Retirement Watch Weekly
Profiling Scam Victims: Who’s in Jeopardy?
Anyone can be caught in a financial scam, but some people are in greater peril than others. Importantly, the most vulnerable are not who most people would expect, especially the potential targets. A clear profile of the most likely financial fraud victims emerges from research over the last few years, including two recent projects conducted […]
Deducting Medical Expenses and Claiming Tax Benefits for Supporting Others
Households are a lot different than they used to be. You might be supporting adult children and your parents (or in-laws) or both. There also might be people who aren’t related to you by blood or marriage living in your home. You could be supporting or helping to support someone who doesn’t live with you, […]
Best and Worst Cities for Successful Aging
The Milken Institute’s rankings of localities is different from others directed at retirees. MI ranks areas based on successful aging. Unlike the others, it looks at a wide range of data that costs a lot to gather and process. It doesn’t focus on weather and activities, though those can be factors. A key distinction of […]
Leveraging Cash to Pay for Long-Term Care
New ways to plan for potential long-term care expenses continue to be developed. There are many more ways available to secure their own and their families’ financial independence than most people realize. We discussed in previous issues the problems traditional long-term care policies have had in the past. See our November 2012 issue, for example. […]
Trusts as IRA Beneficiaries: Reaping the Benefits, Avoiding the Pitfalls
There are many good reasons to name a trust as an IRA beneficiary. But there also are some hazards to avoid. Trusts can make an Inherited IRA last longer. Through the trust terms and appointment of the trustee, you control how much money is distributed to the trust beneficiaries. For example, the trust can retain […]
Why You Still Might Need Life Insurance
Your estate isn’t likely to be subject to the federal estate tax, so you don’t need life insurance. Right? Maybe not. Permanent life insurance was a mainstay of estate planning when even most middle class families faced the federal estate tax. It ensured taxes were paid and loved ones had a legacy. With estates valued […]
Best Places to Retire
Most people don’t move after they retire. But if you’re thinking of moving and can go anywhere, consider this list of best places to retire from Forbes.com. It includes the home of one of my alma maters, Clemson, South Carolina. Unlike most such lists, it doesn’t rank the locations. Instead, it lists the editors’ top […]
The Stock Markets and Automated Trading
There’s a continuing debate about the role of technology in stock market movements. Many blamed the extent of the 1987 crash on program trading that kept triggering more selling as the previous sales pushed down market prices. In the latest episode, Paul Tudor Jones, a famous and successful hedge fund manager, said that forced trading […]
