Retirement Watch Weekly
Reversing Course on Medicare Advantage Plans
Recently we reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid changed their rules on reimbursing insurers for Medicare Advantage. By tweaking the formula, they reduced planned reimbursements by about 2.3%. That didn’t last long. The CMS reversed course after a few days and apparently turned the cuts into a reimbursement increase. Though not everyone agrees […]
Snap Up a Reverse Mortgage Now
So says the Mortgage Professor, Jack Guttentag, an emeritus finance professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Guttentag’s main argument is that interest rates are so low that it’s a good idea to snap up the cash now. Low rates let you borrow more than you could borrow at higher rates. Guttentag […]
Even CFOs are Worried About Retirement
It’s no secret that Americans in general are worried about having enough money to retire and are planning to delay retirement beyond what they were thinking a few years ago. But it’s something of a surprise that Chief Financial Officers at 1,400 U.S. companies are delaying retirement and often have no idea when they’ll retire, […]
April 2013
April 26, 2013 04:30 p.m. Your Retirement Finance Week in Review Is the government going to confiscate your retirement account or other financial accounts? Recent news stories brought that fear front and center for many Americans. First, there was the news that Cyprus enacted a “bail-in”. Bank account holders effectively had a percentage of their […]
Answering More Social Security Questions
My recent articles on maximizing Social Security benefits generated a lot of interest among readers and triggered some good questions. In this visit we review some key questions readers asked. My wife died recently. I’m 62 and haven’t begun receiving any Social Security benefits. Since I’m older than 60, I’m eligible to receive survivor’s benefits. […]
Social Security is Paperless
Social Security officially went almost 100% paperless early in 2013. Paper benefit checks no longer are issued. If you don’t schedule electronic deposit into a financial account, Social Security will send you a payment card or debit card. Also, estimated benefit statements no longer are mailed. The statements were mailed to everyone age 25 and […]
8 Estate Planning Steps to Crafting the Right Will for You
You don’t really write your will, and most people shouldn’t try. But you can be sure the will is done correctly. In this visit we discuss how to shepherd your will through the estate planning process. It doesn’t take much to tarnish a gem of an estate plan, and with it your legacy. A misplaced […]
Stepping Up Estate Planning Tax Reduction Plans
Well-off readers and those on the path to wealth should step up their Estate Planning tax reduction plans. You have some breathing room since Congress passed the ?permanent? estate tax in January. But a number of tax reduction strategies still are at risk. Most people won’t be subject to the estate tax. But estate taxes […]
