Four stages of retirement planning

DEAR SAVVY SENIOR: I started drawing my Social Security retirement benefits back in 2021 when I was forced to retire early, but I'm now interested going back to work part-time. DEAR BACK: You can collect Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time, but depending on how old you are and how much you earn, some or all of your benefits could be…

Some 64% of US consumers— equivalent to 166 million people— were living paycheck-to-paycheck at the end of 2022, according to the survey by industry publication Pymnts.com and LendingClub Corp.. And out of that group, some 8 million were people earning more than $100,000 a year. "Prospects for consumer spending are cloudy," said Lydia Boussour, senior economist…

Democrats finally have a strategy to stop billionaires from fleeing high tax states: Block the escape routes. California, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, Minnesota, Connecticut and Washington state are all represented, and several of the sponsors have already released bills. "We are here today to put billionaires and multimillionaires on notice," said…

Before you turn 65, you'll want to become familiar with Medicare's rules and features. For someone who' s married and files taxes jointly, and whose MAGI for 2021 was $194,000 or less, the Part B premium for 2023 will be $164.90 per month, and the Part D premium will be whatever amount is charged by their Medicare plan. But if their 2021 MAGI was between $194,000 and…

There's a huge cost-ofliving increase coming to Social Security recipients this year- the largest adjustment since 1981, thanks to pandemic-prompted inflation. Other dollar limits on Social Security payroll taxes, taxes on benefits, disability thresholds and qualifying for benefits also will be changing for 2023.. "Medicare premiums are going down and…

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf won’ t get a raise this year, according to a recent securities filing from the bank. That includes a $2.5 million base salary and $22 million in variable compensation, such as stock awards. The scandal— which revealed that bank employees had created millions of fraudulent accounts for customers— led to a Federal Reserve asset cap that…

Just before the new year, President Biden signed the Secure Act 2.0 into law. The new amounts are $22,500 for 401 programs and $6,500 for those with IRA accounts. That means 401 contributors can now kick in an extra $7,500 over the stated limits and IRA account holders an extra $1,000.

When it comes to Social Security and retirement, you may have conflicting viewpoints: On one side, you hope to start collecting your benefits as soon as you're eligible— or maybe you're concerned you'll need that income sooner. While it does make sense to wait as long as you can, Sherman Hohenberger, lead wealth planner at Wells Fargo Wealth& Investment Management,…

For example, a 30- year-old with $50, 000 in her 401 who saves $300 a month could have around $830, 000 by age 65, assuming a conservative long-term return of 6 percent, compounded monthly. If she stopped contributing in 2022 for one year, she'd have an extra $3, 600, less taxes, in her take-home pay. However, by not contributing $3, 600, that money misses out on 35 years of…

How can a smaller move send a big message? That’ s the dilemma the Federal Reserve finds itself in as it meets this week to discuss its a target short-term interest rate. And there’ s no doubt on Wall Street they will hike rates by one-quarter of 1%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Despite a short rally in December, the bond market suffered its worst decline in decades, thanks to the Federal Reserve's swift and sizable interest rate increases in 2022. All told, there was "nowhere to hide," says John Lovito, co-chief investment officer of global fixed income at American Century Investments. "Bonds are going to be back in 2023," says Luis Alvarado,…

Save more, spend less and pay off debt are popular New Year's resolutions— and perhaps the ones most likely to fall by the wayside a few weeks into the year when reality sets in and expenses derail plans. But an early-in-the-year setback, like paying your health insurance deductible or the credit card bills after a costly December, doesn't have to knock you off…

Wall Street kicked off the week with a broad stock market rally Monday, as investors look ahead to a busy week of company earnings reports and grow more confident that the Federal Reserve will turn the screws on the economy less aggressively. The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, led by tech companies. On one hand, they've benefited from hopes that the nation's high inflation will…

If you’ re a retiree dealing withMedicare, you’ ve just noticed that your increased Social Security benefit is being reduced substantially by rising costs for MedicarePartBandPartD, aswell as by increased costs for drugs thatmay be only partially covered by insurance. Andthis is just the start, according to anewreport by the Employee BenefitResearch…

Turbulent market conditions and rampant inflation have forced investors to consider working after their retirement, according to a Nationwide Retirement Institute study.

The transaction includes a broad strategic partnership agreement aimed at aligning the interests of the two organizations, including an arrangement whereby Securian Financial will distribute its individual life and annuity products through Cetera’s affiliated financial professionals.