Retirement

The battle goes on with aging parents who are living alone or without family nearby and their adult children. From the kids’ point of view, their parent is just not safe in that big house anymore, with the declines that often come with aging. Perhaps the elder has lost a spouse or partner and there

Introduction So, Aunt Jane just asked you to be the trustee of her trust. You were flattered and, of course, accepted. But what did you get yourself into? Too many consumers readily accept fiduciary appointments with little thought of the headaches and liability they may face. While it can be admirable to help family and

It is often said that the interest on home mortgages is “front end-loaded”, implying that the way lenders charge interest is both unfair and self-serving – possibly even sinister. The following statement is typical. “Did you know that on your typical 30-year mortgage, it takes approximately 21 years just to pay down less than half

There’s no such thing as “divorce benefits” in Social Security, but divorced spouses often are eligible to receive benefits based on an ex-spouse’s earnings record. Ex-spouses often quality to receive Social Security spousal benefits, and on fairly liberal terms. Divorced spouses sometimes have better options and more flexibility than current spouses. But small differences in

If you’re in your mid-50s or younger and are interested in retiring but you aren’t on track to save enough for a full retirement, you might want to consider “Coast FIRE.” It’s a variation on the “Financial Independence, Retire Early” (FIRE) strategy, where you make life choices that save a large amount of money so

Earlier this week, I wrote of the news that IBM IBM was reopening its defined benefit (DB) plan. Their announcement was noteworthy for two reasons— IBM is known for being a leader and changemaker in retirement funding, and Is IBM’s action a sign of a reversal of the decades-long trend of corporates moving from traditional

Married couples in or near retirement should know that the solo years, the period after one spouse passed away, usually are the most difficult period in retirement both financially and emotionally. The solo years are when most retirement plans are likely to fail or falter. The financial difficulties of the period could be reduced with

After years of the decline of defined benefit (DB) plans for employee retirement, it was surprising to see IBM announce the reopening of its DB plan. Meanwhile, we continue to see headlines on the paucity of retirement savings workers have in their largely self-funded defined contribution (DC) plans. IBM’s traditional DB pension plan had $25.1

Washington voters will decide the fate of the state’s path-breaking public long-term care insurance program in a referendum this Fall. If adopted, Initiative 2124 would make participation in the Washington Cares program voluntary, effectively killing it. The effort, largely bankrolled by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood and backed by prominent state Republicans, is the latest

Introduction Ethical questions arise during many estate plans. Sometimes, these are ethical issues that you and/or your family may have to grapple with. Sometimes, the ethical issues that arise are ones that you create for your professional advisers. While the adviser has to determine how they will address those issues, their decision may affect what