Mutual Funds

Ask Larry Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about eligibility to take retirement benefits at 70 after taking spousal benefits at full retirement age, filing early as the lower earner or delaying and finding current and future benefit estimates after filing for other benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston

Scammers who incessantly try to defraud seniors pay attention to headlines. News items describing scarcity of vaccines, long lines of seniors camped out, waiting to get Covid vaccines, fear of contracting a new variant—all are like invitations to scammers. They adapt quickly and invent ways to capitalize on fear. Fear is around us, particularly among

To complete the 3 Rs, it’s a good idea to involve your financial professional. They can help! getty In the old days, everyone learned the three Rs, ‘Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic.’ These basics were big buckets that contained a basic education. If you could master those, you’d find yourself in pretty good shape. At times,

By Diane Eastabrook, Next Avenue FRANKFORT, KY – JUNE 19: Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines outside the … [+] Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) Getty Images At the end of 2018, Ida Lane, 63,

An innovative crowdfunded forensic investigation of the Ohio State Teachers’ Retirement System will … [+] invite public participation. getty An innovative forensic investigation of the nearly $80 billion Ohio State Teachers Retirement System crowdfunded by the Ohio Retired Teachers Association will invite public participation by posting all documents obtained from OSTRS online for public scrutiny;

By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue getty There’s something romantic about hearing Elvis Presley croon: “Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you” that makes Cliff, my husband of more than 28 years, and me grin. We might even begin to dance. It’s “our song.” It’s also that

Getty Images getty Are there charitable causes you feel strongly about that you want to support? Do you want to integrate philanthropy into your family life? Do you wonder which method of charitable giving is right for you? People often engage in charitable giving because they feel strongly about a specific cause and want to

By Margie Zable Fisher, Next Avenue Glen Muñoz, podcast producer Glen Muñoz Almost every day since the outbreak of the coronavirus, we’ve heard stories about businesses shutting down. Yet new businesses have also been launched during the pandemic at the fastest rate in over a decade, according to The Wall Street Journal. Some of these new

LightRocket via Getty Images Over the last couple of weeks, the financial headlines have been dominated by market manipulation, GameStop, short squeezes, Reddit frenzies and other uncommon topics. A little perspective makes it easier to understand these events and how they should affect your investment strategy. The big news was the strong increase in the

10 tips for a Happier Retirement and the 25 happiest cities for retirement in the US getty Sadly no city in the USA came in the top 25 happiest cities for retirement. The top five cities for happiest retirement are Helsinki, Copenhagen, Geneva, Reykjavik, Oslo.  As a Los Angeles financial planner who helps people plan for

Did you take a break from required minimum distributions (RMDs) in 2020? Thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which suspended RMDs for 2020, you did not have to take RMDs from your traditional IRAs (individual retirement accounts) and other tax-deferred accounts last year. (Roth IRAs do not require RMDs during

getty It is not a surprise — not to me, anyway — that the “Covid relief” bill, or, strictly speaking the first half of such, released by the House yesterday, to be passed under the terms of reconciliation, includes substantial provisions related to multi-employer pensions. I did, after all, predict as much as soon as

Senior couple staying home and staying fit during COVID-19 lockdown. How to have a better retirement … [+] plan now. getty Are you dreaming of the day that work becomes an option, and you reach financial freedom? Those who avoided the negative effects of the Coronavirus recession have seen their salaries rise. While stuck at

getty It’s that time of year when, if you’re like most people, you begin to once again turn your attention to your IRA. The year-end statements are starting to trickle in, so you might feel the urge to re-evaluate things and perhaps make some changes. But, do you really know what you should be looking

Investment fees can invalidate the 4% Rule. Here’s what you need to know. getty The 4% Rule has helped generations of retirees estimate how much they can spend each year in retirement. What many don’t know, however, is the role investment fees played, or didn’t play, in the creation of the rule. For example, does

