The location decision should go beyond financial considerations of cost of living and taxes One of the natural consequences of baby boomers getting older is an intense interest in exploring new living options. In 2020, some 71 million Americans will be 55 or older ¬– the time when most begin to think seriously about when [...]
The table has been beautifully set and the aromas from the kitchen are so alluring. The wine is chilling and the flowers in the centerpiece are both exquisite and pungent. You’re all ready to sit down and enjoy, but something is missing. You’re not hungry. Even though we design the most technically competent retirement plans, [...]
Working in the "gig economy" can make it tougher to stay on top of saving for retirement. Four in 10 self-employed workers don't have a retirement account such as an IRA or 401(k) plan, according to a new survey from Small Business Majority, an advocacy group. They polled 500 self-identified contractors, freelancers and temporary employees [...]
Like most investors, you may be concerned about outliving your money.. To sustain your savings during retirement, consider strategies that may help address the following four money-diminishing factors: Longer life expectancies In May 2016, scientists attended a Harvard conference to discuss a groundbreaking new idea — fabricating a human genome from scratch. Using a gene-editing [...]
Eighteen years ago, the retirement industry rolled out automatic enrollment to help combat employee inertia, increase participation in workplace retirement plans, and foster higher savings rates. Still, a surprising number of plan sponsors don’t offer it. However, employees say they value defined contribution plans, and they desire automatic enrollment and escalation features. A recent survey [...]
If you’ve read any of the student-debt success stories circulated in the media lately, you might think the only way to pay down your debt is to give up coffee, your social life and your apartment. “It seems like borrowers are told that they have to live on beans in a shantytown and pay off [...]
When you own your own business, you are constantly juggling things, including both your personal and business bills. It can be stressful having to keep track of essentially two separate sets of finances for yourself and your business. Sometimes this juggling act leads to business debt. Other times you may be forced to take on [...]
For those fortunate few individuals whose personal wealth exceeds the current estate-tax exemption threshold -- $5.43 million for 2015 rising to $5.45 million for 2016 -- today's historically low interest rate environment offers potentially powerful wealth transfer opportunities. Recent low rates of interest have affected two important factors used to value wealth transfers involving trusts [...]
There may be a role in your portfolio for managers who use research, analysis and experience in making investment decisions. For many investors, the debate between actively managed mutual funds and passive, or index funds appears to be settled: index investing has largely won, thanks to their lower fees that allow indexers to beat their [...]
Do investors rely on emotion when investing? Many behavioral economists and psychologists believe they do. As much as we recognize the need to save, many small obstacles tend to get in the way. It turns out the decisions we make about financial matters are deeply rooted in emotion. For example, one often cited study shows [...]
