Two years ago, the Supreme Court established the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry in every state in the U.S. with its ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. In turn, this decision enabled Social Security’s marital benefits to apply to same-sex couples.
The ruling affects the benefits options related to you and
Investing & Retiring
Did you realize that your Social Security benefits are based on the highest inflation-adjusted 35 years of your income? To maximize your benefits, it’s important that you have 35 years of a solid wage history. A zero-earnings year or two can cause your benefits to drop significantly.
A recent study by the Center for Retirement
It is easy to get frustrated with the discussion of Social Security, in part because the same sliver of data is used to support completely opposing arguments.
To illustrate, most articles about Social Security mention “the shortfall” at some point. While all those pieces reference the same concept, that information in some cases may say
As retirement approaches, you should be making the most out of catch-up contributions in your 401(k) or IRA and socking away as much of your money as possible to prepare for retirement. Unfortunately, too many older Americans are unable to save properly for retirement – or even live outside of poverty during retirement – because
National 401(k) Day has been celebrated the Friday after Labor Day since 1996, in a drive to remind Americans to prioritize saving for retirement. The trick to becoming a 401(k) millionaire is to start young and allow your money to go to work for you. It may be difficult for someone who is just starting
When it comes to saving money for retirement, Americans have a wide range of different options from which to choose. This can be both good news and bad news: It’s good in the sense that having multiple options makes it easier to select the one that’s best for your retirement savings goals and resources. But
“It’s not what you know, but who you know.” This old saying still apples to job searches and remains the most effective way to find a new job.
Lou Adler, CEO of The Adler Group, conducted a survey to find out how people got their last job and his results for 2015-2016 are broken into
Have you ever seen ads for “Get Rich Quick” books? We suspect the only person getting rich quickly is the author selling his book! Perhaps the first page of the book reads, “The secret to quick riches is to publish and sell a book on getting rich quick.”
At MoneyTips, all of our eBooks filled
The total civilian
labor force is slightly over 160 million people, according to the July 2017
Employment Bulletin from the BLS. 153.5 million of the labor force is currently
employed, while 6.9 million are unemployed. 125.9 million of those employed are
full-time workers. Hopefully, you are one of them.
Do you think you are
Are you familiar with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)? If so, you probably associate the BLS with either jobs and unemployment reports, or statistics quoted by politicians (sometimes incorrectly or out of context) who want to make a point. However, the BLS contains a treasure trove of other useful statistics and functions of which
Earlier, we presented some money-saving tips for college students. Here are additional ways to save cash:
Car Pooling – if you go to school close enough to drive home every so often, be sure to establish a car pool. Considering the price of gas and tolls, this could result in substantial savings. Many students know
When it comes to saving for retirement, low-income families can have difficulty finding a suitable program that meets their needs – but it’s especially important that they do find one. Everyday bills and unexpected emergencies can easily push lower-income Americans into difficult financial positions without having a regimented savings program to help with budgeting and
College can be a great adventure in scholarship and life for many young people. But when it comes to managing a budget, it can be a sobering learning experience in how quickly their money can disappear.
Even worse, six months after a student graduates, when he or she gets their loan payment schedule, they will
Money or sex: which topic causes the most trouble within a relationship? A recently released Money Habits and Confessions Survey, conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of LearnVest, suggests that the answer is… money.
Finances were a greater source of relationship tension than sex, according to 68% of survey respondents. Incompatibility with finances can even
Consider the stereotype of stodgy old codgers, set in their ways. Unable or unwilling to accept changes and handle risk, these overly cautious folks allow opportunities to pass them by. Could this stereotype fit baby boomers in their approach to retirement? Perhaps, given that a new survey from Legg Mason suggests that boomers are falling
You’ve decided to pass your home on to your children, but you haven’t settled on the best method to transfer ownership. You are also questioning whether you want to stay in the home or downsize to a smaller place. What factors should you be considering as you make your decision?
Start by reviewing the typical
Financial advisors tell us to save money for various reasons – save for an emergency fund, save up for a down payment on your home, save for retirement, save for your children’s college educations – but is it possible for savings to go too far, and does it matter how you save?
Recessions tend to
Whether you are sending your kids off to kindergarten or to college, back-to-school time means a serious dent in your wallet. With some planning, however, you can limit the size of that dent. Here are some helpful hints:
Set A Budget – As with any shopping run, if you do not make a list and
As we age, our cognitive skills begin to decline and our ability to take proper care of our finances begins to fade. When you hit that point in life, you run the risk of missing bill payments and losing track of other important account information. What do you do when that time approaches?
Start by
If you work in the private sector, you likely have access to a 401(k) plan that allows you to put aside a portion of your paycheck toward a tax-deferred retirement account. However, government and certain non-profit employees have alternative investment opportunities that are unavailable to the general public.
The alternatives for government employees are known
Do you know how much you pay in fees for the handling and management of your investments? If not, how do you know you are getting the best value for your money?
Fees cut into retirement savings more than most people realize, because they are essentially compounded along with your earnings. The Securities and Exchange
Welcome to your 50s! You have reached a milestone – one that seemed far away not that long ago. Where did the time go? Now that you have finally extinguished the flames from your birthday cake, you may want to think one stage ahead and review your retirement plans. Age 50 may have arrived quickly,
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “Power of Attorney” on a TV lawyer show, or even from a real lawyer. Ever wonder what it means?
What is Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney (POA) is a document granting one person or organization (typically called an agent or attorney-in-fact) the authority to act on the behalf
Life can get hectic fast and people can easily allow certain tasks to fall through the cracks. Unfortunately, sometimes we never remember to complete those tasks — or even what those tasks were — and it can end up costing you your hard-earned money.
For example, you may forget to leave a forwarding address with
For those who have invested unwisely or not saved much money for retirement, the bridge to Social Security income is clear — keep working. If you still have debts you want to pay off before retirement, the free Debt Optimizer by MoneyTips can help you reduce your interest payments and lower your debt. However, if
How do you know that your bank is the best one for you? You can consult all the advertising flyers and conventional information available at bank branches — or you can do some homework on the fundamentals of your bank with help from the online Bank Data Guide from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
We all have heard the cliché that men never ask for directions. That may or may not be true on the road, but a new survey refutes the stereotype with respect to finances.
A recent survey by Country Financial finds that in a wide range of basic financial topics, men are more likely to ask
Sunday, July 23, is Parents’ Day, which was established when President Clinton signed a Congressional Resolution into law in 1994 to recognize, uplift, and support the role of parents in raising children. At some point when those children are grown, however, it often becomes their responsibility to care for their aging parents. It is an
Retirement represents a new stage in your life. It’s a time of change and opportunity. To make the most of your opportunities, you must make sure that one aspect of your life does not change – your good credit score.
A recent survey by the credit bureau TransUnion found that over 30% of Baby Boomers
Nothing is as easy as it seems. If life were easy, we could solve the financing gaps in Social Security in five simple words – eliminate the cap, problem solved.
Life isn’t easy In the words of H.L. Mencken, for every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. Nothing is
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