Mutual Funds

Work has changed. Not just for workers on factory floors and warehouses finding their new colleague may be a robot, but also for those working in downtown glass high rises. Ethan, a senior partner in his firm, shakes his head in disbelief. He says, “When I graduated nearly 40 years ago and began interviewing for

The latest report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says 41% of 401(k) participants don’t believe they’re paying fees. This shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with the retirement plan environment. “Employees are busy managing their day-to-day lives and don’t regularly review their 401(k) to be aware of 401(k) costs,” says Stuart Robertson, CEO of ShareBuilder

The Ways and Means Committee released the first draft of a major tax bill this week. While it is mostly aimed at increasing taxes to pay for other social policies and government infrastructure initiatives, there are a number of provisions that would change retirement planning.    You can see a summary by the Ways and Means Committee here. Most of

Not since the 1960s have so many critical policy issues that affect older adults come together in Congress at one time. Over the next few months, lawmakers will decide whether to both increase and fundamentally refocus federal support for older adults and younger people with disabilities. Those reforms would assist those who need long-term services

Here is a dilemma many Medicare beneficiaries face: My physician ordered a new medication to treat a longstanding medical problem. The pharmacist said my drug plan doesn’t cover this drug. I really need to take it. What can I do? This is not a rare event. Yet, many beneficiaries are surprised to discover that an

On September 13, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee announced some sweeping changes to the tax Code. The changes include some brand-new provisions and others that conflict with President Biden’s $3.5 trillion plan. Some of these were expected, others were a bit surprising. Here’s a synopsis of some of the relevant parts of the

Today’s column addresses questions about how many years a couple must be married before one could be eligible for survivor’s benefits on the other’s record, how month of filing affects when delayed retirement credits are paid and what week of the month benefits are paid. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University

Inflation tends to top the list of economic risks that investors obsess most about. After all, runaway inflation has devastated some economies over the centuries. Corralling inflation and keeping expectations well-anchored have been key mandates for most central banks for decades. However, inflation expectations are not uniform across age groups. Surveys from the New York

If you lost track of a retirement savings account held in the early years of your career, your ease in finding it will depend a lot on the type of savings plan. If you’re looking for an old IRA, searching for it through the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) is likely to help

The recent Social Security trustees report projected that the combined Trust Funds for Social Security retirement and disability benefits (officially called the Old-Age and Survivors Disability Insurance benefits, or OASDI) would be exhausted in 2034. These projections use the Social Security actuaries’ best estimate for various assumptions to project the system’s operations over the next

Studies suggest that most—at least 70%—of financial planning recommendations aren’t implemented. While we can hypothesize a number of singular reasons why this number might be so ugly, I’ll suggest that it’s actually a confluence of (at least) four factors that have led to this failure, two that are systematic and two that are psychological: 1)    Sales-orientated

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Whew! The pandemic had a smaller impact on the Social Security trust funds — that is, Social Security’s solvency — than many feared during the depths of the pandemic downturn. According to the new 2021 annual report from the Social Security Trustees, the depletion date for the combined trust funds —retirement and

By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue As someone who frequently writes about careers, I’m all for networking. But even I get frustrated by the number of otherwise competent professionals who ask for my advice by requesting a networking meeting the wrong way. You know, those vague “Can I pick your brain” emails? That’s unfortunate, because when

By Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, Next Avenue I still get excited seeing the quaint red envelope with a DVD in my mailbox. That’s because I live in a rural Ozark Mountains home in Arkansas and can’t get internet access to stream films or TV shows. I can barely load social media pages on my computer. I’m hardly alone.

With the pandemic still upon us, are you thinking about your retirement savings? Let me tell you why you should. Time is a wasting asset. And, there is no time like now (National 401(k) Day) to take action.   National 401(k) Day, which originated with the Plan Sponsor Council of America, reminds us to do

Do Americans need a nudge from their employers—and a handout from Washington—to get them to save for retirement? That’s the premise behind draft retirement language in the the House Ways and Means Committee mark up of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. Under the proposal, starting in 2023, employers with five or more employees would

Public pensions facing growing public scrutiny and criticism over mismanagement of investments are increasingly resorting to “pension theatre.” Fully two and a half months after my firm, Benchmark Financial Services released a report commissioned by the Ohio Retired Teachers Association entitled “The High Cost of Secrecy: Preliminary Findings of Forensic Investigation of the State Teachers

Today’s column addresses questions about potential retirement benefit rate increases at full retirement age (FRA), spousal benefits based on the record of someone receiving Social Security disability benefits and maximizing benefits after retiring earlier than expected. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning,

Today’s column addresses questions about whether moving to another state can exempt a person from the Windfall Elimination Provision, when to file for survivor’s benefits while still potentially earning income and when spousal benefits can still be available. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic

Will you still be relevant when you’re no longer working? That’s something many people wonder as they near retirement. While the simple answer is yes, you may find that the toughest audience to convince is yourself. That’s because grieving the loss of a workplace identity is far more common than most people think. While we

State and local government pensions assure workers and retirees that they enjoy the same protections as the comprehensive federal law, ERISA provides to corporate participants. That’s simply not true. Don’t count on state law to protect your retirement security. It has been said that the Law is a blunt instrument, incapable of dealing with all

Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) can play an important role for charitably inclined owners of tax-deferred individual retirement accounts (IRAs) who are over age 70 1/2. Some taxpayers use QCDs when they are subject to mandated RMDs (required minimum distributions). How do QCDs work? The Issue Forbes reader D.E. wrote to ask: “I have read your

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released some fascinating statistics on how workers view their economic standing. The NY Fed’s Labor Market Survey finds people looking for work are more confident they will get a job offer in the next four months than they were a year ago. Reservation Wages—A Revealing Human Attitude More good

The Social Security OASI Trust Fund for retirement benefits is projected to be exhausted by 2033, according to the summary of the Annual Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report that was released in August 2021. That’s one year earlier than what was projected in the 2020 trustees report. Does this mean that in 2033, retirees will receive nothing from

Readers, when I first read that retirees and employees in the Chicago Police pension system were pursuing a “forensic audit,” that seemed like nothing more than wishful thinking. It seemed plainly obvious that the plan’s massive underfunding was explained by the lack of a commitment to fund the plan properly, and by years of delusion

My students, many of them from other countries, ask why America’s Labor Day is in September when most other nations celebrate Labor Day on May 1. Historian William Adelman writes the irony is that the international socialist movement declared May Day Labor Day to honor American labor leaders hanged for conspiracy in the Haymarket Riots/Protests

By Kelli Thompson, Next Avenue For nearly eight years, I worked as a hiring manager and HR professional for financial services and technology organizations. My experience confirms what a lot of emerging data on the pay gap reveals — women are often more hesitant to apply for well-paying jobs, and negotiate less often, than men. As

Most people look forward to retirement. It’s an opportunity to spend a lot of time having “fun” – something that a hectic, executive-level job never affords. For others, it is frightening. What will you do with all of the free time? Once you get within 10 or 15 years of retirement, these questions pop up

Estate planning discussions often give the impression that every senior in America is married with two or more kids. That’s not true, of course, and those who do not fit the profile need estate planning guidance at least as much as the stereotypical couple does. Unmarried people should put a priority on developing the traditional estate

When Congressional Democrats began the legislative process to enact President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders insisted on adding a costly expansion of Medicare benefits to the bill. But a new report from the program’s trustees makes clear that this expansion would be unwise: Medicare is already expensive and growing faster