My Comments: This was written nearly 5 years ago but the message since then has only gotten louder. As more of us get older, and we stay alive, where the money comes from to keep us alive is increasingly in question. We joke about it often, but unless we are willing to let people starve …
Category: Financial Planning
The Unraveling Is Gathering Speed
My Comments: Yesterday, I posted an article that suggested what you might expect over the next six years if you are a generic investor. You have money positioned here and there across the globe in traditional investments. Today I post an article that posits further evidence that we have structural problems that need resolution. The …
Life Insurance and Retirement
My Comments: This is not an easy idea to talk about. The article came from someone critical of Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman, who argue that premiums for life insurance in retirement are an extravagance. Some of the assumptions made by the author can be questioned, but the overall theme is essentially correct. Personally, I’ve …
5 Annuity Questions With Rational Answers
My Comments: Every year, many BILLIONs of dollars flow from the pockets of Americans into a financial contract called an "annuity”. Originally, the idea was to give an insurance company some of your money, and they would agree to send it back to you, with interest, over time. Over the years, the sophistication of these …
A Major Surge in Atmospheric Warming Is Probably Coming in the Next Five Years
My Comments: I claim no technical expertise regarding meteorological events. But I do get alarmed when certain people get put in critical decision making roles who have less expertise than I do. People like the Senator from Oklahoma who is now the leading advocate in the US Congress regarding what to do about climate change. …
Continue reading A Major Surge in Atmospheric Warming Is Probably Coming in the Next Five Years
Long-Term Care and Who Will Pay For It
My Comments: Selling long-term care insurance has been a tough sell for me. It’s less appealing than life insurance and statistically, it’s less likely to happen than death. It’s an emotionally charged issue that’s hard to deal with rationally. The major player in the long-term care insurance policy world is Genworth Financial. They’re on the …
A Stand-in For The Fiduciary Standard?
My Comments: I apologize for continuing to push this issue. But as a fiduciary, I’m bound to give advice that results in what is best for the client, legally, morally and ethically. That Wall Street firms resist this is not in your best interest. Meanwhile, I received an angry call this week from a group …
Medical Identity Theft Rising Fast
My Comments: If ever there was a 21st century crime, this is it. We’ve all read about what happened to Target Stores and others where customer information was stolen. What we don’t often think about in this context are our own medical records, scattered across the health care landscape which we inhabit. I’ve been aware …
QLACs Change the Game in Social Security Timing
My Comments: If you know about Social Security plannning, as I claim to do, the prevailing wisdom is to delay taking your benefits for as long as possible. The argument is that each year you wait, you increase the size of your payments by 8%, even before the expected annual increase due to inflation. What …
Continue reading QLACs Change the Game in Social Security Timing
Put Your Retirement Plan on Steroids
My Comments: First, this assumes you have a retirement plan and that you have tried to answer the question “How Much Is Enough?”. Second, your answer to this question is still open to debate. And three, you actually have earned income that needs to be reported. In a perfect world, we would have a way …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 