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Every year, the Internal Revenue Service announces cost-of-living adjustments that affect contribution limits for retirement plans and various tax deduction, exclusion, exemption, and threshold amounts. Here are a few of the key…

It’s probably safe to say that most people choose an investment with an eye toward adding financial value to their portfolio. Over the past two decades, however, many investors have added another…

The MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks developed markets outside of the United States, advanced 15% in 2023, while U.S. stocks in the S&P 500 Index returned 24%.1 One of the world’s hottest…

The SECURE 2.0 Act, part of the federal spending bill passed in late 2022, ushered in new rules for workplace retirement accounts. For instance, starting in 2026, workplace plan participants with $145,000…

Given the potential for stock and bond markets to fluctuate widely, it’s easy to see why many near-retirees come to appreciate fixed annuities : insurance contracts that guarantee a specified rate of…

Individual bonds and bond funds can both provide an income stream, but there are important differences. An individual bond can offer more certainty and stability than a fund, while a fund can…

Can Productivity Keep Driving the U.S. Economy? Productivity of U.S. workers increased by 2.7% in 2023 : well above the average annual rate of 2.1% since the end of World War II,…

Life insurance has long been recognized as a useful way to provide for your heirs and loved ones when you die. While naming your policy’s beneficiaries should be a relatively simple task,…

Academic researchers have been exploring how investors’ personalities might affect their financial decisions and wealth outcomes. In one study, three finance professors (Dr. Zhengyang Jiang from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management,…

In July 2023, the Department of Education launched a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan for federal student loans called the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The SAVE Plan is the…

Economists and investors pay attention to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) not only for information about the health of U.S. factories but also for clues about…

Estate planning is the process of managing and preserving your assets while you are alive, and conserving and controlling their distribution after your death. There are four key estate planning documents almost…

It’s difficult to reach a destination unless you know where you’re heading. Yet only 51% of workers or their spouses have tried to estimate the savings they would need to live comfortably…

The start of a new year is typically a time when people resolve to implement or recommit themselves to a personal financial goal. This year, why not consider opening a 529 plan…

The end of the year is a time for holiday shopping, and many consumers face the new year with high credit card bills. If that sounds familiar, you might wish you had…

Your most valuable asset may be your ability to earn an income. Over the course of your lifetime, you could earn several million dollars : money that helps support you and your…

As you plan for retirement, you might not give credit a second thought, especially if your plan includes paying off your mortgage and other debts, and relying more on cash than credit.…

Tax Season News and Survival Tips It’s not easy to keep up with complex tax laws that always seem to be changing, much less figure out how they might affect you personally.…