Social Security paperwork nightmares from the need of some people to send in drivers licenses, birth certificates, and passports to a lengthy and complex application form required for disability benefits dominated a Senate hearing today on the giant program. Requiring applicants to put important original documents in the mail that they regularly need to have
Retirement
If you’re in your late 50s or 60s, deciding when and how to retire is one of the most important decisions you’ll make at this point in your life. Your decisions will not only impact your financial security but your quality of life for the rest of your life. There are a number of financial
Prince’s estate and the legal actions following his death deliver important estate planning lessons to most of the rest of us. Prince Rogers Nelson, the entertainer known generally as Prince, was a successful musician, entertainer, and record producer. He died at age 57 and left a valuable and complicated estate that was made more complicated
“I’ve climbed more than 60 mountains since I retired 18 months ago,” said Glen Anderson who lives in the Pacific Northwest. “The climb up Mount Adams was twelve miles, a 6700-foot ascent and at the top, I was at 12,276 feet elevation.” The COVID pandemic did not stop Anderson from making the most of his
April is National Financial Literacy Month. What began with the National Endowment for Financial Education as Youth Financial Literacy Day in 2000, has evolved into a month-long observance for people of all ages to learn about and improve their finances. Financial literacy is critical for understanding how to save, earn, borrow, invest, and protect your
For several decades, parents have had the option of saving for college through 529 plans. Although Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code didn’t appear until 1996, the first such plan is generally recognized as the Michigan Education Trust, which began in 1986. While based in part on Federal tax law, each state must sponsor
As the U.S. economy recovers from the disruption and damage of Covid-19, the Internal Revenue Service is struggling through a filing season unlike any other in history. The agency is under tremendous strain thanks to the enormous extra burden associated with sending out three rounds of stimulus checks; coping with other pandemic-related changes to the
The problem with financial literacy is that it gets off on the wrong foot. The very moniker is condescending, implying that those it serves are financially illiterate, that they have no idea whatsoever how to use money. Thus, in addition to condescension, we must add inaccuracy to the list of financial literacy’s foibles, because having
This year and perhaps next could turn out to be the best time in a long time to convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. That’s primarily because of a widespread belief that increases in income and estate taxes are likely to be enacted in the next year or two. Also, Stealth Taxes, such
By Kerry Hannon, Next Avenue IyaSokoya Karade remembers clearly the day she had to close the doors of her business due to the pandemic. Karade, 55, is the CEO and founder of the Athletic Arts Academy in Orange, N.J., a 10,500-square-foot youth athletics training facility. “Being a provider of in-person services, we were mandated to shut down March