CHICAGO (Reuters) – What happens to Social Security if we eliminate its funding? That is the question to ask after Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum here last weekend ordering the deferral through year-end of revenue collected under the Federal Ins... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Charlie Rich, the late country music singer and songwriter, had it right when he crooned this famous line: “Oh, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.” We need to remind Congress of the truth of that line as it tries to push a plan ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The idea of using investments to promote environmental and social causes has grown quickly in recent years, and retirement plans looked like the next frontier – until the Trump administration weighed in last month. The U.S. Department of La... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Employer retirement plans are not known for their flashy investments – a majority of 401(k) investors these days use target date funds that invest in broad, diversified equity and fixed income mutual funds that automatically rebalance to mi... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put a bright spotlight on weaknesses in many of the systems designed to protect Americans from risks. But with older people more susceptible to serious illness and death from the virus, the problems in our Medicare... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – In what now seems like a galaxy far, far away, Republican lawmakers routinely talked up the idea of raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. In fact, we were in that galaxy just three years ago. A higher Medicare age was an awful... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The $2 trillion economic stimulus package racing toward passage in the U.S. Congress contains several important relief provisions for retirees, and for younger workers saving for retirement. Most of these provisions do a good job targeting ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The breathtaking coronavirus-induced plunge of the stock market has unnerved retirement investors of all ages, but it poses special risks for people close to, or already retired. Unlike younger workers with many years ahead of earning and s... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Former U.S. senator Alan Simpson summarized the argument well: seniors fighting Social Security benefit cuts were nothing more than “greedy geezers” stealing from young people “who are going to get gutted.” The Wyoming Republican’s memorabl... More »
CHICAGO, Jan 7 (Reuters) – The window is closing on the chance to avert a pension meltdown that will slash the retirement benefits of more than a million U.S. workers. Lawmakers in Washington have been working on ways to protect the benefits promised to partic... More »
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Mark Miller CHICAGO (Reuters) – News flash: Members of Congress managed to walk and chew gum at the same time this week. In the midst of the impeachment furor, U.S. lawmakers ad... More »
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Mark Miller CHICAGO (Reuters) – The cost of Medicare is going up next year – way up. Federal officials announced late last week that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Pa... More »
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Mark Miller CHICAGO (Reuters) – The current record-high level of income inequality in the United States affects all segments of society, but two new reports shed light on how th... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Just a few years ago, Democratic politicians were debating whether to accept cuts to Social Security benefits. No more: the only Social Security reform debate w... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Medicare experts often advise enrollees to re-shop their plan coverage during the annual fall open enrollment period. This is the time when you can make unlimit... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Federal policy on retirement security is one chaotic mess right now. Just consider the contradictory state of affairs when it comes to pensions and retirement income. On the one hand, a bill called the Setting Every Community Up for Retirem... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A worsening customer service crisis at the Social Security Administration has prompted three of its former commissioners to urge the U.S. Congress to fix the annual budgeting process that has starved the agency of the resources it needs to ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Why does the word “old” come to mind for so many of us when the topic of Social Security comes up? Retirement benefits are the biggest component of Social Security. But the program also is very important for disabled people of all ages, as ... More »
LAUNCESTON, Australia – If the sharp plunge in China’s exports in February shows anything, it’s that a gap is opening between what the country is shipping out and its still resilient imports of major commodities. Exports dropped 20.7 percent in February from t... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Greetings from Illinois, a state that never tops the rankings of places to retire. We have one of the great American cities, but also polar vortexes and an enormous state budget deficit – and now there is renewed talk about taxing retiremen... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Jill Schlesinger got her start on Wall Street, and that is where she learned a lot of what she knows about the financial world. But she has built a career dishing out personal finance advice by pulling back the curtain on myths about invest... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – When Medicare prescription drug insurance was created in 2003, the idea that beneficiaries with very high drug costs should pick up 5 percent of the tab seemed reasonable – but that was well before specialty drugs were invented that carry p... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters – It took 52-year-old social worker Nancy Peterson a combination of five different grants and low interest loans to accumulate $80,000 for the downpayment she needed to become a first-time home buyer in Seattle last summer. Peterson’s modest i... More »
