Social Security isn't designed to sustain retirees without other income. Those benefits pay the average senior around $1,500 a month, or $18,000 a year, and for many older Americans, that's not enough income. It's for this reason that workers today are encouraged to save independently for retirement, and when we think about doing that, we usually land on tools like IRAs or 401(k) plans. But there's another powerful long-term savings tool you [...]

TWIN LAKES — The community is rallying behind local police officer Joe Patla after village officials voted to send his partner Rex for “retraining” rather than allow Patla to purchase the dog when he leaves the department to take a position elsewhere. An online petition to keep the pair together has collected more than 2,000 signatures. Some of those who have signed the petition contend it was community donations that covered [...]

Your retirement isn’t a game of chance. It is not something to “hope for the best” about, trusting that a landslide of cash will shortly flow our way. That’s not the way retirement works. And believe it or not, that’s a good thing. You have more control over your retirement than you might think. “You win at this game when your savings are sufficient to support the retirement lifestyle you want,” [...]

You may have a very idealistic vision of retirement — doing all of the things that you never seem to have time to do now. But how do you pursue that vision? Social Security may be around when you retire, but the benefit that you get from Uncle Sam may not provide enough income for your retirement years. To make matters worse, few employers today offer a traditional company pension [...]

Anybody who took a required minimum distribution from a retirement account in 2020 should take a look at new IRS guidance that says those who took a 2020 RMD can roll the money back into a retirement plan by August 31. IRS Notice 2020-51 provides rollover relief with respect to waived RMDs, permits repayments to inherited IRAs, and includes Q&As for employers and employees navigating the 2020 RMD waivers and rollovers. [...]

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 30% of Americans have withdrawn from their emergency fund prematurely. The percentage is significantly higher for millennials: 45% of millennials have tapped their emergency fund, compared to 32% of Gen X and 16% of boomers. The harsh reality is the snowball effect this creates. People are having difficulty managing their current expenses, driving the need to access emergency funds just to get by. What does that do [...]