another state, had been giving thousands and thousands of dollars to a campaign. This was done with recurring donations she had unwittingly signed up for on her cell phone.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is focused on continuing to improve the quality of Part D and Medicare Advantage plans. The Star Ratings system helps beneficiaries and their caregivers compare Medicare health and drug plans and make the best decisions. Every year CMS publishes the Star Ratings to give beneficiaries and their caregivers

Social Security benefits will be a major source of retirement income for most Americans. Yet, shockingly, only some people have a good idea of how much they will receive in benefits from Social Security. In fact, new research from the National Institute on Retirement Security says just 11% of Americans who haven’t yet retired know

For decades, the desperate need for government to help support middle-income frail older adults, younger people with disabilities, and their family members has been clear. Until now, lawmakers largely have done nothing about it. But that finally may be changing. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for President, has proposed an ambitious expansion of

Most economists who had to describe healthy, stable growth would end up largely describing today’s GDP numbers. The economy expanded at an annual inflation-adjusted rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024, after expanding at 3.0% in the previous quarter. Outside of volatile inventory build ups, economic growth actually accelerated. Income growth from continued

The IRS is filling gaps, fixing glitches and answering questions about the SECURE Act and SECURE Act 2.0, and about required minimum distributions (RMDs) in general. Most of the discussions about the laws focus on the end of the Stretch IRA, the 10-year rule, and related issues. But a lot more ground is covered in