retirement
The best age to begin your Social Security benefits
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up…
Should you stay or should you go?
Should you stay or should you go? Many financial experts advise their clients to consider converting their 401(k) to a Roth IRA to lower taxes in retirement, but should you? Will the benefits of lower taxes outweigh other benefits if…
Counting on Social Security
The 2024 Social Security Trustee report found if Congress does not act, the combined trust fund reserves will be depleted by 2035. At that time, the income coming into the program will only be able to pay 83 percent of the…
Baby Boomers lack of retirement savings
Baby boomers have changed the face of the U.S. population for more than 70 years and continue to do so as more enter their senior years. According to a recent study, over half of boomers have little saved for retirement…
Ask yourself these three questions
Social Security is the largest source of income for most beneficiaries, replacing only 33 to 55 percent of earnings for the average worker. So, it is essential to make the most of your benefits. Katie Brockman suggests you ask yourself…
Is the 4% rule even relevant today?
In 1994, William Bengen introduced the idea of the 4% rule as a common rule of thumb in retirement planning to help you avoid running out of money in retirement. But times have changed, and so have retirement plans. However,…
2025 contribution limits for HSAs
The IRS has announced the 2025 contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts (HSA), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA), and High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP). The inflation-adjusted annual limit amounts for 2025 are smaller if you compare them to the largest-ever increase…
Why are more individuals starting Social Security
In April, more than 72 million Americans collected Social Security benefits, according to the Social Security Administration’s monthly statistical snapshot, an increase of 195,000 from March. Why the increase? Is it because more individuals reached 65 and older, or is…
Retirement benefits of a HSA
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were established as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 8, 2003, effective January 1, 2004. In the twenty years since the creation…
Help boost the amount of your monthly check
A recent Gallup poll found that 59 percent of retirees said their monthly Social Security check is their leading source of income. So, achieving a higher monthly benefit is essential to many seniors. But what if you were many Americans…