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Insurance industry ad blitz to preempt Medicare cuts
This time around, the insurance industry isn’t even waiting for the Obama administration to threaten cuts to private Medicare plans: It’s launching a peremptory strike. America’s Health Insurance Plans announced an all-out advertising campaign Tuesday. Maintaining the same“Seniors are Watching” theme…
Falling Rate Of Personal Income Growth: New Risk Factor?
Friday’s weak jobs report has taken some of the air out of the optimism balloon for the US macro outlook, but in the search for things to worry about I’m more inclined to focus on the discouraging trend of late with personal…
Why Slower Healthcare Cost Inflation Isn’t Fixing Medicare Finances
Followers of the national healthcare policy debate may have noticed an interesting recent turn. After the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s troubled rollout, the law’s supporters shifted to a new line to promote it: specifically, crediting the ACA with slowing the…
7 Secrets of Highly Effective Retirement Savers
Mark Twain famously said: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” He could’ve been talking about all those depressing studies showing how little Americans save for retirement, on average. It’s the “on average” part that bothers me.…
Retirement Crisis: Don’t Lean Too Heavily on Social Security
John Bogle, who founded the Vanguard Group in 1974, has helped defined what long-term investing looks like for the average person. Credited with the creation of the first index fund available to individual investors, he has been one of the chief architects…
Unresolved Court Problems Can Also Cause Problems With Social Security
Some people who get Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits may have an outstanding federal or state criminal warrant against them. Their benefits may be suspended. A law says if someone has a specific type of outstanding or…
Robert Bennett: Avert the Social Security crisis
The 1950’s TV detective series “Dragnet” made the phrase, “Just the facts, ma’am,” a national catchword for cutting through the clutter of argumentative debate. As Congress reconvenes, here’s a “just the facts” examination of Social Security. Its format is that of…
YOUR MONEY-As more U.S. workers go independent, a retirement time bomb is ticking
Ask self-employed workers about retirement savings, and a shocking number give exactly the same answer: “What retirement savings?” The potential consequences are scary not only for them – the nation’s growing ranks of entrepreneurs, freelancers, consultants and contractors – but also…
A counterintuitive Social Security strategy can fund an early retirement
Astute financial producers recognize that some of the most successful planning strategies are those customized to meet the individual client’s needs, and, in some cases, this means defying conventional wisdom and focusing on the numbers at hand. Effective Social Security…
Don’t Take Social Security Early Because You Think Think You Can Invest It At a Profit
Larry Kotlikoff’s Social Security original 34 “secrets”, his additional secrets, his Social Security”mistakes” and his Social Security gotchas have prompted so many of you to write in that we now feature “Ask Larry” every Monday. We are determined to continue it until the queries stop…