Retirement Articles
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Good Estate Planning Is Not All About the Money
Estate Planning isn’t all about the money. At least, it’s not if you want the plan to be successful. Long-time readers know I’ve been saying for years that estate planning isn’t all about taxes. You need an estate plan even when the estate isn’t likely to be hit with federal estate taxes. You also need […]
Beware of State Estate and Inheritance Taxes
Many people are resting easy about estate taxes because of the $5 million federal estate tax exemption. They shouldn’t. Only 27 states have no estate or inheritance taxes. Of the 23 states with the taxes, most impose them at lower levels then the federal tax. Also, because of budget problems, a number of states imposed […]
Estate Planning for Grandparents Stepping in as Parents
A quiet trend in the U.S. is that a growing number of parents serve as the primary parents for their grandchildren. The Census Bureau started tabulating this information in 2000, and since then the numbers have grown. The 2010 census showed that 3.1 million children are living without their biological parents, and 59% of them […]
Are TIPS Best for Retirees?
There’s an ongoing debate in the finance community about the best portfolio for retirees whose savings aren’t clearly enough to sustain their spending indefinitely. One recommendation that’s getting a lot of attention is from Zvi Brodie of Boston College and co-author of the new book, Risk Less and Prosper. Brodie’s strategy is to buy Treasury […]
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America’s Real Retirement Problem
Social Security isn’t a major problem. It can be fixed with a few tweaks, and the sooner changes are made the easier the tweaks will be. That doesn’t mean every American will have adequate retirement income, says Clive Crook of Bloomberg. Social Security doesn’t replace a lot of working years’ income for most people, and […]
The Bull vs. The Bear
It’s rare there’s a day with the stark contrast we saw yesterday. In the April issue of Retirement Watch, I remarked that I don’t recall see such a sharp divide between those who are optimistic and pessimistic about the stock markets. We saw that clearly yesterday. First, Goldman Sachs came out with a report arguing […]
Another Annuity Exit
The Fed’s zero interest rate policy and some other factors have been hard on insurers, especially those who sell annuities. They can’t promise the guaranteed income they used to when short-term interest rates are near zero and long-term rates are less than 4%. As a result, a number of firms have exited the business or […]
Struggling to Understand Social Security
Yesterday I reported that the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey found that more Americans report Social Security is an important part of their retirement income security. Yet, most older Americans are remarkably unfamiliar with the program and how the decisions they make can dramatically change the their lifetime income and that of their spouses. This an […]
