Mutual Funds

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue When you put together a cadre of experts on aging, ageism and the future of work for free-ranging conversations on those hot-button issues, the atmosphere begins to crackle and spark. Possibilities and hope emerge. That’s what happened at Age@Work: The New Revolution, two provocative events I was fortunate to be

There’s been a lot of talk in Congress about slashing the lifetime exemption for estate and gift taxes (currently $11.7 million per person), perhaps reducing it by half or even more. Even if Congress does nothing now, the exemption is scheduled to be cut in half after 2025, unless Congress agrees to keep that from

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced Medicare Part B premiums for 2022, and the base premium increases 14.5% from $148.50 a month in 2021 to $170.10 a month in 2022. That $21.60 monthly increase ($260 a year) compares to a $3.90 monthly increase last year. Meanwhile income-related surcharges for high earners have been

By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue Nearly half of working boomers are looking for a career change, according to a new LinkedIn data survey. Some want to reinvent themselves in their current roles, others hope to switch employers. Fortunately, thanks to the escalating demand for talent driven by “The Great Resignation” and a heightened emphasis on

There’s been a growing awareness of a significant risk that retirees face as they age into their 80s and 90s: They may not be capable of managing their money due to forgetfulness, distracting health issues, or diminished cognitive capacity. This makes them vulnerable to financial losses that could come from simply making mistakes, being exploited

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether waiting till 70 is always the best strategy, how the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset can reduce benefit amounts and whether to take survivor’s benefits or retirement benefits first. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president

Older women are significantly more concerned about the impact of taking care of their physical health will have on their financial health, according to a new survey from MedicareGuide.com, an insurance company. In a poll, over half of women over 65 (51 percent) say they are worried a health situation could lead to bankruptcy compared

If you’re an executive or key employee, you may be eligible to participate in your company’s nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan, along with receiving grants of stock options or restricted stock. For NQDC plan participants, year-end is the time to make like an autumn squirrel and decide how much to store for the future. In

Estate planning for business owners is always important, and the number of liquidity events—such as business sales or infusions of capital—and potential tax changes in the near future, have only amplified the value of proactive planning. It is an essential undertaking for many business owners who want to ensure the continued success of their business

Eighteen months into the pandemic, many Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. In the early months of the pandemic, many experts recognized that, along with the serious health risks of the coronavirus, the steps required to control the pandemic such as school and business closures and social distancing were posing their

19,000 public school teachers who are members of the Ohio Retired Teachers Association (ORTA) would like to know how their retirement savings are invested by Wall Street money managers selected by the staff of the near-$100 billion State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. Since February 2021, the state pension has failed to respond to public

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether you can be eligible for later spousal benefits if you take early retirement benefits, working while receiving disability benefits and whether a parent’s widow’s benefit is set at the correct amount. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of

It’s All about the Roth IRA  As a financial advisor, I like to ask my clients what their financial goals and aspirations are. All too often, they say, “I just want the greatest amount of growth while paying the least amount of taxes.”  But, as we all know, taxes are generally inevitable on portfolio growth.

High inflation is making the news, and many people are worried. On the one hand, rising prices are taking a bigger bite out of families’ wallets than they did in recent years. On the other hand, price spikes are concentrated in a few items and may prove temporary. Workers, especially low-income ones, have also seen

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported, with the headline, “Democrats Add Drug Cost Curbs to Social Policy Plan, Pushing for Vote,” that House Democrats “agree[d] to allow the government for the first time to negotiate prices for medications covered by Medicare.” The article explains, “Starting in 2023, negotiations could begin on what Senator

“I like to study failure,” Warren Buffett said at a shareholders meeting for Coca-Cola KO years ago. “The biggest thing that kills [businesses] is complacency.” The solution, he suggests, is restlessness. How might we apply this recipe for success in our own lives, work, and personal finances? How can we make healthy restlessness a habit?

How should American savers respond to low interest rates? One might expect the answer to be simple: just invest in stocks instead of bonds or savings accounts. And indeed, a young saver not only can heed that advice but likely doesn’t even need it, with Target Date Funds for younger savers automatically allocating their assets

After much back-and-forth, House Democrats decided to include a scaled-back version of a family and medical leave plan in their nearly $2 trillion version of the Build Back Better social spending bill. The measure would give families up to four weeks of leave a year to care for relatives who are ill, including those who

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor If you’re curious how to become one of the happiest retirees and how to avoid becoming one of the least happy retirees, I can offer some surprising guidance. That’s because of what I learned reading two excellent, new books about all this and talking to their authors for Next Avenue

By David Conti, Next Avenue For employees, it’s not pumpkin spice season right now, it’s Open Enrollment season. That means it’s time to make the health and retirement plan choices that will be right for you in 2022. It isn’t easy, and many workers feel uneasy about choosing wisely. In its 2021 State of Work in

By Craig Miller, Next Avenue Bill McKibben, who has been called America’s foremost environmentalist, never seems to run out of steam. On the contrary, at 60, he’s firing up the boilers of activism again, engaging a whole new demographic — his own — through a climate change campaign that’s part of what he calls Third Act. McKibben’s

If you “love” your 401(k) plan at work, you’ll be pleased with today’s IRS announcement about contribution limits. The amount that you can contribute to your 401(k) will be higher in 2022, increasing to $20,500 from 2021’s limit of $19,500.   This new limit also applies to 403(b) plans, most 457 plans and Thrift Savings

Dementia can disrupt even the coziest living arrangements between unmarried older adults. Cognitive impairment can set your aging parent up for financial manipulation. It’s very convenient for the live-in boyfriend or girlfriend to get into the partner’s bank account by coaching the impaired one to go the bank and take out money. Adult children may

The ongoing pandemic continues to put a heavy burden on older workers. Many lost or left jobs amid the winter surge in the winter of 2021. Jobs are only slowly coming back and long-term unemployment stays high. Retirement is often not an option as many older workers have little or no wealth outside of Social

One of the perennial questions Americans ask is, what are the best states to retire in financially? In order to help answer this question, Credit Karma conducted a study of the best and worst states to retire, which analyzed all 50 states across 20 different, pertinent factors, running the gamut from the overall cost of

As anyone who has ever enrolled in a company’s 401(k) retirement plans knows, it’s not easy to take out the money before you have left the workforce.  While many 401(k) plans allow participants to take withdrawals while they are still employed (commonly known as in-service withdrawals or distributions), they generally are permitted only in specific

At a time when investors worried about inflation are considering putting money into everything from bitcoin to commodities, there’s an old fashioned—and uber safe and simple—way to keep at least some of your cash from losing value: U.S. Savings Bonds. The U.S. Treasury announced yesterday that I bonds issued between now and the end of

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about retirement benefit rates and whether they can be increased, what people could be referring to by the term “spousal bump” and when Social Security might review disability status. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.

In August 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) completely revamped the Plan Finder. A promotional video said the new design would make it easier to learn about and compare coverage options and select the best plan. In a press release, the CMS Administrator at that time said, “Try it out and let us know what

Financial advice often boils down to what steps a person can take to achieve a specific goal. If you want to pay off your student loan debt faster, for example, then advice will detail what specific steps you must take to reduce your discretionary spending and increase your loan payments. Based on that increase, then