Social Security
Found 257 Articles.
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7 Questions about the Stock Market and Investing
JP Morgan asked several questions about the global markets, and the question and answers were reprinted in The Financial Times’ blog FTAlphavllle. Asking such questions is a good exercise for investors. Don’t simply look at what the markets and economy are doing. Ask why. The key mistake of many investors is not asking why. It’s […]
The Search for Stock Market Patterns
It’s tough to identify the one mistake that is the worst or most common investors make. But my vote is the desire to identify patterns in the markets and use those to develop rules of investing. There are a few people who do this successfully. But they have very elaborate rules that take many factors […]
Struggling to Understand Social Security
Yesterday I reported that the 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey found that more Americans report Social Security is an important part of their retirement income security. Yet, most older Americans are remarkably unfamiliar with the program and how the decisions they make can dramatically change the their lifetime income and that of their spouses. This an […]
Social Security’s Looming Problem
It’s interesting how policies have unintended effects. Last year commodity prices shot up. Some people think this largely was due to central banks’ pumping up their money supplies. Others think the main culprit was the disruption from the Arab Spring turmoil. Whatever the reason, there was a temporary surge in commodity prices that translated into […]
February 2012
February 25, 2012 04:50 p.m. Your Retirement Finance Week in Review The big news this week came largely from overseas. One action that didn’t receive enough attention was from China. It decided to engage in another major round of its version of quantitative easing. That shows that China’s economy is slowing more than many observers […]
New Estate Tax & Social Security Rules, Limits
Inflation and other factors triggered some tax and benefit changes for 2012 announced recently by the IRS and Social Security Administration. The exempt amount for estates and gifts increases because of inflation. The estate of anyone dying in 2012 excludes up to $5.12 million from federal estate taxes. The annual gift tax exclusion remains at […]
Comparing Annuities and Bond Ladders
Which is better: an immediate annuity or a bond ladder? I’m asked that frequently these days, and the frequency increases as more Baby Boomers inch closer to their post-career years. First, let’s define terms. A bond ladder is constructed by purchasing a portfolio of bonds that mature in different years. The simplest ladder is equally […]
Social Security – The Issue They Won’t Discuss
You won’t hear many politicians discussing Social Security these days, and probably even fewer will next year. But changes are occurring in the program. Not long ago, the trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund were projecting that tax revenue would exceed benefit payments for some years to come. Things have changed. According to The […]
