Personal Finance Archives

A diverse older couple sits at a bright wooden kitchen table. The woman, with grey hair and a yellow collared shirt, smiles towards the viewer while looking at papers. The man, with grey hair and a beard, wears an orange polo shirt and glasses, holding and looking intently at a white document. A silver laptop is open on the table between them, along with a white mug, a notebook, and a white plate with two golden croissants in the foreground.

Your Spouse Can Collect Half Your Social Security Without Ever Having Worked. Claim It at 62 and Half Becomes 32.5%, for Life, and Delaying Past Full Retirement Age Adds Nothing

A spouse who never earned a paycheck can still collect Social Security, but two timing rules lock in a permanent reduction the moment she files, and one of them surprises nearly everyone who assumes…

Vilma Rios · 2 days ago Tax Master

An older Caucasian man and woman with gray hair sit at a wooden table, looking seriously at documents being pointed to by a younger Caucasian man in a white shirt, who is holding a pen and clipboard. A laptop, papers, and a white coffee mug are visible on the table, indicating a financial consultation in a modern office or home setting.

‘I Do Not Recommend Folks Stopping Insurance Just Because They’ve Retired’: Wes Moss to Brian From North Carolina on the Social Security Check That Dies With a Spouse

When Brian from North Carolina realized his retirement plan had a blind spot around life insurance, he brought it to financial planner Wes Moss, who argued both sides of the debate before revealing which…

Jake FitzGerald · 2 days ago Money Talks

The Top 10% of Earners Have a Median Net Worth of $3,669,900, and It Jumped 31% Since 2022

The Federal Reserve's latest wealth survey reveals a striking divide between what high earners typically own and what the wealthiest families hold, and the gap between those two numbers changes everything about how you…

Jake FitzGerald · 2 days ago Life After Work

A stressed young woman with brown hair tied in a bun sits at a dark table, holding a baby with light blonde hair. She wears a blue shirt and holds her eyeglasses to her temple while looking intently at a silver laptop in front of her. On the table, there are papers, a pen, a baby bottle, and a brown mug. In the blurred background, another small child with pigtails in pink pants and a purple top is visible on a brown couch.

A Record 37% of Americans Say They Have No Idea What Next Year’s Income Will Be

The Federal Reserve's latest family finance survey uncovered a striking contradiction: Americans feel more financially stable than they did during the pandemic, yet their confidence about what next year will bring just hit an…

Jake FitzGerald · 2 days ago

Senior couple, talking and lawyer with documents for financial advice, retirement plan and will at home. Old man, elderly woman and attorney with paperwork, budget negotiation and legal agreement

Workers Are Getting a $10 Million 401(k) Windfall, but a Cash Bonus Could Put Social Security Checks at Risk

Williams-Sonoma split a $200 million windfall with workers, but the way it structured the reward makes a surprising difference for employees already collecting Social Security before full retirement age.

Gerelyn Terzo · 2 days ago The Full Benefits Desk

An aerial night shot of the illuminated Las Vegas Strip. Bright purple and white Bellagio fountains spray high into the air in the foreground, with a long water feature leading to them. To the left, the golden Caesars Palace is visible. In the mid-ground, a glowing replica of the Eiffel Tower stands tall, surrounded by other brightly lit hotel-casinos like Bally's, The Venetian, and Paris Las Vegas. A large Ferris wheel, the High Roller, is visible in the distance on the right. Car lights streak on the streets below, indicating motion, and the sky is a dark blue.

What a Retired Airline Pilot’s $52,000 Pension Will Actually Buy in Las Vegas After Tax

A $52,000 airline pension looks solid on paper, but Nevada's tax advantage only solves part of the problem. The real threat is invisible and starts shrinking that check from the moment retirement begins.

David Beren · 2 days ago Life After Work

A focused, light-skinned woman with brown, shoulder-length hair sits at a desk, wearing a light beige shirt. Her right hand holds a black pen, writing on papers in a binder, while her left hand operates a black calculator. To her left, a silver laptop stands open on the desk. To her right, a light blue piggy bank is visible. The background shows a blurred, modern home interior.

Why a Retiree Over 60 Might Move $80,000 Out of a 401(k) Without Spending a Dollar of It

A retiree with untouched 401(k) savings and zero earned income sits inside a narrow tax window that most people never notice until it closes. The year she finally has time to act turns out…

Gerelyn Terzo · 2 days ago The Full Benefits Desk

A street view of a row of red brick townhouses with brownstone stoops and ornate black iron railings. Lush green trees line the sidewalk, and planters with greenery adorn the windows. An orange bicycle is parked on the sidewalk in the foreground. The sunlight creates dappled shadows on the pavement.