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters) By Mark Miller CHICAGO (Reuters) – Jack Bogle did more to help the average American working household save for retirement than anyone else in the modern era of investing. When Bogle... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – With the partial U.S. government shutdown about a month old, a student showed up at the College of Southern Maryland’s financial aid office with two preschool children in tow to request emergency help paying her $3,000 in tuition and fees. ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) One of the biggest trends in retirement saving over the past decade has been the shift to target date funds – broadly diversified mutual fund products that auto... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Ai-jen Poo wants to transform caregiving into real work. By “real,” she does not mean more difficult. Rather, the activist and author is seeking recognition of the value of domestic work, and to raise its status and pay accordingly. “It’s t... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Insurance companies do not need any help marketing Medicare Advantage plans – just ask anyone over age 65 about the pitches that clog their mailboxes every year during the fall enrollment period, or check out the television ads that flood c... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – American homes are showing their age – not the houses, but the people living in them. In 2016, about 55 percent of U.S. households (or about 65 million households) were headed by someone aged 50 or older, according to the Joint Center for H... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Karyn Golden’s income was approaching $200,000 as she lived a carefree single existence at the peak of her career in Chicago, 20 years ago. She brokered real estate deals, served on boards and lunched with political leaders. She never imagi... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Roberta Dell has worked for 46 years making lollipops, and she loves her job. But she worries that retirement may not be as sweet as the Dum Dum lollipops she bags. Dell works for the Spangler Candy Company in Bryan, Ohio – a family-owned b... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Thinking of adding a Medigap supplemental policy to your Medicare coverage? Beware: you could be charged higher rates or be turned away completely if you have a... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Navigating Medicare can be complicated, but one big change recently introduced requires that you do absolutely nothing beyond opening an envelope. In fact, doing just ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Ed Slott is a certified public accountant by training, but he admits that his professional colleagues have their faults. “By nature, we are history teachers – we’ll te... More »
CHICAGO – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Joseph Gallagher was starting to think about retiring from his construction job in 2008 when the bear market “beat me up pretty badly,” he said. Gallagher waited until 20... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Most Americans do not want to go back to the bad old days when health insurance companies could charge sick people more for coverage or turn them away altogether. But ... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Fewer Americans are asking Social Security to “show me the money” as soon as possible. The share of workers claiming Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest possible date has plunged in recent years. That probably reflects growi... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – In September, the federal government will mail a handbook on Medicare enrollment to 43 million households. “Medicare & You” is an important, authoritative source on a wide array of plan options for the annual enrollment period that runs fro... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Americans are not having enough babies. The nation’s fertility rate hit a record low in 2017, and one has to wonder: Could the cost of raising children be discouraging a generation that was choked by the Great Recession? Employment is stron... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.) Americans do not agree on much these days, but we are united on the cost of medicine. Large majorities of Republican, Democratic and independent voters say they would ... More »
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Americans are all living longer, so it only makes sense to push back the eligibility age for Social Security – right? Pushing back the age when workers can claim their full benefit... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) Unlike his friends who are living at home three years after college graduation, John Kelly has paid off his student loan balance of $60,000 and is thriving as a... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The long-running fight to protect retirement savers from conflicted investing advice shifted to a new battleground this week, and the first salvo was not promising. After years of foot-dragging, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Do you live in a fiduciary state? The question could become important if the financial services industry wins its high-stakes legal and political battles to dismantle the federal fiduciary rule governing advice to retirement investors. The ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. tariffs on imports have already roiled the aluminum market. U.S. sanctions on Oleg Deripaska and his companies are going to cause even more turmoil, given they encompass Rusal, which produces around 6 percent of the world’s aluminum. De... More »
Reuters – The revised $10.4 billion bid by Harbour Energy for Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer Santos Ltd STO.AX looks at first glance like a winning hand, but it’s still probably got the odds stacked against it. The U.S. private equity firm’s f... More »
FILE PHOTO: Former inmate at Eastern State Penitentiary, William Harrison, 75, served 3 separate terms (1959, 1962, 1970) for larceny, forgery, and assault, and revisits his prison cell on the second level of block 14 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 30, 20... More »
Dan Demeglio, race and sports book supervisor, cashes a 200-to-1 future bet for Doug O’Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner “I’ll Have Another”, at the Primm Valley Casino in Primm, Nevada June 25, 2012. REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus CHICAGO (Reuters) ... More »
