Retirement

Sunk cost, opportunity cost, and the endowment effect. You may expect these textbook-weight words to show up in the classroom. You may even imagine how understanding these concepts could help better explain corporate, institutional, or public policy matters—or at least your investment portfolio. But it’s harder to imagine utilizing them to make better decisions in

The author suggests that when it comes to retirement decisions, we may not be asking the right questions. As the Jodie Foster character in True Detective likes to say, “You’re not asking the right question.” Then for a successful retirement, what is the right question? It’s “Do the decisions I make now matter?” Clearly the

When Older Americans Month (May) was established in 1963, only 17 million Americans had celebrated their 65th birthday. Today over 60 million of us can claim the distinction of being 65 or better. However, over 22 million older adults live alone and close to 30% of them have no children or other family support as

The subject of financial exploitation of elders in our country has been on law enforcement radar for decades. Significant public education programs on this topic by states, counties, and elder-focused organizations are ongoing, but are they doing any good? There was an increase in financial elder exploitation by 14% over the last year, according to

In my first report from Alaska, I focused on the policy discussions in the state regarding retirement issues. Today, I’m sharing a bit more about my experiences here in Alaska. As spring breaks, I’ve found Alaska to be warm and welcoming. The people I’ve met with this week are friendly, honest, and sincere in their

After several abortive attempts over three presidential administrations, the Department of Labor (DOL) once again has issued a new Fiduciary Rule. In 2016, Obama’s DOL issued its version of the Fiduciary Rule in the final year of his presidency. Within two years, however, the Fifth Circuit vacated that rule. In the final year of its

It’s been a few years since I’ve gotten any questions about Medigap Plan F. Then, last month, that seemed to be the topic. Consider this recent question from Dennis. I am 71 years old and finally retiring. I talked with my agent about signing up for a Plan F. I think that’s the best one

Amid deeply troubling public employee recruitment and retention challenges, the Alaska Senate recently passed a bill to return public employees to a defined benefit pension plan. This would reverse a 2005 decision that closed Alaska’s two statewide pension plans to new hires. I’m in Alaska this week meeting with stakeholders and sharing the findings from

Some think of the generation of Baby Boomers (78 million people were born into this category) as being healthy and independent. But is this accurate? Are Boomers more healthy or less so than their parents’ generation? And how do these facts affect the Boomers’ adult children, and even grandchildren? According to the Journal of the

The IRS is mailing compliance letters, known as CP59 notices, “on more than 125,000 cases where tax returns haven’t been filed since 2017.” According to the IRS, the mailings are being sent to more than 25,000 people who have more than $1 million in income between tax years 2017 and 2021, and to more than