getty Over the past quarter-century, the American labor market went through a quiet transformation. The share of workers 55 or older more than doubled, rising from 12% in 1995 to nearly 25% in 2020. At no point in U.S. history have older workers been more essential, and economists predict the trend to continue. Yet this
Retirement
One million older workers have left the labor force amid the pandemic. getty Job growth is slowing amid surging coronavirus infections. Many workers 55 years old and older are leaving the labor force in droves, while others keep working, even at high risks to their health and that of their families. More than a million
Retirees can plan for giving to family responsibly. And don’t forget other ways to give! getty It’s that time of year when many retirees think about financially helping their adult children and grandchildren or donating to the charitable causes they care about. At this stage in life, it’s quite natural that retirees want to give
By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue getty Running a home business can be lonely, especially during the pandemic. But creating a support group of other entrepreneurs working at home can be the solution — and it could boost your profits. Just ask Russ Eanes, 63, who founded the editing and self-publishing business Walker Press three years
getty Is Social Security a “pension benefit”? Not really. It’s a social insurance program, which means something entirely different. As I I explained last month, Social Security is meant to provide a baseline level of retirement provision for all American workers. We contribute for our entire working lives, but our contributions aren’t about directly “earning”
This is the strangest holiday season of a lifetime, isn’t it? We get warnings about not visiting during holidays of all kinds and the rates of infection keep going up. Given that it’s inarguable now that the rates of infection by Covid-19, hospitalizations and ICU admissions are worse that ever, we have to consider the
getty Happiness, experts say, is U-shaped: we are, generally speaking, we are happy/full of life satisfaction as young adults but, as we reach middle age, we become less satisfied, with a trough in one’s early 50s; from this trough we rebound to every-increasing satisfaction levels as we age. It’s remarkable, really, considering the physical infirmities
Saving for two when one partner is the primary breadwinner or a stay-at-home parent can be … [+] challenging. getty How should married couples save for retirement with only one income? Saving for two when one spouse is the primary breadwinner or a stay-at-home parent can be challenging depending on your income. Fortunately, with proper
Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA Getty The year 2020 is one of the most eventful in recent times, and changes to the rules that govern retirement accounts are no exception. One of these changes is the waiver of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2020. As a result of this waiver, you are not required to
Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about breakeven analysis and delaying filing, eligibility for divorced spousal benefits, suspending disability benefits at full retirement age and spousal benefit combined with foreign pensions. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets
Term life insurance offers a death benefit if death occurs during the fixed period covered by the contract, when premiums have been paid and the policy remains in force. When not viewing life insurance within the framework of retirement income planning, term life insurance offers the lowest premiums to support the human capital replacement needs
CHICAGO – JANUARY 15: A woman reads a Food 4 Less sales flyer as she stands in the check-out line at … [+] the new Food 4 Less (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) Getty Images The Federal Reserve found in 2019, 37 percent of adults saying they could not cover a hypothetical expense of $400
getty Retirement plans come in all shapes and sizes. You may think your plan is too big (or too small) to share the same concerns with smaller (or larger) plans. It turns out, however, there’s a lot in common between really large and really little 401(k) plans. This is not to say there aren’t differences
By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue Charlotte Japp ADVERTISEMENT Charlotte Japp, the 30-year-old founder of the uplifting CIRKEL community platform for intergenerational networking, drew inspiration for it from what happened to her parents. “Growing up, I saw both of my parents get aged out of their careers and pretty much get forced to pivot and start
Do you have tangible things in your life that you want to protect? Do you want peace of mind, knowing that you’ll be able to recover from a loss if the unexpected happens and that you’ll be able to rebuild your life? If you’re like a lot of young adults, you’ve worked hard to build
Partial retirement – the new normal? getty People are living longer but they are not increasing the accumulated wealth needed to support a longer life of retirement. On the contrary, the swing from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans has increased the population of those reaching retirement age without adequate provision. One result has
Dr. Annamaria Lusardi author The consequences of the pandemic are smack in front of us. COVID-19 case numbers are soaring even as economic repercussions pull harder and harder on Americans. The headlines provide a daily stark reminder of the wide-ranging implications, from growing food-bank lines to derailed educational dreams to abandoned careers. One big group
By Jon Friedman, Next Avenue getty A few months ago, I received the kind of jolt from my tax preparer that many of us will get sooner or later. He informed me that he’d decided to retire in the coming years. There’s no easy answer when you have to make an assessment that could affect
Sarah Godlewski, Wisconsin State Treasurer Courtesy: Sarah Godlewski Covid-19’s impacts are being felt in every community. While federal programs have been created to support businesses and their employees, most notably the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the majority of the management is being handled at the state level. Wisconsin has experienced more than 400,000 Covid-19 cases
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 2: A Care partner helps a resident during lunch at an assisted living … [+] facility. (Photo by Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Boston Globe via Getty Images The statistics simply are staggering. More than 728,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities have contracted covid-19 over the