A “For Rent” sign is posted outside a residential home in Carlsbad, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) People trying to escape soaring rents... More »
Anita Monk and her neighbour John Everett dance during a Christmas Dinner event for older people at Hammersmith and Fulham Town Hall in London, Britain December 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs CHICAGO (Reuters) – (The opinions expressed here are those of the au... More »
An elderly couple looks out at the ocean as they sit on a park bench in La Jolla, California November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES – Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) – GM1E9BE0E8L01 CHICAGO (Reuters) – The opinions expressed here are those of the auth... More »
U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this photo illustration taken February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/Illustration CHICAGO – Cash is no longer trash. While there is no return to the 5 percent money market yields savers got a decade ago, there is some r... More »
A realtor and bank-owned sign is displayed near a house for sale in Phoenix, Arizona, January 4, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott CHICAGO (Reuters) – Foreclosure is a frightening word – especially if the person losing her home is a senior living on a modest, fixed in... More »
A student sits in a hallway as he looks through a text book in Chicago, Illinois February 14, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young CHICAGO (Reuters) – Uncle Sam has given families the green light to use $10,000 per child each year to pay for private schools out of 529 savi... More »
FILE PHOTO: A man types on a computer keyboard in this illustration picture taken February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo CHICAGO (Reuters) – More than 34 million Americans now conduct business with the Social Security Administration (... More »
Senior citizens stand after receiving makeovers and beauty care at a beauty salon of Jacques Janine, to boost her self esteem, an event organized by Projeto Velho Amigo NGO with 90 women that live at nursing homes, in Sao Paulo, Brazil November 27, 2017. REUTE... More »
FILE PHOTO: Hands are held in Sun City, Arizona, January 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson CHICAGO (Reuters) – Finding a safe, high-quality nursing home for a loved one is never an easy task. Complicated decisions often are made at a moment of emotional crisis and ... More »
A pair of elderly couples view the ocean and waves along the beach in La Jolla, California March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. interest rates finally are on the rise after a decade stuck near zero – and that should be good news for retir... More »
A cake decorated for the 116th birthday celebration of Susannah Mushatt Jones, known as “Miss Susie” rests on a table before the start of the festivities in the Brooklyn borough of New York, July 7, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Republica... More »
FILE PHOTO – Graduates celebrate receiving a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University during the year’s commencement ceremony in New York in this May 18, 2005 file photo. dreams of many college seniors. REUTERS/Chip East/Files CHICAGO (Reute... More »
An elderly couple looks out at the ocean as they sit on a park bench in La Jolla, California November 13, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Blake CHICAGO (Reuters) – Next month, Oregon will become the first U.S. state to start automatically signing up workers to save for ret... More »
FILE PHOTO – Graduate students rally against the proposed GOP tax reform bill at Union Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 29, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton CHICAGO (Reuters) – Graduate student Mollie Marr is worried th... More »
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) looks on at the Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 6, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas CHICAGO (Reuters) – Traditionally, U.S. politicians avoid talking about cu... More »
Four thousand U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo CHICAGO (Reuters) – Nothing good lasts forever, and so it is with tax-deferred retirement saving – tha... More »
Saks Fifth Avenue’s holiday light show can be seen on display in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., November 27, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz CHICAGO (Reuters) – If proposed tax overhaul changes are adopted, giving to charity for tax reasons will no longe... More »
U.S. retirement savers dodged a speeding train last week when Republican lawmakers racing toward tax reform dropped their plan to sharply reduce allowable tax-deferred contributions to 401(k) plans. That idea is off the table - at least for now. More »
Are unsuspecting seniors around the United States being scooped up without warning from their homes, placed in nursing homes and having their possessions taken away? More »
The gap in U.S. retirement wealth between white and minority families has widened to the point where it really is not a gap anymore. It is a canyon. More »
Want to increase your chance to get financial aid for college? File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the end of 2017. More »
Forewarned is forearmed - and for U.S. seniors, the warning just arrived in the mail. More »
If you like the income tax reduction you get for your 401(k) contribution then make sure to max out now, because you may not get the chance in the future. More »
Delaying your Social Security benefit claim offers one of the best routes to higher retirement income - annual benefits increase 8 percent for every 12 months that you delay from age 62 to 70. But the strategy often comes with a challenge: how to meet living e... More »
There is a widespread sense of fear hanging over consumers in the aftermath of the data breach at credit-monitoring firm Equifax revealed in early September that approximately 143 million consumers' personal and financial records were exposed. More »
The Republicans’ battle to repeal Obamacare is starting to look less like warfare and more like a game of whack-a-mole. More »
