November 15, 2018 I recently read an article in an industry journal 1 titled: “You Can’t Win if You’re Afraid to Lose.” The tagline was: “To experience higher potential gains, clients need to be willing to tolerate occasional losses.” Left unsaid, of course, is how much an investor can tolerate a loss, even when occasional or temporary. We always assume...
November 15, 2018 By: John Zeltmann Since my Dad's passing earlier this year, my Mom and I have spent countless hours wrapping up his finances. I thought I'd share my impressions from the past several months, highlighting lessons we learned from bumps in the road they managed to avoid (as well as some they didn't). Items to consider in advance...
November 15, 2018 The short answer is “There isn’t one answer for everyone.” The long answer is: “It depends.” What is it? Long-term care essentially involves insurance for two risks: assistance within your home, and/or care within a health-care facility (i.e., assisted living or long-term nursing care). Can I get it? If you have a significant and chronic health condition...
November 15, 2018 MONEY Magazine recently had an article 1 on the “growing number of people (who) are facing retirement by themselves.” Please click through to find a few tips on how to “live life to the fullest when it’s a party of one.” Establish a Buddy System - “If you don’t have people to call on, it might be...
If you were born after 1929, have 40 credits of earnings history (e.g. 10 years’ of work), and are at least 62 years of age, you are eligible to collect Social Security retirement benefits.
Put away your calculators and W2 earnings statements. This is not a math lesson - thank goodness - because the math behind the calculation of your Social Security retirement benefit can be pretty complicated. That said, if you want to know the general calculations behind your Social Security retirement benefit, read on.
While a Social Security recipient can collect her retirement benefit any time between 62 and 70, that doesn’t mean she has completely unfettered access with no strings attached.
You know you're entitled to a retirement benefit from Social Security, but there seem to be a lot of rules regarding when you can actually collect it. To understand some of those rules, let’s assume we’re talking about an individual at Full Retirement Age of 66 with a Primary Insurance Amount of $2,500 per month.
With concern about the Social Security trust fund's solvency and speculation rampant that the system is bankrupt (which it actually isn't), many people wonder whether potential future changes will be directed at their retirement benefits.
We've all been there before, a perfectly pleasant and enjoyable evening at a cocktail party is progressing swimmingly. The kids are tucked in, the dishes are cleaned and put away, and the conversation is engaging. Enter wise guy, stage left. We all know who he is; the friend/relative/neighbor/co-worker who knows it all.