Since its beginning in 1935, Social Security has become synonymous with retirement income. But as with any government program, Social Security is a behemoth with a lengthy list of rules and hidden intricacies that can make a huge difference in the amount you receive.
Collectively, Americans lose trillions of Social...
It’s called the survivor trap or widow’s penalty. It’s a financial monster that eats away retirement income after one spouse dies, often leaving the surviving spouse with no hope of the retirement they expected. Here are some of the pitfalls of the Survivor Trap.
Loss of Social Security
One of the...
There are not many advantages to getting old—hair thins, wrinkles show up at an accelerated rate and there’s a cornucopia of new aches and pains we’re introduced to. As crazy as it sounds, for many, one benefit to getting older is having access to Medicare.
When Congress passed Obamacare in...
Have you made preparations? It’s a question I’ve asked clients more times than I can count, but I was reminded of the significance of the question and the possible consequences when I recently asked the same thing of a family member.
Bill (not his real name) is 70 years old...
I recently got a letter from the Social Security Administration saying I might have some money in a 401(k) plan at an employer I worked for 20 years ago. I was intrigued—but not hopeful. I thought I’d rolled over everything, but old advice is still good advice—don’t leave money...
Covid-19 has changed life forever in more ways than we can count. It has also changed end-of-life estate planning and estate modification. It can be very difficult having that conversation with a spouse who’s dying.
Estate planning conversations are often put off because they are a reminder of the inevitable...
Identity theft is one of the major plagues of modern society costing its victims billions of dollars and untold man hours to recover from it. In 2020, 1.4 million Americans were successfully attacked, which translates into a victim every 3 seconds. That’s more than double the number from the...