Millions of American retirees receive Social Security payments each month. And while Social Security wasn’t intended to be the sole source of retirement income for retired Americans, many people rely on Social Security for some or even all of their income in retirement. That may be due to poor performance of their investments, losing their pension as their company...
Investors always have a lot on their minds, particularly when it comes to saving for retirement. They’re always trying to figure out which way markets will move, when they’ll move, and what assets they should invest in to maximize their retirement savings. The more uncertainty faces them, the more difficult their investment decision making becomes. In the aftermath of the...
The coming of the new year has traditionally been a time for people to make resolutions about how they’ll improve their way of living in the year ahead. It’s become famous in some circles to joke about those resolutions, and how few people stick to them. That’s particularly true when it comes to exercise and fitness. But while many people...
With the recent changes Congress made to retirement savings laws, more firms today will be able to market annuities to those enrolled in workplace retirement programs. Insurance companies lobbied hard for those provisions, hoping to capture a piece of the trillions of dollars Americans have invested through workplace 401(k) and retirement savings plans. But while annuities are often touted...
Many people like to joke about how Congress always drags its feet on important pieces of legislation or on important societal issues. One need only look at the crisis facing Social Security, something that Congress hasn’t focused on at all, to see a crystal clear example of it. But every now and then Congress makes a sudden move that...
The Social Security System has operated for over 80 years as a final backstop to prevent seniors from living out their last years in absolute poverty. While the system was never intended to be the sole source of retiree income, many seniors over the years have come to rely more and more heavily on Social Security in their twilight...
The stock market bull run of the past few years has created more than a few 401(k) millionaires. But with economic headwinds increasing, including a trade war that shows no signs of abating, many investors are getting nervous about just how long they’ll remain 401(k) millionaires. Investors who have made their money in stock markets are aware that a...
It’s that time of year again, when families around the country gather together to eat turkey, watch football, and give thanks for everything they’ve been blessed with over the past year. Investors are no different, particularly given the performance of stock markets over the past few years. But for many investors looking warily at stock markets and wondering when...
Most people realize that the amount of debt in existence worldwide is enormous, but how enormous isn’t immediately obvious. Many people may even labor under the erroneous impression that the debt bubble has improved since the financial crisis, since surely businesses and individuals learned their lesson from that crisis. But the reality is that the debt bubble isn’t just...
With stock markets reaching another record high this week, albeit just barely, even those who strongly believe that a recession is just around the corner are beginning to have second thoughts. That’s only natural, as stock markets have been essentially in a holding pattern for nearly two years. After breaking through multiple thousand-point barriers beginning in 2016 and moving...
