To some degree, Social Security payments can help insulate retirement incomes against inflation. For example, the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) this year was 5.9 percent, due to the considerable inflation we saw in 2021. But with inflation continuing to accelerate, will we see an even larger COLA in 2023? It’s possible. The Senior Citizens League has [...]
When you first reach age 65, you enroll in Medicare and make a number of choices about your coverage.For example, you will decide between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, whether to enroll in Medigap coverage, and maybe add a Part D (prescription) plan. All of these choices are aimed at helping you manage your healthcare [...]
You don’t need us to tell you that the cost of healthcare is out of control. All you have to do is turn on the news or take a look at your latest medical bill. In just twenty years, between 2000 and 2020, annual spending on healthcare tripled to $4.1 trillion per year! And according [...]
We definitely want you to enjoy your retirement years. At the same time, living on a fixed income can be challenging for many people. And the last thing you want is to run out of savings too early. So watch out for these ten common money traps. They catch more retirees than you might think! [...]
One of the great things about retirement is the freedom you can experience in your life. Not only can you determine your own schedule, seven days per week, because you aren’t tied to a desk anymore; you can even live wherever you want to! And that’s great news with the cost of living rising so [...]
Your retirement account helped you accumulate savings for retirement, while enjoying valuable benefits during your working years. Now it will (hopefully) provide income throughout your retirement years. Every so often, the IRS issues changes to their rules that can impact how you utilize your retirement account. This year, a new change should benefit many current [...]
Much of retirement planning revolves around saving and investing for several decades. So you might imagine that when retirement arrives, all you need to do is start taking withdrawals from those retirement accounts. Not so fast! You might be surprised to learn that retirement planning continues after retirement! In particular, you should strategize your distribution [...]
You know that living within your means is the ticket to preventing excess debt and keeping your financial planning goals on target. But for many of us, knowing this fact is one thing and living it is another! If you aren’t exactly conscious of your budget, follow these ten steps to get your spending in [...]
When we talk about retirement planning, we consistently stress the idea that no one should rely on Social Security to completely fund their retirement. And yet, 31 percent of working Americans have accumulated 0 dollars in savings. Many others have saved very little. And so, it appears that a number of households expect to rely [...]
Planning for retirement essentially requires you to approach your finances from both directions: How will you set up dependable retirement income, and how will you spend it so that you stay within a reasonable budget? To address that second point, entering retirement free of debt, or with as little debt as possible, is one of [...]