The high price of elder care, longer life spans of retirees and persistently low interest rates are wreaking havoc in this corner of the insurance business.
Payroll tax contributions exceed lifetime benefits for most workers. <i>(Hear Mary Beth Franklin <a href="https://home.investmentnews.com/clickshare/eventPurchase.do?CSProduct=investmentnews-event&CSEventId=1204" target="_blank">answer advisers' questions on Social Security</a> today at 4 p.m.)</i>
Families may get to pay for computers again with these popular college savings accounts.
Issue becomes distraction from president's broader plan to expand and simplify tax breaks for education
Changes could spark revolt, but 'when Congress needs dollars, they're going to get them,' one adviser says.
<i>Breakfast with Benjamin:</i> Some funds using cash for protection. Lots of it. Plus: Adviser charged with stealing $1.3M from widows and church friends, up from the ashes arises a new subprime giant, and Wall Street courts millennials.
Advisers and experts say 'the Fed really is hamstrung' by European Central Bankers' planned $50-billion-per-month quantitative easing program, meaning they can't raise or lower interest rates in this environment.
<i>Breakfast with Benjamin:</i> Investors' nerves tested by rate hike talk this week. Plus: Most of the world's major oil projects are doing just fine at current price levels, retirement savings in a nutshell, and the chokehold of consumer debt.
Risk management is as important to long-term financial planning as the growth of investments
Money managers say more participants want to link retirement savings to values.
<i>Breakfast with Benjamin:</i> When it's OK to convert to a Roth IRA. Plus: Two emerge as Buffett successors; recognizing seasoned financial veterans, and Asian stocks get a boost from Chinese bankers.
A primer on the costs of becoming a landlord.
Insurance giant stung by cost of elder care, longer life spans of retirees and persistently low interest rates.
Second homes can provide good income, but are clients ready for the tax filing and landlord burden?
Financial advisers can help clients take early steps to plan for the progressive disease.
Advisers are hopeful that the House will approve making tax breaks for IRA charitable donations permanent, but are trying to keep expectations low.
Clients with disabled children get a new vehicle
As more schools sign on, the guarantees and tuition cost savings grow more attractive.
A new paper by the organization concludes $17 billion estimate of lost retirement savings not substantiated.
Improved 401(k) plan features have proven successful, but a big challenge remains: how to plug the leakage in plan assets when workers switch jobs.
