Today’s column addresses questions about cost of living increases for spousal benefits’ effects on later COLAs for retirement benefits, taking retirement benefits before survivor’s benefits and Social Security options with no saving and health concerns. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.
Home-price gains in 2021 are on pace to smash last year’s all-time high after record-low mortgage rates fueled bidding wars across the U.S., Fannie Mae said in a forecast on Friday. Home prices probably will surge 17% this year, beating the record gain of 11% set in 2020 that surpassed the prior peak of 10%
Megan Leonhardt | CNBC As third-quarter earnings roll out and 2021 winds down, analysts and investors are looking for which companies can close out the year on a bullish note. Many firms had stellar starts to the year, and are in a tough spot to continue growing at such rapid paces. Costco braved the
VALERIE MACON | AFP | Getty Images People who collect Social Security are about to see bigger checks. The cost-of-living adjustment in 2022 will be 5.9%, the Social Security Administration said Wednesday. The bump, which will help beneficiaries keep up with rising costs due to inflation, is the largest increase in about 40 years. The
Geber86 | E+ | Getty Images It happens to the best of us — after setting a budget, somehow spending goes off the rails. “It’s so easy to do,” said certified financial planner Diahann Lassus, managing principal at Peapack Private Wealth Management, based in New Providence, New Jersey. The coronavirus pandemic, economic recession and subsequent recovery
By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue The numbers are worrisome. The typical 54- to 64-year-old with a 401(k) or IRA owns a median portfolio worth about $135,000 and more than a quarter of workers don’t have retirement savings accounts (mainly because their employer doesn’t offer one). Is it any surprise older Americans worry their quality of life
Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West is selling his 3,888-acre ranch in Cody, Wyoming for $11 million, almost exactly two years after he first purchased it. In 2019, West purchased the property, formerly called Monster Lake Ranch, and had plans to build a massive home and two underground garages on the property. It seems those
In this article M People wear facemasks as they walk through Herald Square on January 8, 2021 in New York City. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images Activist investor Jana Partners has taken a stake in Macy’s and sent a letter to the department store chain’s board on Wednesday urging it to separate its
In this article BTC.CM= Bitcoin on display. Chesnot | Getty Images Bitcoin climbed Friday to hit a five-month high, and was inches away from hitting $60,000. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency surged as high as $59,920, notching its highest level since May. 10. But it struggled to break above the $60,000 mark. Bitcoin was last trading
Are MBAs worth it? It depends on many factors, like whether you have the money, time and willingness to commit. In 2015, I enrolled in The University of Florida’s online MBA program, all while working a full-time job in finance. The degree cost me $60,000 and took two years to complete, but it gave me
designer491 | iStock | Getty Images Retirement savers could start seeing annuities in their 401(k) plans. While allowing them in workplace retirement savings plans is not new, the 2019 Secure Act aimed to eliminate companies’ fear of legal liability if the annuity provider were to fail or otherwise not meet its obligations. Now, insurance companies,
Over the last several days, we’ve seen the Outrage Machine in action over a new Treasury proposal to require banks to report to the IRS new information on U.S. bank accounts, in addition to the existing reporting of interest payments. This proposal, as described at CBS News (among, of course, many other sites) would require
At 18, Chris Morrison purchased his first home in Phoenix, Arizona. That was the kick-off to the RETSY’S founding partner’s passion for residential real estate and a most successful career in sales. Morris had discovered by accident he loved real estate. “I was at Arizona State University and working at a golf shop when I bought
A pedestrian wearing a face mask looks at a smartphone while passing in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, on Monday, July 20, 2020. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images A Minnesota general contractor pleaded guilty Thursday to a scheme to hijack dormant shell companies and then pump-and-dump their
In this article BAC Bank Of America CEO Brian Moynihan is interviewed by Jack Otter during “Barron’s Roundtable” at Fox Business Network Studios on January 09, 2020 in New York City. John Lamparski | Getty Images Bank of America is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings before the opening bell Thursday. Here’s what Wall Street expects:
In this article CRSR PSON-GB TFC SPCE MRNA PNC Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Moderna (MRNA) – Moderna added 3.2% in premarket trading after rising 3.2% yesterday, following an FDA panel recommendation for a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine. The panel recommended approval of a booster for people 65 and
The Securities and Exchange Commission is set to let the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds start trading next week, since the SEC isn’t likely to block the ETFs proposed by ProShares and Invesco, CNBC reported on Friday. But billionaire Mark Cuban won’t be investing. When asked whether he’d buy the ETFs once they were
In this article SPCE Virgin Galactic pilots walk to the company’s SpaceShipTwo Unity spacecraft, attached to the jet carrier aircraft Eve. Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic stock plunged in trading on Friday after the company said it would delay any spaceflights to next year as it refurbishes its vehicles. While Virgin Galactic hoped to fly its
In this article COIN Grandbrothers | iStock Editorial | Getty Images Kenny Schachter, an art dealer, columnist for Artnet and self-proclaimed nonfungible tokens evangelist, believes that the digital works could eclipse the traditional art market within five years. This month cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and the auction house Sotheby’s, which has been around since 1744, both
Some families are products of second, and sometimes third marriages, and with aging parents in the mix, it can get contentious. Mark and Mara, siblings by their Dad’s first marriage, have always been close. They were never particularly connected to his wife, Zena over the years, nor her daughter Roberta. Now, both the aging parents