Social Security retirement benefits are primarily based on two factors: your average income over your working life and your age when you claim them. You get to decide when to start collecting benefits, within an eight-year window from age 62 to age 70. The longer you...

How to get control of what you owe For Gail and Tony Dean, the crisis came as they approached 50. Living in South Florida, they decided to move north, near Orlando, where they bought land and began to build their dream home. Then the debts piled up. The couple — she...

5 things loved ones will have to do to settle your accounts How many times have you told your loved ones that you don’t want to be a burden, and saddle them with a financial mess at the end of your life? It’s a common sentiment. Despite their good intentions, however,...

The answer: $1,000 more than you could in 2021 A 401(k) plan is a great way to increase your retirement savings. Your employer will deduct your pretax contributions from your paycheck, and your savings will be tax-deferred until you take withdrawals during retirement....

For many financial documents, just 3 years — for others, practically forever You may be starting at a heap of paperwork when you finish filing your 2021 federal taxes, which are due April 18. Your first urge may be to sweep them all into a paper bag and put the bag...

You'll get better savings rates but higher borrowing costs this year The Federal Reserve is raising borrowing costs to cool the hottest inflation readings in 40 years. The Fed on Wednesday hiked its key short-term fed funds rate to a range of 0.75 to 1 percent, the...

There are probably thousands of articles published every day on how and why to eat well and exercise. And yes, these are critical endeavors for healthy aging. But, they don’t cover everything you need to do to live your best life for as long as possible. What might be...

Making a retirement plan requires more knowledge than you might think. You'll need to understand how inflation affects your investment account; how much income Social Security provides, and how much you need to subsidize it; and how much you can withdraw from...

Fixed index annuities can help you accumulate money for retirement and provide guaranteed income after you retire. A fixed index annuity may be a good choice if you want the opportunity to earn indexed interest, but don’t want to risk losing money in the market. What...

Purchasing life insurance is a big deal. If you want to be sure your family is covered if something happens to you, choosing the right policy is imperative. Whether you’re looking for the average policy cost or more in-depth knowledge, such as the largest life...

It hasn’t been an easy couple of months for savers. At the height of the pandemic in April 2020, Americans’ personal savings rate – the portion of monthly income that households are socking away – hit a record 33.8%. Now that rate hovers around 6.4%, which is below...