Mutual Funds

Today’s column addresses questions about how Social Security determines survivor benefit rates, how having a younger ex can affect filing options and benefit amounts and whether to claim retirement or widow’s benefits first. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets

Earlier this week, the media reported that life expectancy in the U.S. had declined by nearly two years between 2018 and 2020, primarily due to the pandemic. The news was more disturbing for people of color: For African Americans, life expectancy declined by 3.3 years and by 3.9 years for Hispanic Americans. Does this mean

We are a few weeks away from the arrival of advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments (July 15). If your family is potentially eligible for the payments, you might have already received a letter from IRS about the CTC. To guide you, here are the answers to five important questions to ask. ADVERTISEMENT 1. How

By Chaya Milchtein, Next Avenue Car insurance rates rose by a stunning 16.9% in May, overall, after going up 6.4% in April, according to the Consumer Price Index. So, this is an apt time to look for ways to save money on your auto insurance premiums. And if you’ve been driving less lately, due to working remotely

Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in 2017, use of donor-advised funds (DAFs) is soaring. They remain one of the best ways for many people to maximize the tax benefits of charitable giving. Contributions to DAFS increased by 80% from 2015 to 2019, according to the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT). Grantmaking from

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue Two years ago, Edgar Maxion, 54, stepped away from his position as chief facilities officer at Stanford University. After more than two decades in facilities and construction management, he was burned out. “I was doing eight projects at once,” he said. “I wasn’t seeing straight. I couldn’t even sleep at night.”

By Tracey Y. Smith, Next Avenue Watching “In the Heights,” the hot summer movie launching in theaters and on HBO Max this week, you’ll see the effervescent 66-year-old dancer Lillian Colón. This is the first big film for Colón, a native New Yorker and Puerto Rican who became the first Latina Radio City Rockette in 1987. The

As the U.S. economy recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic, banks and credit unions across the country have been at the forefront of a swift economic recovery. There are just over 10,000 banks and credit unions nationwide, most of them small-sized local lenders that are vital to American life, offering low-cost financial products and personalized customer

Higher taxes on long-term capital gains now occupy a prime position on the agenda in Washington. There are proposals to increase the top tax rate on investment gains to as high as 39.6% from the current 20%. Taxpayers subject to the net investment income tax pay another 3.8% currently and would continue to pay that

If you have a senior in your family, are you worried about him or her being scammed? Could you recognize potential vulnerability?    Take This Quiz Test yourself: Which of the following scenarios might indicate signs of possible senior exploitation? 1. Jane, 75, almost never withdraws money from her account. Jane’s husband of 50 years passed

While walking through the dark tax forest, are you scared from the noises coming from Washington? Are any taxing animals out there who might be interested in eating things like, um, your income, your assets, your life insurance, and more? Yeah, there are probably taxing lions, and taxing tigers, and taxing bears out there. They

For many Americans, Social Security is their biggest retirement asset. The various mistakes people make when managing their Social Security benefits can cost them dearly. You worked hard for decades to accumulate your Social Security retirement benefits, take the time to optimize your benefits. For typical American households, the lifetime value of their Social Security

The Ohio Retirement Study Council was created by the Ohio Legislature to provide legislative oversight of Ohio’s $200 billion-plus statewide public pension systems. For decades, it has epically failed to perform its limited statutorily-mandated duties. The Ohio Retirement Study Council (ORSC) was created by the Ohio Legislature in 1968 to provide legislative oversight of Ohio’s

We see recurring confusion about what it means to be appointed with authority over money in a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) for aging parents. The elders do estate planning and that is part of it. Good. A Durable Power of Attorney Document is signed by the aging parents. Good. But they can misunderstand what

“Emilio Enriquez has climbed from busser to line cook during his seven years working in restaurants, and he still dreams of becoming a chef. “But he hasn’t worked during the COVID-19 pandemic and won’t look for a job until fall, once unemployment benefits no longer pay more than he would likely earn working and, he

