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Mary Beth Franklin

Mary Beth Franklin is a Contributing Editor at Investment News specializing in Social Security, Medicare and Retirement income. She has been a financial journalist for more than 40 years, covering everything from federal budget and tax policies as a Capitol Hill reporter for United Press International to consumer finances as a writer and editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. Mary Beth became a Certified Financial Planner in 2015 and is an in-demand speaker at conferences for financial professionals as well as a frequent guest on numerous radio and television programs. She is the author of “Maximizing Your Social Security Retirement Benefits” and host of the Retirement Repair Shop podcast. In her free time, Mary Beth likes to read, garden, ski and play the piano. She received a BA in Communications from American University in 1975 where she continues to mentor journalism students.

Displaying 1104 results

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Playing with money

Teresa Ghilarducci, an ardent critic of the 401(k) system, created quite a buzz with a recent opinion piece, “Our Ridiculous Approach to Retirement.”

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Mary Beth Franklin: Clients short on understanding of longevity risk

Average life expectancy merely an average, not a timetable

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  • August 8, 2012

Why boomers’ retirement plans could leave them bust

Many near-retirees don't have any income plan whatsoever; others waiting until the last minute

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Older clients’ young children a Social Security windfall

Parents can trigger benefits for kids, delay collecting their own

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Mary Beth Franklin: One surefire way to sabotage a retirement plan

Understimate healthcare costs for clients and watch things unravel

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Lump-sum offers present risks and opportunities

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. made headlines over the past two months when they offered nonunion…

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Delaying Social Security benefits ‘best deal in town’

Convincing a client to delay taking Social Security may be a hard sell. But a little math shows why it's very good advice. IN's retirement expert, Mary Beth Franklin, runs the numbers for you.

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Mary Beth Franklin: Will 401(k) fee disclosure boost index funds?

With plan fiduciaries looking at costs more closely, passively managed funds likely to be attractive

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Mary Beth Franklin: Waiting for rollover money a roll of the dice

Advisers who take over clients' 401(k) decisions early in the game end up capturing the bulk of the dollars later; snooze you lose

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Mary Beth Franklin: Credit tight, but Bank of Dad open for business

Fathers are more likley than mothers to give their adult children a handout