A 64-Year-Old Will Be the Live-In Super of a 36-Unit Brooklyn Building. The Apartment Will Be Free, and in Brooklyn That Will Be Worth $3,400 a Month

A free Brooklyn apartment worth $3,400 a month sounds like a retirement breakthrough, but the moment this 64-year-old loses the job, the apartment disappears too, and what happens next exposes a trap that catches…

David Beren · 2 days ago

An overhead view of an open white dotted notebook with 'Charitable Remainder Trust' handwritten in blue ink on the left page. A yellow ballpoint pen rests diagonally across the right page. In the upper left corner, there is a stack of orange and blue sticky notes held by a blue binder clip. A single yellow paperclip is placed above the notebook. All items are on a dark wooden surface.

Name a Charitable Remainder Trust as Your IRA Beneficiary and Your Kids Get Income for 20 Years Instead of a 10-Year Drain. Section 664 Is the Stretch IRA Congress Didn’t Kill, and Charity Gets What’s Left

Congress killed the stretch IRA in 2019, but a 55-year-old provision buried in the tax code still lets your heirs spread inherited IRA income across two full decades while keeping their tax brackets out…

Vilma Rios · 2 days ago Tax Master

Senior man, reading or finance with documents for retirement or pension fund at home. Elderly, male person or budget planning with paperwork for mortgage expenses, financial bills or invoice at house

His Doctor Will Go Concierge. He Will Pay a $2,400 Annual Fee to Stay in the Practice While Medicare Still Pays for Covered Visits. Declining the Fee Will Mean Finding a New Doctor

A letter arrives, and suddenly staying with the same doctor you have trusted for years carries a $2,400 price tag. Before you write the check or start the search for someone new, a few…

Gerelyn Terzo · 2 days ago The Full Benefits Desk

Close-up of a person's dark-skinned hand holding a dark blue United States passport and a white airline boarding pass. The boarding pass shows 'BOARDING' and '73A'. In the soft-focus background, a smiling woman wearing a light blue uniform shirt, a red and blue patterned scarf, and a red lanyard is visible.

Free Flights Won’t Show Up on a 65-Year-Old’s Pay Stub. That’s Why She’ll Take the Part-Time Job at the Southwest Ticket Counter Over One That Pays $4 More an Hour

A bigger paycheck sounds like the obvious choice, but one retiree's math reveals how a benefit that never appears on a pay stub can quietly outperform thousands of dollars in extra wages.

David Beren · 2 days ago

Roth Conversion Strategy Concept with Tax Planning, Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversion and Retirement Investment Growth

Sell $30,000 of Losing Stock Before Dec. 31 and Convert $30,000 to a Roth the Same Week, and the Loss Erases Only $3,000 of the Conversion’s Tax Bill. The Other $27,000 of Loss Waits for Future Gains

Tax-loss harvesting and Roth conversions sound like a perfect year-end pairing, but the IRS treats those two items under completely separate rules, and most people doing both moves in the same week get a…

David Beren · 2 days ago Life After Work

A senior man with white hair and beard, wearing a blue shirt, sits at a wooden table holding papers and a pen to his chin, looking thoughtful and concerned. A senior woman with white curly hair, wearing a striped shirt, stands behind him with a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking at him with empathy. A calculator and a silver laptop are visible on the table.

The Family Will Pay the Nursing Home $43,000 at the Private Rate While Dad’s Medicaid Application Sits. When It’s Approved Back to Day One, the Family Will Have to Ask Where the Refund Is

Five months of private-pay nursing home checks adds up fast, and a Medicaid approval letter with a backdated effective date changes everything the family thought was settled.

Gerelyn Terzo · 2 days ago The Full Benefits Desk

A senior Asian couple sits at a wooden kitchen counter, with the woman pointing at a silver laptop screen. She holds a white stylus, while the man in a pink shirt smiles and holds a white mug. Papers, a tablet, and a calculator are also visible on the counter.

Every Year a 62-Year-Old Skips a Roth Conversion Costs About $3,000 in Extra Tax Later. On the Average 60-to-64-Year-Old’s $246,500 401(k), the Window Is 11 Years Long

The years between retirement and required withdrawals hand most savers the lowest tax rates they will ever see again, yet the majority let that window close without acting. Here is what that silence actually…

David Beren · 2 days ago Life After Work

A focused older Black man with a grey beard and glasses, wearing a grey sweater, holds papers and points while an older white woman with short grey hair, wearing a blue shirt, points at documents on a table next to a laptop and a grey textured mug. They appear to be collaboratively reviewing financial information.

How a $10,000 Withdrawal From a $900,000 401(k) Can Make Another $8,500 of a Couple’s Social Security Taxable

A routine 401(k) withdrawal to fix a leaky roof can quietly pull a surprising chunk of Social Security benefits into taxable income, and most retirees never notice it happening until they see the final…

Gerelyn Terzo · 2 days ago The Full Benefits Desk

Personal Finance

All Personal Finance Articles