Mutual Funds

Most countries make it possible to acquire citizenship through residency. After you’ve been a full-time resident of the country for a specific number of years, you can become eligible to apply for citizenship and a passport. The specific requirements vary depending on the type of residency permit you have and how long you’ve held it,

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about maximum rates for retirement benefits, the WEP and substantial covered earnings after 62, restricted applications and the 1/2/1954 deadline, when spousal benefits can be available and how they’re calculated and protective filing dates. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder

Photographer: Matt Stroshane/Bloomberg News. BLOOMBERG NEWS NEW PPP APPLICATION FORM ISSUED JUNE 12, REGULATIONS ISSUED JUNE 11, LETTER OF GUIDANCE FROM TREASURY AND THE SBA, AND A SENATE COMMITTEE HEARING HAVE ALL HAVE OCCURRED SINCE PASSAGE OF THE PPP FLEXIBILITY ACT ON JUNE 5TH – HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. Disney World and

©miket – stock.adobe.com As the “easy money” era runs its course, money management doesn’t have to be difficult. A look at what’s next. From low rates to where? There was a time when retirement planning was straightforward. It went something like this: invest some money in stocks for growth, and buy bonds with the rest.

U. S. Department of Labor watchdogs just opened the door for private equity wolves to sell the … [+] highest cost, highest risk, most secretive investments ever devised by Wall Street to 401k plan sponsors. 401k investors will be devoured like lambs to the slaughter. Getty U. S. Department of Labor watchdogs just opened the

Getty Last week, I wrote about a newly-handed-down Supreme Court ruling that determined that, in a case where pension plan participants were not actually harmed, they could not sue their former employer for mismanaging their pension. As something of a tangent, I observed that participants in multiemployer plans would indeed be harmed, because there is

TOPLINE The stock market rebounded slightly on Friday, attempting to recoup some of its losses from a day earlier when fears over a resurgence of coronavirus cases led to the worst market drop since March. The market attempted to rebound from a massive sell-off on Thursday. Wang Ying/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images KEY FACTS The Dow

TOPLINE The flood of new retail investors making speculative stock trades are not behind the market’s recent rally, according to new research from Barclays which found that many of Robinhood users’ top picks tended to underperform. Robinhood customers piling into a stock usually resulted in lower returns, Barclays found. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Getty Just when you think it’s safe to go back to the beach, the viral predator returns for a second time. If you’re hoping for a quick rebound in the economy following our initial bout with coronavirus, be prepared for the possibility of more bad news, especially if you’re unlucky enough to work in the

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Low-volatility ETFs appear to be yet another example of an investment product that should have protected investors during the coronavirus pandemic but didn’t. These are exchange-traded funds that invest in stocks with the lowest trailing volatility. Researchers have found that such stocks not only continue to exhibit below-average volatility going forward,

We generally understand that older people are at greater risk than younger people for becoming ill from COVID-19. But everyone wants to get “back to normal”. That meant a more casual attitude and way of living that was not based on fear of catching a very contagious, potentially deadly disease. For our aging parents, those

Getty When you retire, things get turned upside down. As I’ve mentioned often enough in other articles, you need to come up with a new definition of yourself, and that definition is pretty much wrapped up in what you plan to do in retirement. Are you looking for a stress-free life, personal or intellectual development,

TOPLINE The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged on Wednesday and indicated that they’ll likely remain near zero until at least 2022 as the economy tries to recover from the coronavirus recession. The central bank expects the economy to shrink by 6.5% this year. Jacquelyn Martin/ASSOCIATED PRESS KEY FACTS The Fed painted a grim view of

Smartphone use is a skill that can be learned by anyone of any age Getty At the beginning of this month, much of the country opened access to greater commerce and socialization. However, the great opening up will not include everyone. Most of the seniors (age 60+) I’ve talked to have no intention of going to