Which nations are doing the best job adapting to their aging populations? More »
The question sounds simple, but it is tough to answer: At what age should you retire? More »
If you are hovering around retirement age today, you will be closing in on your eighties in the year 2030. With any luck, you will be healthy and mobile - but imagine for a moment that you are not. Let's say a debilitating illness requires that you receive car... More »
FILE PHOTO: A senior citizen lawn bowls in Sun City, Arizona, January 9, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Retirees can look forward to the largest Social Security cost-of-living adjustment next year since 2012 – but don’t break out the champagne just yet. For many... More »
A pair of elderly couples view the ocean and waves along the beach in La Jolla, California March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake Thieves follow the money, and wealth accumulates as we age. But the aging brain is not always well-suited to financial decision-making ... More »
Clocks are seen during the performance ”tck tck tck” by Global Campaign for Climate Action at the Barcelona Climate Change Talks, November 4, 2009. REUTERS/Albert Gea Can you count on your Social Security benefits when retirement rolls around? More »
A pedestrian walks past the U.S. Capitol building , on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 24, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Tax reform is up next for our Attention Deficit Disorder Republican government, which just rushed through a chaotic, ugly battle to refor... More »
U.S. President Donald Trump listens during a meeting about healthcare at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The Republican leadership in Washington says Obamacare is an imploding disaster. But if your income is low and ... More »
When you hear a politician start a sentence with the phrase “We’re all living longer,” grab your wallet. You are about to be told that Social Security or Medicare benefits should be cut because of America’s rising longevity. More »
An elderly lady walks in Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro September 13, 2011. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes While the era of “alternative facts” dawned in Washington last week, experts from across the ideological spectrum gathered in the capital for a review of real fact... More »
A pair of elderly couples view the ocean and waves along the beach in La Jolla, California March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake So much for states’ rights. More »
A resident pushes a stroller in the Clifton neighborhood of Staten Island in New York October 25, 2014. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz The Bank of Mom & Dad is busy these days. More »
People walk through the newly opened Liberty Park above Liberty Street on the World Trade Center site in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Newly empowered Republicans in Washington are not retreating from their battle... More »
A man sits at a health insurance enrollment event in Cudahy, California March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson Anyone nearing retirement – or already retired – should pay very close attention to the doings of the 115th Congress that was sworn in this week. More »
Graduating students of the City College of New York cheer during the College’s commencement ceremony in the Harlem section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar At a moment of sharp national division, here is a bit of good news: young ... More »
A pair of elderly couples view the ocean and waves along the beach in La Jolla, California March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake Retirement security already looked like a looming train wreck for most U.S. households before Election Day. Now, the consolidation of R... More »
Mary Anne Ehlert came by her expertise in financial planning for special-needs families the hard way: she has lived through the challenge herself. More »
A graduating student of the City College of New York wears a message on his cap during the College’s commencement ceremony in the Harlem section of Manhattan, New York, U.S., June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar (The opinions expressed here are those of the author... More »
A screen displays The Dow Jones industrial average after the close of trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid The warning is posted in fine print at the bottom of all mutual fund advertiseme... More »
CHICAGOYou have heard of greedy geezers: that mythical army of militant seniors out to defend their Social Security benefits at any cost, even if it robs their own children and grandchildren of their futures. The greedy geezer trope, invented by now-retired Se... More »
CHICAGO, April 21 Older patients want to talk with their doctors about how they will die, but are doctors ready to have the conversation? Medicare began reimbursing physicians in January for time spent discussing their patients’ end-of-life wishes. While 95 pe... More »
CHICAGO Denial is not just a river in Africa. It also is a powerful driver of how Americans think about their prospects for a secure retirement. A new survey of retirement confidence published on Tuesday confirms that many workers lack realistic plans for maki... More »
CHICAGO Seniors living in Manhattan spend an average of nearly 25 days a year at doctor visits or at a hospital. But in Lebanon, New Hampshire, contact with the healthcare system is far lower – just 10 days on average. New Yorkers probably are not that much si... More »
NEW YORK Ian Wishingrad may only be 30 years old, but he already considers himself an investing veteran. So when the market began to swoon in early 2016, he kept his cool. It certainly helped that Wishingrad had someone to hold his hand. He works with a financ... More »
NEW YORK Twenty-eight year old Margaret Davis was making nice money as a writer in the legal department of a big pharmaceutical company in New York. She liked her coworkers and enjoyed the job on a day-to-day basis – except it was not going anywhere. The compa... More »
CHICAGO The U.S. stock market may give us a rocky ride in 2016, but the year is shaping up to be a good one for retirement savers. At long last, investment advisers may be required to put your best interests ahead of their own. The U.S. Department of Labor is ... More »
