Mutual Funds

Prince’s estate and the legal actions following his death deliver important estate planning lessons to most of the rest of us. Prince Rogers Nelson, the entertainer known generally as Prince, was a successful musician, entertainer, and record producer. He died at age 57 and left a valuable and complicated estate that was made more complicated

Today’s column addresses questions about how stopping work before claiming a Social Security retirement benefit can affect the benefit amount, divorced spousal benefits and the family maximum that can be claimed on a single record and how the Government Pension Offset (GPO) is applied. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and

April is National Financial Literacy Month. What began with the National Endowment for Financial Education as Youth Financial Literacy Day in 2000, has evolved into a month-long observance for people of all ages to learn about and improve their finances. Financial literacy is critical for understanding how to save, earn, borrow, invest, and protect your

For several decades, parents have had the option of saving for college through 529 plans. Although Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code didn’t appear until 1996, the first such plan is generally recognized as the Michigan Education Trust, which began in 1986. While based in part on Federal tax law, each state must sponsor

As the U.S. economy recovers from the disruption and damage of Covid-19, the Internal Revenue Service is struggling through a filing season unlike any other in history. The agency is under tremendous strain thanks to the enormous extra burden associated with sending out three rounds of stimulus checks; coping with other pandemic-related changes to the

The problem with financial literacy is that it gets off on the wrong foot. The very moniker is condescending, implying that those it serves are financially illiterate, that they have no idea whatsoever how to use money. Thus, in addition to condescension, we must add inaccuracy to the list of financial literacy’s foibles, because having

Today’s column addresses questions about whether child benefits will be reduced if the record holder filed early for their own retirement benefit, whether investing in stocks and cryptocurrency count as earnings and whether collecting early divorced spousal benefits reduce later retirement benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder

This year and perhaps next could turn out to be the best time in a long time to convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. That’s primarily because of a widespread belief that increases in income and estate taxes are likely to be enacted in the next year or two. Also, Stealth Taxes, such

Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported on some initial details on the American Families Plan, the third of the Biden administration’s massive spending bills, expected to be unveiled next week, and following on the American Rescue Plan already passed and the American Jobs Plan of infrastructure and social spending. The proposal is expected to

Today’s column addresses questions about whether it’s always best to wait until full retirement age to take survivor’s benefits before switching to retirement benefits at 70, how the earnings test is applied this year and benefit amounts for disabled adult children. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and

Caveat Emptor: This piece is not about the fairness of our tax system. It is a simple analysis of the proposed business tax plans in DC at the time of this piece. Draw your own conclusion about the fairness of the tax system, and who should pay what. There are tax increases in the works

By Richard Haiduck, Next Avenue Gen Z digital natives have grown up comfortable in a world of technology, but they can also benefit from wisdom that comes from experience. Combining the expertise of Gen Z and boomer generations could be a new formula for a startup business to succeed. At least that’s what I’m finding in

The pandemic has kept our aging parents away from us and us away from them for over a year. This isolation is not total. Some people have access, some ignore warnings, and some are intent on using the pandemic to hide their actions. There are no lengths to which predators won’t go to get ahold

A power of attorney (POA) is essential to every estate plan. Under the POA an agent (or more than one agent) is appointed to act on the principal’s behalf when he or she isn’t able to. The agent can pay bills, manage assets, and perform other essential tasks for the principal. At some point, many

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue After living with the Covid-19 pandemic for a year, are Americans feeling less confident about their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement? The new Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) 2021 Retirement Confidence Survey has the answer: No (by and large). In fact, the nonpartisan group’s survey found, retirees and workers overall are more

The Washington Post reports that business lobbyists are quietly trying to kill President Biden’s efforts to increase federal spending on Medicaid home and community-based (HCBS) long-term care services. The reason: The White House wants to fund the $400 billion increase—part of the president’s $2.2 trillion infrastructure spending program— by raising corporate taxes. And make no

The pandemic has impacted every aspect of life, including tax filing deadlines. Rather than the usual April 15, the filing deadline for your 2020 return has been extended to May 17. Of course, Americans living outside the United States have until June 15 to file their return each year, with or without the pandemic. Here’s

A lot of people think about relocating in retirement, and I’ve written articles in the past about relocating in retirement to save on taxes. A recent study compared the states based on 32 different rating factors and the results were not what I had espoused based on taxes and cost-of-living alone. If you are planning

Your estate plan needs an up-to-date power of attorney (POA), but it also needs more. The power of attorney (POA) is essential for every estate plan, but it often is oversold by estate planners. The shortcomings of POAs aren’t well-known and could bite you or your heirs without proper preparation. You and your heirs need

Does a recent survey conducted by MassMutual raises genuine concerns about Americans’ understanding of Social Security, and suggest a need for concerted efforts for more education? Maybe. The survey polled 1,500 Americans nearing retirement, that is, between the ages of 55 – 65, who haven’t yet retired, by asking them 12 true-false questions. They assign

Today’s column addresses questions about whether there are potential advantages to delaying spousal benefits past full retirement age (FRA), when divorced spousal benefits can be available and how spousal benefits are calculated. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets Maximize

The Biden administration and Congress plan to spend a lot more money in 2021 and beyond. They’re also planning to raise taxes to pay for a lot of that spending and also to refashion the economy and reduce inequality. The tax increases proposed so far have been on large corporations, and bills have been proposed

The focus of this proposal is retirees who own their homes but have little or no financial assets. They are said to be “house-rich but cash poor.” As a rough estimate, they number perhaps 15 million. A small change in the Federal tax code would help them at no reduction in Federal tax revenues and

Does it irk you to no end seeing your kid stare at the screen for hours on end playing a pretend game? Do you think your child will live a healthier life playing a real game outdoors instead? Are you driven up the wall watching your youngster get irrationally angry at a mindless set of

For most financial advisors, no one ever sat down and told us, “Here’s how you should go about your day.” Too many of us started our careers being judged by one single metric—new revenue generation—and the only tools we were given were a booklet in which to write down the names of as many friends

What is infrastructure? The website Investopedia provides a basic but perfectly serviceable definition: “Infrastructure is the general term for the basic physical systems of a business, region, or nation. Examples of infrastructure include transportation systems, communication networks, sewage, water, and electric systems.” A significant portion of the spending in the Biden proposal is, indeed, infrastructure

Today’s column addresses questions about what month to file to make sure you get the maximum age 70 retirement benefit rate, what happens when a protective filing date expires and whether survivor’s benefits include delayed retirement credits (DRCs) earned by the deceased. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder

We welcome back required minimum distributions (RMDs) in 2021 after a brief break in 2020 initiated by the CARES Act.  Between the suspension of RMDs in 2020 and the rule changes in the SECURE Act, which passed in 2019, many of us need to revisit and adjust our retirement income plans. Before the SECURE Act,

By Leslie Hunter-Gadsden, Next Avenue Amid the backdrop of dual pandemics (Covid-19 and structural racism), America’s racial, economic and age disparities have raised the urgency of organizations to address diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The Derek Chauvin trial and ongoing police violence make attention to DEI particularly critical. So, Next Avenue spoke to the four largest

By Ed Slott, Next Avenue If you are working with an eye towards retirement or even semi-retirement, you are probably (hopefully) saving more than you could in the past in your retirement accounts. You may have paid off the mortgage and paid for college and other heavy expenses of raising children. That all sounds like you