MARK MILLER

Markets

Medicare, ACA care and how to navigate during enrollment

This is enrollment season for two huge public health insurance programs: Medicare and the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges. For older Americans, the overlapping sign-up periods can lead to confusion and enrollment errors.

Markets

Five takeaways on retirement from the midterm elections

Retirement policy wasn’t on the ballot in last week's midterm elections. But the new political landscape could threaten the retirement security of middle-class households.

Markets

The biggest surprises in retirement? The experts weigh in

The Great Recession served up some nasty financial surprises to people approaching retirement - the housing crash, job loss and shrunken 401(k)s, for starters.

Personal Finance

Conquering fear, finding purpose: The secrets of an encore career

“You must do the thing you cannot do,” Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote. It’s the only way to overcome the fears we all face in doing something new, she thought, and take a leap into the unknown.

Personal Finance

The COLA crunch: Why Social Security isn't keeping up with seniors' costs

Social Security’s annual inflation adjustment is one of the program’s most valuable features. But it’s time to adjust the adjustment.

Personal Finance

Beware: Some Medicare Advantage plans have plenty of disadvantages

Seniors have flocked to Medicare Advantage in recent years, attracted by savings on premiums and the convenience of one-stop shopping. But as the annual Medicare enrollment season began this week, a memorandum from federal officials to plan providers surfaced that serves as a big red warning flag.

Personal Finance

Shining a light on a murky election-year Social Security debate

In North Carolina, a television ad attacks incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan for supporting a “controversial plan” that “raises the retirement age” for Social Security. The ad comes from Crossroads GPS, the super PAC run by Republican Karl Rove.

Personal Finance

Extreme retirement abroad: How one footloose couple sees the world

For Americans looking to retire abroad, deciding where to live can be a challenge. But Lynne and Tim Martin took that question off the table by deciding to retire everywhere and anywhere.

Personal Finance

Retirement insecurity: Two studies underline housing and income challenges

Monday marks the sixth anniversary of the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers, a key event in the Wall Street meltdown that led to the Great Recession. The recession wreaked havoc on the retirement plans of millions of Americans, and two studies released last week suggest that most of us haven't recovered well.

Personal Finance

How to interpret your Social Security benefit statement

The Social Security Administration will be mailing annual benefit statements for the first time in three years to some American workers. That's good news, because the statements provide a useful projection of what you can expect to receive in benefits at various retirement ages, if you become widowed or suffer a disability that prevents you from working.

Personal Finance

Phased retirement: How Washington is leading the way

Gwendolyn Ross will turn 66 in November, but she isn’t ready to retire. A deputy comptroller for the U.S. Coast Guard in Miami Beach, Florida, she hopes to work until she’s 70 - but she would like to cut back her hours.

News

Take the pension buyout, or wait for a better deal down the road?

If you work for a company with a pension plan, don’t be surprised if you get an offer soon for a lump sum buyout - a deal where you accept a pile of cash in exchange for the promise of lifetime income when you retire.

Latest Stories

Can You Afford the American Dream? Homeownership Costs Skyrocket

According to real estate company Redfin, purchasing a home is more expensive than it has been in at least the past ten years. Homebuyers are faced with the twin whammy of rising mortgage rates and housing prices.

Simple Strategies to Maximize Your Investment Returns

Investors find it more enjoyable and fascinating to concentrate on their stock transactions or investing portfolio than on tax methods.

Inflation & Interest Hikes: Why Debt Relief Can Save You Money Now

By negotiating better interest rates or even lower principle sums with your lenders on your behalf, debt relief agencies may be able to assist.

Follow the Shiba? Dogecoin's Rise Sparks Interest in Wiener AI

Although Dogecoin's price dropped last month, historical evidence suggests that it may begin to rise to new all-time highs about seven months after Bitcoin's half-life.