A Yellow Vest protester in Toulouse, France, on May 16th 2020 during lockdown. NurPhoto via Getty Images As France takes its first political steps out of lockdown, President Macron is restarting his battle over pension reform, one that led to some of the biggest strikes in decades in December 2019 and months of ‘yellow vest’

TOPLINE The stock market finished lower on Tuesday—although the Nasdaq Composite rallied to a new record high—a day after the S&P 500 turned positive for 2020 and fully recouped its losses from the selloff caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2020. New York Stock Exchange/ASSOCIATED PRESS KEY FACTS

This discussion has been fairly positive with regard to the role of income annuities as a retirement income tool. My explanations follow standard academic theory regarding income annuities and their role in pooling longevity risk and providing mortality credits. Without this risk pooling, retirees must be needlessly conservative in their spending to ensure they still

Huntington, N.Y.: The exterior of the Huntington senior center, used for overflow beds from … [+] Huntington Hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images) Newsday via Getty Images The way we care for older adults in the US is, self-evidently, not working.  In just the past three months, at

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MAY 30: Chicago Police Department vehicles are seen vandalized during a … [+] demonstration in response to the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man on May 30, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Natasha Moustache/Getty Images) Getty Images Minneapolis wants to dismantle its police department. On Sunday, as CNN reported,

Getty “Four score and 7 modifications to the PPP rules ago…” Today, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza released a joint statement regarding the passage of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act, which was enacted on Friday and covered in our June 3rd blog post, Senate Passes

Getty Retirement often starts like a vacation. You’re all excited and eager to begin the journey. Each day represents the beginning of a new venture. Until it doesn’t. For some, it becomes a pleasant, reliable schedule. For others, it’s Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. The incessant repetition begs for something completely different. That’s why you’re

Make financial freedom not retirement your exit. Getty The word retirement is emotionally charged. Those who are young see it as far off in the future, usually because they associate it with being old. Others see it as a time of doing nothing and may think, “I’m not ready for that.” Many want to do

Getty Readers of print newspapers will have already noticed that something’s up with the Sunday funnies. As the AP reported: “More than 70 comic strips and panels — ranging from Garry Trudeau’s ‘Doonesbury’ to Jim Toomey’s ‘Sherman’s Lagoon’ and Jeff Keane’s ‘Family Circus’ — will each have six symbols hidden in the artwork to honor

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Editor Getty In challenging times like these, the topic of investing wisely can seem somewhat unimportant. But while your physical and mental health are clearly paramount, you’ll also want to take good care of your finances. That’s why two personal finance experts and I just released the new investing episode

TOPLINE Casino stocks, among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, have bounced back in recent weeks and continued to skyrocket after dozens of Las Vegas casinos reopened for business on Thursday. Shares of big casino operators are rallying amid optimism about reopening. John Locher/ASSOCIATED PRESS KEY FACTS America’s gambling mecca began reopening on June 4,

TOPLINE Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a press conference on Saturday that the number of new coronavirus cases in New York continues to decline, with the state’s death rate falling to 35—its lowest level since the crisis began. New York’s daily death toll fell to its lowest number yet. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Annuities have a reputation for being a high-fee financial product. Is this reputation deserved? We address this for different types of annuities throughout the book, starting with income annuities. It is a bit complicated to answer this for income annuities because they do not have visible fees. There are no additional fees extracted from the

Getty A frequently asked question regarding retirement for people fortunate enough to have a defined-benefit pension is…should you take the lifetime monthly pension or lump sum option? As companies look to shrink increasing pension costs and liability, they will frequently offer a pension lump sum buyout. This significant amount is usually the largest lump-sum payment

Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue near the Trump International Hotel during a protest … [+] against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. Getty Images Nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd have thrown issues of economic inequality, already exasperated by the coronavirus crisis, into sharp

By Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, Next Avenue Contributor Getty Micheline Burger, a 72-year-old retired attorney who lives in Longmont, Colo., has put off many medical appointments due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as her annual physical and dental exam and an important follow-up for an eye exam. “I’ve had a cornea transplant, so I have to have