One of the most important retirement decisions many Americans face is deciding when to start claiming Social Security benefits. If you claim at age 62, your monthly benefit can be about 30% lower than it would be at Full Retirement Age if your Full Retirement Age is 67. If you
Many people spend 20 or 30 years working, saving, contributing to a 401(k) or IRA, and building assets without necessarily having a clear plan for how those assets will eventually support retirement. While working, income continues to come in. In retirement, that often changes. Instead of contributing to retirement accounts,
Medicare is commonly known as the federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older. In practice, however, Medicare is not simply a matter of turning 65, choosing a plan, and beginning coverage. Medicare decisions can affect retirement cash flow, taxes, Roth conversions, Social Security, investment withdrawals, and the
IUL, or Indexed Universal Life insurance, is often presented as a very attractive financial tool. At first glance, it may sound like one product can do almost everything: provide market-linked growth, protect against market downturns, create tax-free income, and provide life insurance protection for the family. Because of that, IUL
Cash can feel safe. It is simple, familiar, easy to access, and easy to understand. For many people, having cash available creates a sense of control. It feels more stable than the stock market, less complicated than investment accounts, and more private than the financial system. But from a personal
Options are one of the financial products often promoted with very attractive claims: turning a few hundred dollars into a few thousand, making money faster than buying stocks, or helping a small account grow quickly. Because of that, options can easily create the impression that they are a shortcut to
