As you transition into retirement, it’s a good idea to adopt strategies that help protect you from significant financial losses in your later years due to mistakes, financial exploitation from unethical friends and relatives, and fraud. The recently released “Thinking Ahead Roadmap” helps you select a financial advocate who can assist you in managing your money and property at a time in your life when you might need help.

The age at which you claim Social Security helps determine how big your monthly retirement benefit checks will be for life. If you wait until your full retirement age — generally 66 or 67 — to claim, you will get 100% of what you earned based on your contributions to the program. And if you wait until 70, you will get a bigger check for waiting. But there’s no benefit [...]

When Ector turned 40, looking at a photo a friend had snapped proved an instant wake-up call. As she tells it, struggling in her marriage, drinking too much and sleeping too little had taken a toll on not only her looks but also her health. In search of a major wellness shift, she quit her job as a social worker and moved to Atlanta to pursue her dream of opening what's now her own [...]

No matter where you choose to retire, you’ll be able to sleep in late, go for long walks in the afternoon and work on that book you always wanted to write. But when it comes to your budget, health, safety and overall quality of life, the state you live in really does matter. Every year, multiple studies claim they can show you which states are best or worst for retirement. [...]

If you're like most Americans, your retirement accounts could be your biggest asset. And if you have a financial emergency, the absence of available cash could make them look like a good option. But tapping into these types of accounts could cost you big in the long run. Here's how.

After saving up for decades to retire, many Americans are excited to finally stop working and enjoy their free time. Yet for some, switching to a spending mindset after being so focused on saving can be a difficult transition. “There’s a lot of unknows and if there hasn’t been detailed planning or a high-level overview, someone might enter retirement with a lot of stress and anxiety,” said Anjali Jariwala, certified [...]