Tom Merton | Getty Images If you’re a retiree on Medicare and feel the itch to travel, be sure you know whether your insurance plan can go with you. Whether you want to hit the road for a U.S.-b...
Tag: Retirement planning
3 big problems with Congress’ new retirement reforms
A new set of reforms to America’s retirement tax and savings plans passed a key hurdle in Congress last week. Variously known as the SECURE Act 2.0, the EARN Act and the RISE & SHINE Act, the meas...
How retirees should navigate this bear market
Here’s how best to play the market for the rest of 2022: Don’t look. I offer this advice not because I believe the bear market will continue—though of course it could. I would offer the same advice if...
How inflation, interest rate hikes affect the 60/40 portfolio strategy
How a 60/40 portfolio strategy works The strategy allocates 60% to stocks and 40% to bonds — a traditional portfolio that carries a moderate level of risk. More generally, “60/40” is a sho...
Women prefer values-based investing. Here’s how that impacts their wealth
Mint Images | Mint Images Rf | Getty Images Women prefer investing in a way that helps the environment and does social good, some studies have found. Such values-based investing could help raise women...
Big Changes to 401(k) Retirement Plans Get Closer With Senate Vote
Americans could wait longer to start emptying retirement accounts and face fewer restrictions on emergency withdrawals under a bill advanced unanimously Wednesday by the Senate Finance Committee. The...
Stock market nosedive, recession and your 401(k). Here’s what to do.
Even some of the most aggressive retirement savers and investors might find themselves a bit nervous these days with talks of a recession and a market downturn, so the best strategy for those in it fo...
Nearly one-third of older Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement
Many older Americans are willing to work during their retirement years — and they may have to be — because they aren’t financially prepared for their old age. Almost three in 10 people between 55 and...
Meet the ‘unluckiest’ stock market investor of modern times
If you’re thinking of pulling your 401(k) out of the stock market, or you’re too terrified to invest more, you need to meet my friend Betty Badluck. Poor old Betty has had the worst luck of any stock ...
I want to retire next year, but I have $25,000 in credit card debt and a major monthly mortgage payment — I also live with my three kids and ex
I’ll be 57 next month and am divorced with three kids living with me. One is 28, she’s working, another is 21 and a senior in college (with a full scholarship) and the youngest is 15 (a sophomore in h...
Why retiring this year could be a ‘worst-case’ scenario
This is an urgent update for anyone who has recently retired, or who is hoping to retire shortly, and who was expecting to follow one of those simple, time-tested rules for spending down their money d...
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...
Scared to check your 401(k) as Dow tumbles? Here’s when you should look — and when you shouldn’t
To look or not to look. That’s the question when people consider checking the balances in their investment and retirement accounts. Maybe ignorance is bliss amid a volatile stock market’s recent seque...
Retirees Should Gird for a Long Run of High Inflation. Here’s How.
Retirees and seniors who are feeling the pinch of higher prices could be in for a long struggle as inflation shows few signs of peaking. But financial experts say there are some smart strategies that ...
3 moves retirement savers can make now to profit from the stock market turmoil
Every crisis is an opportunity. The massive turmoil on financial markets so far this year is no exception. Here are three things that every middle-class American can do with their 401(k), IRA or other...
Is now a good time to do a Roth IRA conversion?
Hello and welcome to Financial Face-off, a MarketWatch column where we help you weigh financial decisions. Our columnist will give her verdict. Tell us whether you think she’s right in the comments. A...
‘Every month I express my concerns to my adviser, but he says not to worry.’ My 401(k) has lost over 20% and I can’t afford to lose that kind of money. Is it time to find a new adviser?
Every month I express my concerns to my adviser, but he says not to worry and that it will bounce back. Getty Images Question: My 401(k) was doing ok for a while, but since January of this year it has...
Taking RMDs During a Downturn Hurts. Here’s How to Manage the Pain.
Is it better to rip off a bandage and get the pain over with or to remove it slowly and gently, limiting the pain while prolonging it? That’s essentially the question facing seniors who have spent dec...
Retirees on edge over inflation and stock volatility can take these 5 steps
If you’re like many retirees, the combination of inflation and stock market volatility may set you on edge. “It is one of the higher risk environments for retirees,” says certified financial planner J...
How bear markets trick gullible investors
Bear markets like to trick you into thinking they have come to an end. They do that by mounting explosive one-day rallies. Those jumps more often than not turn out to be traps that lure the gullible b...
‘I’m being taken advantage of by my own husband’: I pay all the bills and gave the down payment for our home, and all he does is buy stuff and contribute to his 401(k)
I’m being taken advantage of by my own husband. I have been married for almost 10 years. When my husband and I were first married, he convinced me to stop working after the first year or so, which I r...
Consider a portfolio of 100% stocks if you’re at least 10 years from retirement
This year’s stock market isn’t what it seems. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way!” That’s the refrain from many investors who are looking at a U.S. stock market SPX, -1.08% decline so far this year of...
I lived in motels and ‘forgot to live’: I’m 48, have almost $900,000 and want to retire next year. What can I do?
I am 48 years old, single and have lived in various states and done diverse jobs. Genetically, I foresee my life span being around 20 more years, as I lost my parents at a very young age. In this 15 ...
Opinion: Early retirement in 3 steps: Follow the ‘Cashing Out’ couple’s road map to financial freedom
A couple of months ago, our five-year-old son was relieved to find out that he could have two best friends. For weeks he’d been stuck in an innocent adolescent triangle where both kids wanted him to b...