The majority of Americans say that they expect to rely on Social Security benefits once they retire, but that they are afraid benefits won’t be there for them, according to a new survey. 53% of people expect to look to Social Security benefits to pay their everyday expenses in retirement, while 73% fear benefits won’t […]
Something happened, and you need money. Urgently. You look at your savings account. Tumbleweeds roll across the place your emergency fund should occupy. Meanwhile, your credit card beckons with its generous limit. What do you do? If you reach for your credit card, you’re not alone. When faced with unexpected expenses of $1,000 or more, […]
A broad reduction in Social Security is more than just an inconvenience. Social Security is in financial trouble. No, the program is not going bankrupt. That’s virtually impossible based on the way Social Security is funded. Rather, in the coming years, Social Security expects to owe more in benefits than it collects in revenue as […]
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a 2.5% increase in monthly benefits for the 2025 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). While intended to help beneficiaries keep up with inflation, many are concerned that the adjustment falls short of covering rising living expenses. This has sparked disappointment among retirees who heavily depend on these benefits as a significant part of their income. […]
With a little over a month left until Christmas and the New Year, many retirees and beneficiaries of public assistance are starting to look to the future and plan how the 2025 cost of living increase (COLA) they will receive in January will help their finances and Social Security checks. The adjustment happens every year, but since the situation […]
There’s a broader line between busy and bored in retirement than you might expect. It hardly takes a genius to figure out that our perception of the time-space continuum can wobble madly as we age. Grasping this new worldview is difficult, but it can help pave the road to a happy retirement. So, in mid-October, […]
Not to alarm you, but have thought long and hard about whether you’ll have enough money to live on when you retire given the rising cost of living? According to the findings of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) “Spending in Retirement 2024” report, nearly half of the 3,600 retirees who were surveyed admitted they’d […]
As families gather for Thanksgiving this year, money is one topic that likely won’t be discussed. Yet experts say it’s a perfect time to start the conversation, particularly with aging parents. More than half of Americans — 56% — say their parents never discussed money with them, according to a recent Fidelity survey of 1,900 […]
Many workers dream of an early retirement. In reality, more than half of workers — 58% — retire earlier than they planned, usually due to unforeseen circumstances, according to new research from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in collaboration with Transamerica Institute. The median age they call it quits is 62 — three years shy of the […]
Social Security benefits are adjusted annually to account for inflation in the previous year. For instance, retirees and other beneficiaries will receive a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2025 to account for rising prices in 2024. Unfortunately, that will be the smallest increase in payments since 2021 and falls below the 10-year average of 2.75%. However, the […]
Some Social Security beneficiaries may get an unexpected extra check this month – it’s not a mistake; it’s more of a quirk of the calendar. A select group of people are set to receive three payments for the month of November due to an oddity of the calendar, which impacted the number of checks sent […]
According to the 2024 UBS Global Wealth Report, the U.S. is home to more than 22 million millionaires. That’s about 1 in 15 Americans claiming membership in the two-comma club. Some, of course, got rich the old-fashioned way — they inherited it — but most built their wealth from scratch. According to Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 […]
