Mutual Funds

Another week… more disturbing revelations about America’s severely underfunded state and local government pensions… another of a new breed of forensic investigations funded by concerned pensioners whose retirement security is at risk. This week, the Chicago Police Department Pension Board Accountability Group—comprised of retired and active Chicago police officers and their dependents— released the scathing

There are plenty of things in life that are complicated, but retirement planning shouldn’t be one of them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the calculations, data analysis, and other back-office activities are simple. My point is that the process isn’t as complicated as many advisors make it. Some financial professionals struggle to

By Mark Ray, Next Avenue If you hate Zoom meetings, imagine how Heidi Carles, 56, of Bernville, Pa., feels. Carles, an auction lead, cataloger and photographer for an online auction company, has hearing loss, which makes videoconferencing challenging at best. Early in the pandemic, Carles often struggled during calls that included dozens of co-workers. Between the

By Al Emid, Next Avenue There’s a growing phenomenon in the stock market — “fad investing” — and it’s something you don’t want to do with your money. Fad investing means buying a stock just because some type of activity is trending, regardless of the prospects of the actual company issuing the stock or any serious underpinnings behind

With the stock market seemingly hitting new record highs every day and mortgage rates near record lows, you may be wondering if you should pick up a second home for your future retirement. Perhaps, a vacation home you can enjoy now while you wait for the day you reach financial freedom and decide to end

A funny thing happened on the way to that $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug: Payers are reluctant to pay, providers are reluctant to prescribe, and the price is coming down—at least for some patients. It is a tale  that could push Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Reuters reports that Biogen BIIB , which sells

I suspect that after years of reciting the same headline numbers, we tune them out: The Social Security Old Age and Survivor’s Insurance Trust Fund will not be able to pay full scheduled benefits after the year 2033, one year earlier than forecast in last year’s report; when the Trust Fund is exhausted, it will

We make meaning of our lives in the way we tell our tales. Have you settled on the story of your life? Spotted the patterns and repetitions? The innovations and transformation points? The life support systems and relationships that kept you going? What shape would you give the whole? A roller coaster? A many-petalled flower?

Today’s column addresses questions about recalculation of benefits after earning continuing income, how the family maximum that can be claimed on a single record is calculated and how divorced spousal benefits are calculated for business owners. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning,

In her twenties, Mickey became the single mother of three children under five years old. The resulting challenges she faced defined much of her life. She had to support the family on a secretary’s salary and navigate a not-so-friendly professional world while mothering her son and two daughters, paying the bills, and saving for retirement—all

Deciding to take ownership over your retirement and savings goals typically starts with one important step: Automation. Financial experts and voices almost universally begin the savings process with the idea of automation. Why? Because it allows you to move money into either short-term savings or long-term retirement accounts without ever seeing the funds within your

Here at AgingParents.com we see lots of problems. Real estate agents and elder-related issues are among them. This is a real case. Edward is 80 years of age, living in a senior’s home where he is able to care for his physical needs independently. But his mind is not as healthy as the rest of

Earlier this month, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index report for July 2021, headlines reported year-over-year inflation clocking in at 5.4% for the second straight month. This got many retirement investors asking questions about the impact of inflation on their portfolios. Asking questions is OK. Asking the wrong questions isn’t.

Americans’ readiness to retire has moved from a concern to a crisis. Even Congress, with a comparatively weak recent record for bipartisan compromise, has acknowledged the concern. Late in 2018, in the midst of partisan wrangling, Congress passed the SECURE Act – a law aimed at beefing up the U.S. retirement income system. And it

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of the S&P 500 sectors began trading on December 22, 1998. ETFs have revolutionized investing. Among other effects, they allow an investor to slice and dice the major indexes, underweighting and overweighting the sectors according to the outlook of the investor. Recently, the Bespoke Investment Group published a study of how the

Today’s column addresses questions about the effect of no longer earning income on Social Security benefits, spousal benefit eligibility when a spouse’s disability benefit converts to a standard retirement benefit and the potential availability of divorced spousal benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic

Personal finance is an exercise in mistake management more than the pursuit of perfection. Indeed, the best financial plans are those written in pencil, where numerous erasures are visible. They are novels that remain forever in draft form, in which the author continues to build on the narrative, charting out a series of compelling contingencies

By now, if you’ve been paying attention, you know the many reasons that explain the sudden surge in inflation. What you don’t know—what nobody knows—is whether this surge will sustain itself for the long term or whether it will evaporate just as quickly as it came about. Maybe you don’t need to know that answer.

Once again demonstrating the Ohio Retirement Study Council’s apparent inability to provide intended legislative oversight of the five state pension systems in Ohio, the Council recently—following years of growing public outcry—finally commissioned a long-overdue fiduciary performance audit of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. The last fiduciary audit of the pension in 2006, took

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue This caught my eye: More than twice as many middle-income U.S. boomer women than men said they’ve been able to save more for retirement than expected during Covid-19. That’s new survey data from CNO Financial Group CNO , which sells health and life insurance and retirement products. Its survey captured insights

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Managing Editor These are complicated times for the U.S. economy, which means they’re complicated for our personal finances, too. So my “Friends Talk Money” podcast co-hosts Terry Savage and Pam Krueger and I just released an episode to offer some timely, apolitical guidance on saving, borrowing, investing and taxes. I

By Sally Benford, Next Avenue Tere Dillard, of Decatur, Ill., has gotten used to taking her 89-year-old father Jim Lee to what she considers pointless tests ordered by his primary care doctor. One was a CT scan for mild dizziness. As caregiver for her dad and his wife Lenora, who’s 88, it’s not the only

Average life expectancy in the U.S. declined by 1.5 years in 2020, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is believed to be the largest one-year decline in life expectancy since at least World War II. Life expectancy was 77.3 years in 2020, about the same level as

A friend died last week. We had been friends for over 30 years. While we plan for our financial security in retirement, her passing caused me to question whether we are planning with equal intent and investment for our social wellbeing in older age. For those that began their careers in the 1980s, you will

Today’s column addresses questions about spousal benefits’ effects on the record holder’s retirement benefits, when the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP)’s effects can be lessened or removed and when survivor’s benefits may be available. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more

On July 13, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published the Consumer Price index for June of 2021. The results were not surprising to people who buy cars or drive them: used cars prices were through the roof (up 10.5% for the month) and gasoline prices were up 2.5% for the month. Overall, the all

In a recent report co-authored with University of Chicago Professor Daniel Hemel, I described how our retirement tax system favors the rich disproportionately. But it’s worse than that: Our system of generous tax subsidies for retirement savings—such as 401(k) plans, other defined contribution plans, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs)—also exacerbates racial inequities. Due in part to

Isn’t it odd, but no matter how long you’ve been in business, you know if you want to continue your success you must continue to ask seemingly simple questions? Why? Because the answer to the same question evolves over time. To choose a culinary metaphor, consider the answer to the question “How long will it

The McKinsey Consulting Group launched their “American Opportunity Survey” in May 2021 and concluded the results “put a spotlight on how Americans view their economic opportunity, the obstacles they face, and the path ahead to create a more inclusive economy.” McKinsey used opinion-polling firm Ipsos to survey 25,000 Americans in the spring of 2021. Their

The HECM reverse mortgage – a product designed for those 62 and older – is by far the most complex financial instrument that homeowners are likely to encounter in their lifetimes, and they must deal with it after many have passed their intellectual prime. Shopping for HECMs on lender web sites is an exercise in