I hear from many people who have worked hard to build substantial retirement savings ask: “If I have $5 million or more, do I really need long-term care insurance?” It’s a fair question, but retirement savings and long-term care insurance are not competing goals. One builds your future, and the other helps protect it. Here’s…
Those of you working for an employer who offers various benefits—such as health insurance and access to a retirement plan—know you’re soon going to get pinged that it’s time to review your benefits for 2027. I want you to actually open the email (or snail mail) and review everything carefully. Next week’s letter will offer…
I have some not-necessarily-surprising bad news for those of you with health insurance provided by your employer. Employers expect the cost of providing health benefits to rise an average of 8.2% in 2027. That doesn’t mean your share of your workplace health insurance will rise 8.2%. But it is likely that many employers will pass…
Every year, Social Security benefits are adjusted to account for inflation. We will get the official word on how big the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be for 2027 in the middle of October. The expectation is that benefits will rise 3.6%. As I have explained before, the fact that Social Security benefits rise…
A recent survey found that the majority of Gen Z and Millennials want to break out of working for someone and run their own business. The potential to “control their destiny” is the main motivation, and that makes plenty of sense. But it has to make financial sense too. I have a few rules for…
Someone who turns 65 this year and is enrolled in Original Medicare will still have out-of-pocket expenses of around $185,500 to cover health care fees and expenses over the rest of their life. That’s the latest estimate from Fidelity. And it’s likely to keep rising in the coming years. This year’s $185,500 average estimate was…
More than 90% of adults recently surveyed by Wells Fargo said they want to be more intentional and thoughtful about their spending. I am here for that! I also have a simple tool to help you do just that. Every time you are about to buy something, whether it be $10 or $1,000, stop and…
Beginning last month, any U.S. citizen under the age of 18 is eligible to have a Trump Account. You know I am always in favor of starting early to save for retirement, but I don’t think every parent or grandparent should open one of these accounts for a young child. When You Should Consider a…
I realize thinking about your spouse or partner dying isn’t anyone’s idea of a fun time. But what should make you even more uncomfortable is not doing the advance planning today to make the transition for the surviving spouse as easy as possible. Ignoring this inevitability is sure to leave the surviving spouse with a…
