By Elliot Raphaelson From Tribune Content Agency Question: I was divorced many years ago after more than a 10-year marriage. I have not re-married. My previous wife has passed away, and she worked under Social Security for many years. I am 63 now, and don’t plan on filing for my Social Security benefit until I…
How COVID-19 Affected Life Insurance and Brought About the Changes You May See Soon
The life insurance industry has permanently changed due to COVID-19. The pandemic and the large number of deaths caused by it produced a rush to get life insurance policies—which has placed a degree of uncertainty in the marketplace with insurers trying to calculate just how much to charge. The biggest problems that the industry faces…
Retiring Early? Nail Down Health Insurance
By Lisa Gerstner From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance If you’re 65 or older when you retire, you can rest easy knowing that you’ll be eligible for Medicare. But if you want to leave the workforce earlier than that, you’ll have to find a way to bridge a health insurance gap. Here are some options: Get on…
Retiring? These States Won’t Tax Your Distributions
It can be difficult to afford retirement, especially when your retirement income is taxed. In addition to taxing Social Security benefits, the federal government taxes income from 401(k) retirement plans, traditional IRAs, and pensions. Additionally, most states tax retirement income to some extent. A dozen states, however, do not tax 401(k)s, IRAs, or pensions, which…
Best Ways to Buy Pharmaceuticals
On average, one Epipen (an auto-injectable device) costs $775. Even the generic version will run you about $455. This is just a snapshot of what prescription drugs cost. Pharmaceuticals make up a big chunk of the average American’s health care costs, so finding the best ways to purchase them can be critical. But besides the…
Retirement: A Lump-Sum Payout Might Make Sense
By Sandra Block From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Many employers that provide defined-benefit pensions offer employees the ability to take their pension as a lump sum instead of an annuity. Employers like this option because it gets the pension liability off their books, and some retirees prefer the flexibility a lump sum provides. If you’re considering…
Reduced Benefits Explained
Before I start today’s column — a word of warning. It’s going to involve a lot of messy math, and I don’t like math. To be more precise, I don’t like including too much math in my column because I’ve learned over the years that putting lots of numbers in a column just confuses the…
Choosing a Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan
By Elliot Raphaelson From Tribune Content Agency Question: Can you expand on the difference between the various Medigap plans and which options are no longer available? Answer: An excellent source of information on Medigap alternatives is “Medicare & You 2023,” the official U.S. Medicare handbook. The publication is free, and it is mailed to each…
Neighbors Throw Party for ‘Best Mailman Ever’ Who Retired Early to Start Cancer Treatment
When a group of neighbors from North Carolina learned that their favorite mailman was taking early retirement to battle cancer, they leaped into action to show him how much he meant to them. Within days, they’d organized a party, collected cards, and gifts, and raised money to help with his medical bills. Mail carrier “Mr….
Texas Comptroller Blasts Biden Administration Plan Advancing Retirement Funds Prioritizing ESG
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is finalizing a rule allowing companies to prioritize ESG policies when choosing retirement plans. It’s the last phase of a nearly two-year effort to reverse a Trump-era rule banning the practice. The department said it was implementing the rule to “remove barriers to plan fiduciaries’ ability to consider climate…
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