Retirement Deserves a Strategy, Not a Guess Life rarely follows a straight path. It’s full of transitions—some expected, others surprising. Career changes, marriage, divorce, inheritance, the birth of a child, or the passing of a loved one—each event has the power to reshape your financial picture in significant ways. Among these transitions, retirement is arguably […]
Retirement
Retirement Income Security
Why Smart Planning Matters Now More Than Ever
The past few years have been a whirlwind for retirees and investors. After nearly two decades of low inflation and relatively calm markets, the post-pandemic world has brought economic surprises that few saw coming: surging inflation, sharp interest rate hikes, and significant market volatility.
Financial Relativity
Time travel is a classic movie staple, to the point where you can hardly venture into your neighborhood metroplex without seeing someone in a rush to get to the past or the future. In The Terminator, Skynet sent a Cyberdine Systems Model 101 (aka the T-800, aka Arnold Schwarzenegger) into the past to kill John Connor’s mother. In Back to the Future Part II, Marty McFly drives his DeLorean 30 years ahead to save his son from sabotaging his family’s future. And in Avengers: Endgame, the gang goes back to 2012 New York to steal the Time Stone, Mind Stone, and Space Stone to keep Thanos from snapping his finger and exterminating half of all life in the universe.
Former Baltimore City prosecutor Marilyn Mosby committed fraud, against her future self. That may sound melodramatic in a movie trailer. But should she really be facing punishment for it?
Was the 401(k) a Mistake?
Retirement sure has changed, hasn’t it? A century ago, it meant slowing down a bit as you got old and frail, but still working until you dropped. In the 1950s and 60s, it meant collecting a gold watch and living off a company-sponsored pension along with health benefits and Social Security. But, supporting retired workers is expensive, and companies grew to resent those obligations. So, in 1980, a Philadelphia benefits consultant named Ted Benna realized that Section 401(k) of the Revenue Act of 1978 could let his employees “defer” part of their paycheck into a deferred compensation plan. Just two years later, 7.5 million American workers were using the new plan to save. Today, there are over 710,000 plans covering more than 70 million Americans, holding over $7 trillion in assets.