Big Changes to 401(k) Retirement Plans Move Ahead in Congress

Listen to article (2 minutes) Congress is on the verge of passing a bill that aims to help Americans save more for retirement and leave their retirement savings untouched and untaxed for longer. The b...

I just retired at 64. My husband is 73 and beginning to have health issues. We need a financial plan and to figure out what to do with Social Security. What’s our move?  

Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I’m in need of a fiduciary financial planner. I recently retired at 64 years old. My husband is 73 and beginning to have health issues, and I have no idea what to do...

This 529 plan myth is making college more expensive for families

Kevin Dodge | The Image Bank | Getty Images SEATTLE — For many families, paying for college is a financial burden, and experts say education-funding myths may be adding to the student loan debt crisis...

How to Maximize Your Wealth Over the Next Decade

Investors accustomed to blockbuster returns faced a reckoning this year, as the great bull market ended with high inflation, soaring interest rates, and fears of a recession. The uncertainty persists,...

Why Your Money May Not Go to the Heirs in Your Will

Text size If you have given power of attorney to someone, you may have to sign a separate agreement at your bank to ensure access to funds. Dreamstime When it comes to distributing assets to loved one...

Here are the legal and personal ramifications of dying without a will

C.j. Burton | The Image Bank | Getty Images What happens if a loved one dies without a will? Millions of us are bound to find out, as two-thirds of American adults have no will, according to a recent ...

Technology stocks tumble — this is how you will know when to buy them again

This has been a brutal year for Big Tech, as you can see in the chart below, with Meta Platforms META, +1.29% leading the way. Shares of the Facebook holding company plunged 26% on Oct. 27, bringing t...

Opinion: Don’t have $13 million? The lifetime estate- and gift-tax exemptions for 2023 still matter to you.

The wealthiest families in the U.S. will get a bit of inflation-adjusted relief from the IRS in 2023, with the lifetime estate-tax exemption increasing to $12.9 million for individuals, up from $12.06...

IRS bumps estate-tax exclusion to $12.92 million for 2023

Bernd Vogel | Getty Images Ultra-wealthy Americans can soon protect more assets from federal estate taxes, the IRS announced this week.  Starting in 2023, individuals can transfer up to $12.92 million...

Here Is the New Standard Deduction and Federal Income Tax Brackets For 2023

The IRS has announced inflation adjustments to the standard deduction and other tax provisions for the 2023 tax year. The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly for tax year 2023 will r...

Dreaming of a Big Inheritance? Don’t Count On It, Financial Advisors Say

Separating fact from fantasy is one of the most valuable services that financial planners can provide to their clients. And a common financial fantasy is that our parents will leave us a sizable inher...

Best of Barron’s: Social Security Claiming, Retiring on Dividends, Info on RMDs

Barron’s Retirement’s 10 most read stories of the year include items on retiring abroad and retiring on dividends. Apologies to David Letterman and his Top 10 List segment on the ‘La...

Why Advisors Say It’s Best to Let Social Security Max Out, Even in a Down Market

A senior may claim Social Security spousal benefits based on a younger spouse’s earnings history, but the younger spouse must have already claimed benefits. That’s the short answer to our second...

I want to refinance my mortgage, but I’m about to turn 70. Is it wise to refinance at my time of life?

I hope you can help me figure this out. I am 69 years old and will turn 70 at the end of the month. I’ve been offered a cash out refinance loan and need to decide whether to take a 15- or 30-year loan...

5 Common Questions About RMDs in Retirement

Required minimum distributions have been in the news lately as Congress works to pass the Secure Act 2.0, which would raise the age at which seniors must begin making withdrawals from employer-sponsor...

We have $1.5 million we don’t intend to ever use in retirement – how do we invest it if we plan on giving it to our kids one day?

I’m 59 years old, and my wife is older (retired early). I will be retiring next year after 40 years of Naval service and government contracting.  After the recent market crash in 2022, we still have a...

IRS Gives Wealthy Families More Time to Shelter Assets from Estate Tax

The federal government is giving widows and widowers more time to deal with the intricacies of the estate tax after a spouse dies. When one spouse dies, their partner often inherits all or part of the...

How to Minimize Your Heirs’ Tax Burden on Inherited IRAs and 401(k)s

The stretch-IRA strategy largely went away after the Secure Act of 2019, leaving heirs less maneuverability on taxes. Financial pros have some solutions. Illustration by Barron’s: Dreamstime(5) ...

Here are the do’s and don’ts, costs and options of estate planning

Jodi Jacobson | Getty Images You don’t have to be older and rich to do some estate planning. In fact, regardless of age and wealth, experts say virtually everyone should consider how they want t...

America’s Retirement System Is Broken. This Economist Is Trying to Fix It.

Economist Alicia Munnell has been telling America it has a retirement problem for decades, and by most measures it has gotten worse. Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, which she heads, c...

Should I name my spouse or my trust as the beneficiary as my 401(k) and IRA?

Dear Harry, I’m married and want my entire estate to go to my spouse. I have a revocable trust which will continue for my spouse’s benefit upon my death. Should I name my spouse or my trust as the ben...

How To Figure Out What To Leave To Heirs

Signing Last Will & Testament getty Rick Kahler, president of Kahler Financial Group in Rapid City, S. D., is a student of ”money scripts” —the unconscious beliefs we hold about money that often d...

Keep a Lid on Social Security Taxes and Medicare Costs. Consider Roth Conversions.

If you’ve become a 401(k) millionaire or amassed large sums in other tax-deferred retirement accounts, you can potentially shave your lifetime taxes by hundreds of thousands of dollars by converting p...

Your 401(k) Statement Will Soon Have Lifetime Income Estimates. What to Know.

Participants in 401(k)s should begin seeing a “lifetime income illustration” on their statements this year, getting an estimate of how much guaranteed monthly income their current account balance woul...

China’s wealthy moving money to Singapore amid common prosperity push

As Beijing pushes for “common prosperity” and political turmoil threatens Hong Kong, Singapore has become a safe harbor for some of the region’s wealthiest tycoons and their families...

RMD Age Stands to Rise to 75 as House Passes Secure Act 2.0. Here’s What to Know.

Dreamstime Text size The second major piece of retirement legislation in little more than two years advanced in the House on Tuesday, putting required minimum distributions in line to rise to age 75 o...

Opinion: I want to leave a Roth IRA to my sister with special needs — what’s the best way to do that?

Q.: I have a Roth IRA that I would like to leave to my sister. She has mental-health issues and I want to have a way to leave money to be distributed monthly without paying it all out in handling fees...

If you’re getting remarried, here are key financial issues to consider

kali9 | E+ | Getty Images You may want to consider some financial issues before walking down the aisle again. When it comes to tackling those financial issues around remarriage, financial advisors rec...

My mother-in-law left her $1 million life-insurance policy to my brother-in-law, but her will says she wants him to share it with my husband. What can we do?

Dear Quentin, My husband and I took care of my mother-in-law for eight years. Around five years ago we gave up the house we were renting to save her home because she could not afford it, and because s...

When it comes to a will or estate plan, don’t just set it and forget it

Spanic | E+ | Getty Images There are some obvious triggers that might prompt you to update your will, such as changes in health or marital status. There are, however, also some not-so-obvious ones to ...