Annuities 101: What Are They, and Do You Need One?
If you’re a regular reader of the financial media, you’ve probably seen headlines or pop-up ads about annuities. Sometimes, the message is that if you don’t have an annuity, you’re missing out on the greatest retirement funding idea since the invention of currency. On the other hand, the message might be that you should never […]
More SECURE: New Opportunities for Your Retirement Accounts
As part of the whopping $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that passed Congress just before the end of 2022, new provisions for retirement accounts—dubbed SECURE 2.0, since it largely updates the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019—offer many Americans a better opportunity to save for retirement and other important financial […]
A Year-End Gift for Plan Participants: SECURE 2.0
As part of the $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill that passed Congress just before the holiday break, some major changes are coming for employer-sponsored plans like 401Ks (for-profit businesses) and 403Bs (educational and nonprofit organizations). The SECURE 2.0 (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act of 2022 has gone to President Biden’s desk after […]
Your Home and Your Retirement: Using It to Generate Extra Income
Especially for those approaching retirement who are in the Baby Boom generation, home ownership and its benefits have been thoroughly imprinted into the financial consciousness. In fact, many in this age cohort may be nearing the point when the home they’ve lived in for decades is about to be paid off. On the other hand, […]
Retirement and Recession: You Can Have Both
If you’ve been watching the financial headlines lately, it’s no secret that market watchers, analysts, and others are warning about the possibility of a recession. Opinions vary from “not an absolute certainty, at least within the current year” to “it’s inevitable.” Meanwhile, everyone is watching the Fed to see if the new “tight money” policy […]
Retirement Relocations: Know the Tax Situation before You Make the Move
Many retirees who want to stretch their retirement dollars as far as possible decide to relocate to a part of the country that combines access to the activities they enjoy most with a lower cost of living. This often involves buying a home or a condo with the right location for your retirement lifestyle. In […]
Your Retirement and Your Pets: <br>Are You Ready? Are They?
We are approaching National K9 Veterans Day: March 13, 2022 marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the US Army K-9 Corps in 1942. At that time, US Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson gave official approval to the program, initially established to train and provide sentry dogs for military supply posts. Since then, […]
Supporting Your Adult Child: Can Your Retirement Afford It?
In 1998, popular author Stephen Bly released a new book: Just Because They’ve Left Doesn’t Mean They’re Gone: How to Love and Support Your Adult Children. If anything, in the nearly quarter-century since Bly’s book was published, the problems he addresses have only become more acute. According to figures recently published by the Pew Research […]
Starting the Business You’ve Always Wanted… In Retirement
It might not seem intuitive to think of starting a business after you’re retired, but a surprising number of retirees are doing just that, according to a recent survey by small business advocate SCORE. The survey indicates that even though persons age 55 and older make up only about 21% of the US population, they […]
Hiking the Back Country and Preparing for Retirement: How They’re Alike
Each year, tens of thousands of people of all ages and from different countries around the world converge on a network of hiking trails in France, Spain, and Portugal. Though they are coming from lots of different places and traveling different paths, they are all headed for the same destination: the Cathedral of St. James […]
