6 Steps to Tune Up Your Retirement Finances

6 Steps to Tune Up Your Retirement Finances

Navigating retirement can be overwhelming given uncertainties like market volatility, inflation, life expectancy and the state of Social Security. Like having a mechanic give your car a periodic once-over, regularly reviewing your spending and saving can help keep...
7 Key Factors That Could Affect How Long You’re Retired

7 Key Factors That Could Affect How Long You’re Retired

Planning for retirement is hard for many reasons, including the challenge of answering one key question: Just how long will I be retired? Knowing how much time you’ll have to enjoy your golden years is paramount to budgeting; after all, you can’t determine how much...
3 Ways Retirement Planning is Changing in 2024

3 Ways Retirement Planning is Changing in 2024

The calendar page has turned and 2024 is here. Before we get too far down the road, be sure to check out these changes around retirement savings. Every so often the federal government approves changes to the contribution limits for tax-advantaged retirement plans....
‘What Does Retirement Even Look Like?’

‘What Does Retirement Even Look Like?’

For older parents of adult children with disabilities, focus stays on caring for kids Jeanne Piorkowski looks forward to having more time in retirement to navigate the dense bureaucracy of forms, benefits and programs she can already rattle off like an expert. But she...
2024’s Big Savings and Retirement Rule Changes

2024’s Big Savings and Retirement Rule Changes

At the end of 2022, the SECURE Act 2.0, short for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, became law. It expands earlier legislation, changing many aspects of the savings and retirement landscape for Americans. The rule changes make various accounts...
6 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Retired

6 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Retired

A recent retiree shares lessons learned late about saving money and spending time Everyone nearing retirement has a vision of what their road will be like once they clock out of the 9-to-5. Maybe that prophecy includes regular travel, longer trips to see the...
5 Things You Need to Know Before Retiring at 62

5 Things You Need to Know Before Retiring at 62

A new study shows more Americans mulling early exit from workforce. Here’s what to look at before you leap The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a surge in early retirements that came to be called the Great Resignation. New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New...
7 Spring Cleaning Moves for Your Finances

7 Spring Cleaning Moves for Your Finances

Here’s how to get your financial house in order Forget cleaning out the closet, scrubbing the floors and washing the windows. The start of spring is an even better time to get your finances in order. “One thing on many people’s minds is cleaning. But what if you put...

OCTOBER 16: DEADLINE FOR CORRECTING 2022 IRA CONTRIBUTIONS

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Maybe you made a Roth IRA contribution for 2022 and then discovered your income was too high. Maybe you contributed to a traditional IRA but later discovered that the contribution...
5 Retirement Fears Keeping Us Up at Night

5 Retirement Fears Keeping Us Up at Night

Inflation, stock swings and more erode Americans’ confidence in future financial security When it comes to retirement readiness, many Americans are feeling disillusioned. A spring Gallup poll found that only 43 percent of nonretired adults expect to live out their...
Taxation of Retirement Income

Taxation of Retirement Income

When you retire, you leave behind many things—the daily grind, commuting, maybe your old home—but one thing you keep is a tax bill. In fact, income taxes can be your single largest expense in retirement. Taxation of Social Security Benefits Many older Americans are...

Biggest Social Security Changes for 2022

Benefits are going up, but so are the Medicare premiums deducted from monthly checks Social Security beneficiaries will have a lot to cheer about in 2022 — but they may have a few things to grouse about as well. Here’s a rundown of what will change for Social Security...

Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary – 8/6/2021 -Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity indices forged new all-time highs on the back of an impressive Employment Situation Report and an upward S&P 500 price target revision by investment bank Goldman Sachs.  However, the US...

COVID-19 and retirement: Impact and policy responses

COVID-19 has shaken America and the world, causing widespread social and economic upheaval. The most obvious and distressing cost is the tens of thousands of lives lost to the pandemic, but attendant costs range from shuttered businesses to an unprecedented hole in...

Lock It In

Using Annuities to Cover Basic Living Expenses for Life The names and numbers may vary but the situation is all too common. Approaching retirement at age 65, John and Jill Smith realized their monthly income from Social Security and pensions total $700 less than their...