Latest News
The trouble with Obama’s myRA plan
Real life isn’t always a “Field of Dreams,” where “if you build it, they will come.” Instead, there are times when you build it, and they go “Ho-hum,” and mostly ignore you. So while any effort to encourage increased retirement savings among…
New Part D Regulations: A Lesson In Hamstringing Competition And Choice
Recent regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) threaten to undermine the highly successful Medicare Part D prescription drug program for seniors. The regulations replace market-based competition with government interventions that will drive up costs, erode incentives for…
Social Security Disability Benefits for Individuals with Cancer
If you have been diagnosed with cancer and can no longer work or earn a living, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits. These benefits are intended to provide financial assistance to individuals living with serious illnesses…
Retirement Planner: Random thoughts, Herb Caen style
Herb Caen was a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle for 53 years ending in 1991. He sometimes offered what he called my “thoughts while shaving,” which introduced a potpourri of random ideas he considered to be column-worthy. Today I’ll offer…
Social Security income maximization
Since Social Security was never intended to cover all of a retiree’s expenses, the income generated from one’s retirement assets are an important factor for a secure retirement. However, today’s low interest rates have left many people close to retirement wondering…
Harkin retirement bill gets mixed reaction
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, unveiled new legislation this week that would help tackle the retirement crisis in America and shore up the private pension system. Industry reaction to the bill was mixed; some cheered while others thought it too complex. Read more……
Focused on Retirement
In part because the survey asked advisors to focus on December activity, index components related to year-end retirement planning got a boost; a 6.3-point jump in retirement plan contributions was the index’s biggest mover, while retirement product sales rose, as…
MyRAs — the New Social Security?
The president has proposed a new type of retirement savings account. It would be an individual account, guaranteed by the government, offered through employers and available to lower income workers to give them security in retirement. What a creative idea! It…
Let Disability.gov Guide You To Helpful Information
Whether you have a disability or are helping a family member get assistance, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the number of disability programs and services that are available nationwide. There is a solution for you. Simply visit Disability.gov, the…
Retirement Planning — What Does Dying Have To Do With It?
Before taking the leap into retirement, we need to give a lot of thought to how prepared we are for 20 or more years without a paycheck. The most important question, of course, involves income and expenditures, those we can…