- Congress Could Change Your Retirement Plans. Here’s What You Need to Know
The House of Representatives and Senate are working along similar lines to reform laws governing retirement plans like 401(k)s and traditional IRAs. Initiatives in both bodies raise the age cap for retired minimum distributions (RMDs). And they both let employers treat… read more…
- New Bill Would Eliminate Taxes on Social Security Benefits
Social Security is one of the cornerstone programs of the American Social Safety net — even if it doesn’t always completely cover a person’s retirement expenses, it gives everyone something to build off of when planning for their golden years.… read more…
- Annuity vs. Perpetuity
Annuities and perpetuities are insurance products that make payments on a fixed schedule. An annuity makes these payments over a fixed period of time and then ends. A perpetuity makes these payments indefinitely. Here’s what you need to know about… read more…
- Social Security Benefits for Divorced Spouses
Social Security benefits can be an important part of your financial plan for retirement, whether you’re single, married, widowed or divorced. If you were married previously, it’s helpful to understand how claiming a Social Security benefit for divorced spouse status… read more…
- Can I Retire at Age 55?
Retiring at 55 sounds like a dream to many, but reaching a goal like that requires some extra planning ahead of time. While normal retirement age for most is usually 65 or older, early retirement could give you more time… read more…
- Converting an IRA to Roth After Age 60
Retirement savers who convert pre-tax retirement accounts such as IRAs to after-tax Roth IRAs after reaching age 60 can keep growing funds tax-free and then make withdrawals in retirement without paying taxes. They avoid early withdrawal penalties and also don’t… read more…
- This Retirement Provider Becomes Latest to Offer Guaranteed Lifetime Income Stream
Yet another financial services firm has rolled out a new way to add a guaranteed lifetime income stream to your retirement portfolio. TIAA last week announced the launch of its Secure Income Account, which allows private-sector companies to provide employees… read more…
- Are Target-Date Funds Hampering Your Retirement? Try This Instead
Target-date funds may be cramping your retirement. Between July 29 and Aug. 2, lawyers representing current and past participants in six separate retirement plans filed suit against their employers and plan fiduciaries, charging that the BlackRock target-date funds in the… read more…
- Unretiring? Don’t Make These 3 Social Security Mistakes
Retired Americans are feeling the pressure of returning to work due to rising prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. But reentering the workforce while earning Social Security benefits could have consequences. We’ll take a look at the obstacles retirement-age Americans are… read more…
- Here’s How Retirees Can Turn $6,000 Into a $150,000 Retirement Bonus
With an average retirement balance of just $202,000, baby boomers could find themselves pinched for retirement income, according to a new survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. Using the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, that balance would produce… read more…
- Georgetown Identifies 6 Themes of a ‘No Normal’ Retirement
The AgingWell Hub at Georgetown University recently released a study that helps readers imagine how different retirement journeys might look. The idea is that there is “no normal” retirement and that each path will be different. The study lays out… read more…
- Vanguard Says This Modest Change Helps Investors Save Enough Retirement Income
Periodically increasing the amount you put toward retirement can help improve the chances that you’ll have enough retirement income later in life. Vanguard recently released data that analyzes whether retirement plan participants are saving enough to replace their income in retirement.… read more…
- JPMorgan Says You Can Safely Withdraw This Much From Your Retirement Accounts Yearly
JPMorgan Chase says ongoing inflation and an outlook for sharply lower returns for investors means that retirees should toss the long-standing 4% rule. That’s the rule that says retirees can safely draw down their savings by 4% per year without… read more…
- Does Vanguard Owe You Money? It’s Paying Investors Millions
Some investors will be getting a bit of money back soon, the result of a big settlement between financial firm Vanguard and the Massachusetts Secretary of State. The $6.25 million settlement has to do with allegations that the firm failed… read more…
- IRA Investors Put Their Money Into This Low-Cost Asset. Should You?
Investors with individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are selecting low-cost mutual fund options. The Investment Company Institute (ICI) says 45% of individual retirement account assets are held in mutual funds. That adds up roughly to $6.2 trillion. Overall, in 2021, IRA mutual… read more…
- How Much Retirement Income You’ll Have After Paying Medical Expenses
Retirees face sizable out-of-pocket costs for premiums, copays and uncovered services. One way to gauge this burden is to look at how much these medical costs eat into their Social Security benefits and other income. Here’s a look at how… read more…
- Inflation Reduction Act: 5 Ways Retirees Can Save on Healthcare
The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act contains five new healthcare benefits for retirees. Because Congressional Democrats in the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act through the reconciliation process, its healthcare provisions apply only to Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs. Consider… read more…
- This Move Can Save You Big on RMD Taxes
Stocks and bonds have both taken a beating this year, but that can create an opportunity to save big on taxes for retirees who don’t need their required minimum distributions (RMDs) to live on. In other words, there’s a simple… read more…
- Your Social Security Payments Could Rise Almost 10%
Social Security recipients might soon receive one of the largest benefits increases in the program’s history. A new estimate put out by the Senior Citizens League projects that, due to high inflation, Social Security’s annual Cost of Living Adjustment (or… read more…
- Social Security Fairness Act Repeals Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset
The windfall elimination provision and government pension offset both can reduce the Social Security payments a public employee collects. But there’s a bill in Congress, which has strong backing, that could eliminate both the windfall elimination provision and the government… read more…
- Does 401(k) Rollover Count as IRA Contribution?
If you have an old 401(k) at work, you might decide to roll it over to an individual retirement account (IRA). But does 401(k) rollover count as IRA contribution? The good news is that rolling money from a 401(k) into… read more…
- You’re One Step Closer to Being Able to Delay Your RMDs in Retirement
A bill is headed for consideration by the full Senate that would move the age at which you have to start drawing down your retirement plan savings to 75. The House of Representatives passed a similar measure, so sponsors are… read more…
- Senators Call Out Fidelity for Adding Bitcoin to 401(k)s. Are You at Risk?
Democrat senators sent a letter to Fidelity Investments questioning why the company would allow its 401(k) participants to be exposed to Bitcoin. Legislators called the crypto investment a “volatile, illiquid and speculative asset.” In April 2022, Fidelity Investments announced that… read more…
- Which States Do Not Tax Retirement Income?
States vary widely in the way they tax retirement income so location is an important consideration in financial planning for retirement. Some states don’t levy income states on any sort of retirement income, while others tax IRA and 401(k) distributions,… read more…
- RV Retirement Guide
Choosing to live in a recreational vehicle full-time in retirement can shrink costs and boost life satisfaction after a working career ends. Full-time RVing comes with challenges, including finding good healthcare and coping with fuel costs. However, the opportunity to… read more…