It's been a wild week in the stock market, and that has a lot of investors worried. If you're concerned that a near-term stock market crash will destroy your retirement plans by sending the value of your savings plummeting, you're in good company. But here are a few steps you can take to prevent that unwanted scenario. 1. Make sure you're invested appropriately for your age When you have several decades of [...]

From dealing with unexpected medical costs to supporting adult children, Americans often find themselves facing expenses they weren't anticipating in their golden years. Plus, it's harder to save for retirement today than it was 50 years ago. Over 30% of Americans plan to continue working after they retire, according to a 2019 survey by TD Ameritrade. If you're not sure how long you'll need to work or what to expect when [...]

The ideal retirement means different things to different people. Some envision themselves living in a peaceful cottage in the countryside, some dream about travelling the world and visiting all the places they didn’t get the chance to visit in their youth, others would very much enjoy spending more time with their families and so on. No matter how you’d like to spend your retirement, the ultimate goal is to enjoy [...]

For millions of retirement savers, the pandemic was a gut punch. There was the jarring stock market drop in March 2020, then millions lost their jobs, health insurance and ability to fund their savings. The pandemic stymied adults who hadn’t started saving for retirement, the number of workers taking withdrawals from their 401(k)s last year jumped, and some companies cut their 401(k) matching contributions. John F. Wasik, a writer for The [...]

Reaching age 50 is a milestone that most of us celebrate. Still, after you’ve blown out the candles and bid farewell to your guests, you may have a headache from too much champagne, but otherwise feel the same as before. Wake up! This is the time to reassess and make sure that your financial plan is in order. If you push it off until later, you may make serious mistakes that will [...]

An individual retirement account, or IRA, is a powerful savings tool for retirement. But there are a few tricks you might not know to make the most of your retirement savings account. Here are four unexpected ways to level up your IRA. 1. Get paid to contribute If you're struggling to contribute to your IRA, the federal government wants to help you out. You can receive a tax credit just for [...]