What the Future of Retirement Looks Like

Dire jeremiads about America’s looming retirement crisis are so common that it seems retirementcrisis is one word. The doom-and-gloom narrative goes something like this: Spendthrift Americans aren’t saving enough, so their living standards will plunge … Continue reading

2020 Election: What Democrats Told Older Voters at the AARP Forums

Until recently, aside from talking about Medicare for All, most Democratic presidential hopefuls haven’t said much about issues of keen interest to older voters. That all changed last week, though, when they answered pointed questions at the AARP Presi… Continue reading

The Women Facing the Greatest Retirement Risk

Women in their 50s who are at the most financial risk in retirement are those who are married and in two-income households. That’s the surprising news from a recent report on women and retirement from  Prudential Financial. The finding is based on rese… Continue reading

The $3.4 Trillion Retirees Aren’t Getting From Social Security

United Income, a financial planning advisory service, just released an important study called, “The Retirement Solution Hiding In Plain Sight.” Using government data and proprietary software, it calculates how much money retirees have lost, and are los… Continue reading

Financial Considerations For LGBTQ Couples As They Age

(Editor’s note: Covering LGBTQ issues is an ongoing Next Avenue priority, and this June, during Pride Month, we are publishing a special LGBTQ-focused series. We started with a guide to LGBTQ allyship, followed by a Q&A with Frank DeCaro about his … Continue reading

Retiring on Next to Nothing in America

(In her blistering new book, Downhill From Here: Retirement Insecurity in the Age of Inequality, sociologist Katherine S. Newman paints a bleak picture of the state of retirement in America. The book comes from two years of analysis and 300 interviews … Continue reading

8 Policy Changes to Let Older Workers Work Longer

Most government policy proposals addressing Americans’ financial insecurity about retirement focus on boosting retirement savings. Tweaking 401(k) rules, creating mandatory universal retirement savings plans, that sort of thing. But there’s another app… Continue reading

Make the Retirement Planning Reality Check Work for You

(The following excerpt is from Retirement Game-Changers: Strategies for a Healthy, Financially Secure, and Fulfilling Long Life, by Steve Vernon. Published by Rest-of-Life Communications. Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. The book is available at … Continue reading

Congress Takes a New Look at the Safety Net

The first two federal safety net programs, Social Security and Unemployment Insurance, will turn 65 next year. This historic milestone is being preceded by a new focus from the new Congress on how the government’s safety net programs are performing and… Continue reading

Barreling Towards Retirement, With 10 Years Between Us

When my wife, Evelyne, and I got married 27 years ago, the absolute last thing on our minds was retirement. Fast forward 27 years, with me now 66 and Evelyne turning 56 in a few months, and retirement is fast-becoming one of the first things on our min… Continue reading