How to Invest for Guaranteed Income

Looking for guaranteed income? It’s not easy – and you’re not likely to get rich on guaranteed income generators alone. One of the fundamental rules of investment is that rewards over and above what investment theorists call the “risk free rate of return” are only available to those who take some risk with their money. That said, as you get …

Five Ways to Protect Your Retirement Against Inflation

After decades of tame inflation, it spiked sharply in April 2021, reaching 3.4% on an annualized basis. If sustained over a year, that would be more than twice the average inflation rate over the last decade and a half.   If you’re close to retirement age, that rate of inflation is enough cut your spending power in half during your lifetime. …

What to Do If You Don’t Have an Emergency Fund

Four in every 10 U.S. households can’t cover an unexpected expense of $400, according to the Federal Reserve’s recently released “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households Report.” Most personal finance experts recommend having an emergency fund worth between three and six months’ worth of household expenses. For the median household, that translates to roughly $10,000 to $20,000 in liquid reserves to …

Five Smart Things You Can Do with Life Insurance Cash Value

If you have accumulated significant cash value within a permanent life insurance policy, congratulations. Your planning and decision to save within such a policy is likely paying off. Thanks to the tremendous tax advantages that Congress has given to provide for incentives for families to protect themselves with life insurance, and to the protection aspect itself, a life policy is …

Top 10 Social Security Tax Questions

There were several programs established by the Social Security Act to ensure individuals with disabilities and people who retire have supplemental income.  It also established a program for survivors to receive a death benefit. Supplemental income from Social Security keeps more than 40% of the elderly population out of poverty. With all of the changes and amendments made since 1935, …

Family Considerations Factor into Decision to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance

In a new survey commissioned by Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, researchers discovered that family considerations have a major impact on consumers’ decisions to buy long-term care insurance. Nearly 41% of the long-term care insurance purchasers polled said their main reason for buying coverage was to avoid becoming a burden on their family. The researchers also discovered that: 65% of …

Working Past 65? What to Do About Medicare

In 1985, only 10% of Americans over the age of 65 were still in the workforce. Today, that percentage has doubled to 20%. By 2024, some 13 million Americans over the age of 65 will be in the workforce, according to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many people approaching retirement age wonder what to do about Medicare enrollment. Will …

What to Do When Your Term Life Insurance Is About to Expire

The biggest advantage of term life insurance is that it’s affordable. It provides the greatest possible protection for the lowest monthly premium. Most people buy term life insurance to protect their families for 20 years or so, or until the children are grown. Term life is often the most cost-efficient solution for these temporary protection needs. But what happens when …

Seven Steps to Estate Planning Peace of Mind

Most of us don’t want to think about or discuss what will happen after we die. Because estate planning forces us to do just that, we tend to avoid it.  However, if you want to protect your family and your assets, creating an estate plan is a necessary task. And if you take the right steps, you can ensure that …

How to Make Retirement Savings Last a Lifetime

Lifetime income annuities provide the best means to ensure against outliving one’s assets in retirement, according to a study from research fellows at the Wharton Financial Institutions Center. The study, “Investing Your Lump Sum at Retirement,” states that a “perfect storm” of influences, along with improvements insurers have made in annuity products, combine to make life annuities the best investment …