The Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to keep interest rates steady put the cap on a tumultuous year for consumers. After raising the federal funds rate nine times in three years, with the last hike just one year ago as financial markets were melting down, concerns about a slowing economy and a looming U.S.-China trade war […]
There are three weeks left in the year, and House Democrats are taking a last shot at ending the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions. Rep. Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y, along with Reps. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., and Mike Thompson, D-Calif., proposed the “Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act.” The measure is scheduled […]
In Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Dr. Evil famously tries to hold the world hostage for a ransom of $1 million. And if you asked most Americans what they’d need to retire comfortably, you might get the very same number — at least according to TD Ameritrade’s 2019 Retirement Pulse Survey. The survey polled […]
Many workers spend the latter part of their careers counting down to retirement. This especially holds true among those who don’t really like their jobs, or find them mentally or physically demanding. But in a Nationwide Retirement Institute survey, 26% of retirees who checked out of the workforce at least 10 years ago, and 27% […]
The practice of companies sending monthly retirement checks to their former workers is headed for extinction, and remaining pension funds are in tough financial shape. Nearly two-thirds of pension funds are considering dropping guaranteed benefits to new workers within the next five years, according to a human resources consulting firm that studied the matter. Despite […]
If you have credit cards, you might also have credit card debt. But if you live in the Bay Area, where salaries are higher and access to financial advice is more prevalent than elsewhere in the country, the chances are good that you might be able to pay off your credit card debt faster than […]
A new proposal in Congress aims to resurrect an old tradition: mailing Social Security statements to your home. Since 2011, the Social Security Administration has cut back on the number of paper statements it puts in the mail in order to save money. A new bill, called the Know Your Social Security Act, aims to […]
When you start a new job and sign up for your company’s 401(k) plan, you will need to decide how much to contribute to the account. This seemingly simple decision will affect how much is withheld from your paychecks, your annual income tax bill and how much money you will have in retirement. Here’s how to […]
Americans are optimistic not only about their current financial situations but also about their prospects heading into 2020, a new report shows. A study conducted by Fidelity Investments found that more than 80 percent of Americans said they were feeling either the same or better about their financial situation when compared with last year. The […]
When it comes to Social Security, the question on most people’s lips is: “Will it still be there for me when I retire?” The answer is generally yes. But the system will pay less in benefits if nothing is done to repair it. In April, the Social Security Administration said that the program’s trust funds […]
In her book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Australian nurse Bronnie Ware drew on her years of working in palliative care to synthesize the common themes about life’s biggest regrets. Number two on the list was “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.” According to Ware, that feeling came from every male patient […]
If you search the internet looking for how much cash you need to retire, you’ll find estimates ranging from $1 million to $10 million. That’s about as helpful as a mechanical pencil with no lead, particularly if your retirement savings are currently well short of seven figures. A definitive, realistic savings target for retirement is […]