Many pre-retirees and retirees fear that their future tax rates could increase to help pay for the substantial U.S. federal debt that’s building up. As a result, they’re considering converting some of their traditional IRA and 401k accounts to a Roth account in 2021. The justification is that it might be better to pay income

As we cross the mid-point of 2021, older adults are starting to enjoy going out again, resuming work, and doing some light traveling, but many are still reluctant to re-join their gyms, attend crowded events, or engage in enclosed venues with people they don’t know. This is especially true for people with compromised immune systems

In his acceptance speech at the 1988 Republican convention, George H.W. Bush famously pledged, “read my lips: no new taxes,” only to concede tax hikes in 1990 budget negotiations, and be hammered with the broken pledge in his failed 1992 re-election bid. In his own election campaign, President Joe Biden promised repeatedly that he would

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue Julie Steller, the 63-year-old founder of Steller Handcrafted Goods in Minneapolis, is getting used to making pivots. Steller first turned her passion for craft making into a small business in 2012. It was all about using upcycled wool sweaters, authentic Nordic braid and other quality materials to make mittens, shawls, hats,

Inflation is already at 5% and probably headed higher. Here’s a 39-year old survivalist portfolio poised for a return to its glory days. Is Michael J. Cuggino, vendor of a fund designed to withstand inflation and other disasters, hoping for bad times ahead? Perish the thought. Here’s his diplomatic take on the protestations from the

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor Until now, we’ve never published a Next Avenue article about cryptocurrency or Bitcoin or the blockchain and, as the editor of our Money channel, I’m the reason why. Frankly, I’ve felt that the Bitcoin digital currency and other cryptocurrencies were, at best, extremely volatile and risky investments (did I mention

To most of the sane world, charging clients lots of money for doing nothing—providing no meaningful product or service—sounds like the very definition of fraud. But much of what happens every day on Wall Street is far from rational or fair. Money managers have devised perfectly legal ways of getting paid millions for doing nothing and

Sometimes normal human instincts don’t lead to the best actions. That’s a basic finding of behavioral finance research, and it’s true of a lot of retirement planning. People often believe that taking more actions is better than doing less, but doing more often doesn’t improve retirement plans and often can make them worse. For example,

Forensic investigations reveal that public pensions in states such as Pennsylvania, California, Tennessee, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Ohio have long abandoned transparency, choosing instead to collaborate with Wall Street firms to eviscerate state public records laws and avoid accountability to stakeholders. Predictably, billions that could have been used to pay government workers retirement benefits

One of the unanticipated effects of the pandemic is that it has induced millions of workers to retire early. John, for example, who is now 62, had previously expected to work until 65 or 68. He has $1 million of financial assets, which makes him better off than many of the involuntary retirees, and the

I’ve received a number of letters from readers of this forbes.com column asking for help with both tax refunds and stimulus payments. They want to know, what’s going on?  I have some answers, but, unfortunately, no advice to each reader, as each delay could be situational, that is, unique to the person experiencing the delay. Readers

Even with the best financial planning, unexpected emergencies still arise in our lives. If you find yourself in need of cash quickly, you may be hesitant to dip into your retirement savings. There’s a good reason to be hesitant. If you touch the money you have saved for retirement; it can have unwanted consequences. But

Today’s column addresses questions about spousal benefit amounts when both spouses file at 62, taking retroactive retirement benefits before larger spousal benefits and when divorced spousal benefits might be available. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets Maximize My Social

Most of us seem to have a general realization that elder abuse happens but few really understand it until it happens to your own loved one. It’s shocking. The most common abusers in our country are the elder’s own family members. Caregivers are next in frequency, followed by professionals, such as financial managers. Is there

President Joe Biden has recently proposed a 39.6% top marginal income tax rate, up from 37%. The top tax rate is scheduled to be increased to 39.6% after 2025 when the current Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is set to expire even if Congress doesn’t pass the President’s proposal. If Congress does pass the legislation to