The old three-legged stool for retirement consisted of: 1) Pension (Company) 2) Social Security (Government) 3) Personal Savings (You) Given less than 15% of Americans have pensions or will receive pensions, no longer is having a pension part of most Americans retirement plan. Therefore, we can throw pensions out the window for future...
It’s the stuff movies are made about—the ongoing plight of Britney Spears and how she lost control of her finances, her business affairs, and most aspects of her personal life. How did it happen? It began in 2007 after the birth of her two sons and her divorce from Kevin...
The IRA is a great retirement savings vehicle; money grows on a tax-deferred basis and that’s a good thing. Eventually, though, you have to pay the IRS piper when you choose to withdraw funds for retirement or when you’re forced to withdraw the Required Minimum Distribution at age 72. Let’s...
I owe, I owe, so off to work I go! Everyone wants to be debt-free, but only a small percentage of us ever achieve that coveted status. According to the Experian credit reporting agency, Americans owe $13.3 trillion. Of that, $4.1 trillion is credit card debt. Discover Card breaks...
Anyone 70 ½ years old or older with an IRA has discovered the pesky government requirement that forces you to take money out of your IRA whether you want to or not. The annual required minimum distribution is the government’s way of saying, “You haven’t paid taxes on your...
Being elderly in America has more than its share of issues—affording proper healthcare, being forced to work much longer because of the need for health insurance or not having saved enough for retirement. Now, throw one more financial demon into the mix. More and more elders are being forced into bankruptcy. In 1991, elder...
You don’t have to watch television very long to realize just how many types of insurance there are. In the right situation insurance is a great tool to protect you against different types of risk that can devastate you financially.   It’s a good idea to review your insurance coverage regularly...