Questionable hearing device getty Almost 50 million Americans suffer from some level of hearing loss. The majority of them are adults older than 65. I know quite a number of people who have hearing aids; some wear them religiously, some do not. The non-wearers claim they don’t really work for them, they’re cumbersome, they are visible

LifePart2 From reading the amount of literature devoted to it, you would think post-work life will take care of itself if you take care of the money part. However, after digging deeper and talking to hundreds of happy retirees, I have seen that neglecting the non-financial part of retirement can lead to more misery than

getty How does income affect fertility rates or, more generally, family size? Or, put more bluntly, do the poor have more kids than the middle class? Do they, are they’ve long been accused of, have “too many” kids? Turns out, it’s hard to find data to answer that question. We know that fertility rates vary

Chuck Bolotin with gas station attendants in Baja California Sur, Mexico Chuck Bolotin In his book on happiness, Dennis Prager points out that gratitude is a pre-condition for happiness (as well as goodness) and one of the most important emotions one can feel and cultivate. It’s one of the main reasons why, for thousands of years,

By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue Seth and Mark Samuelson are reaping profits from the gardening trend courtesy of Seth and Mark Samuelson It’s been nearly a year since the coronavirus pandemic upended our lives. A year when we embraced new habits (curbside pickup) and technologies (Zoom) and found solace in old pastimes (gardening and baking).

getty Professor Zvi Bodie, my long-time friend and Boston University colleague, has long been an avid proponent of I-bonds, introduced by the US Treasury in 1998. Given today’s negative yields on TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities), Zvi’s argument for I-bonds is particularly compelling. Professor Zvi Bodie is my long-time friend and Boston University colleague. He’s also

Five things that people get wrong about retirement arithmetic. Future getty Something there is about retirement that leaves investors in an arithmetic fog. Maybe it’s the marginal tax rate or the compounding or the deferral that gets their numbers all jumbled up. Here are five things that people get wrong about IRAs and 401(k)s, usually

Financial firms providing services to pensions are required under ERISA to disclose compensation … [+] they earn related to plans. Can these firms demand pension sponsors keep statutorily mandated disclosure secret? getty Financial firms providing services to pensions and 401(k)s are required under ERISA to disclose compensation they earn from plans. Can firms unilaterally demand

Even small fees can wreck your retirement portfolio getty Investment fees are easy to ignore. You don’t get billed for your advisor’s fee or the expense ratio of a mutual fund. They quietly take it out of your investment portfolio every quarter. Yet fees can have a huge impact on your wealth.  In this article,

By Kathleen Doheny, Next Avenue DANVERS, MA – FEBRUARY 1: A man is given his vaccination by pharmacist Joe Borge. Feb. 1, 2021 was … [+] the first day of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 rollout for seniors, 75 and over, seen here vaccinated inside the Walgreens Pharmacy, at 107 High Street, in Danvers, MA.

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about what effect years of lower income might have on benefits taken later, when the higher income limit for the earnings test is applied and whether a divorce and subsequent remarriage can satisfy the 10 year marriage requirement. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston

If you find yourself in need of funds to support a new addition to your family, your 401(k) plan … [+] might be able to help. getty Welcoming a new child to your family is an exciting time. However, if money is tight or your income has declined due to the pandemic, what should be

Click here to read the previous part of this article. The most natural use for permanent life insurance is to fund a legacy goal. Exhibit 7.4 compares the effectiveness of two strategies for meeting a legacy goal during retirement: “buy term and invest the difference” in Scenario 1 and using whole life insurance in Scenario

The world’s best buys on beachfront property in 2021 are to be found in Northern Cyprus, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Belize. These are the findings of Live and Invest Overseas’ 2021 Global Property Survey, an annual index that details what it costs to own property in the world’s top locations for living or retiring overseas.

By Chris Farrell, Next Avenue SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 19: A firefighter tries to put out the wildfire on August 19, 2020 in … [+] San Mateo, California. (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images) China News Service via Getty Images Do you get the sense that disasters like blizzards, hurricanes, wildfires,