Some pension plans let retirees choose between smaller lifelong income payments or a large lump sum. If one or both spouses are in line to receive pensions, a couple should at least explore some of the possibilities for lump sum investment.
Earlier in November, we were supposed to receive the October inflation report, telling us whether our cost of living is going up or holding steady. This would have been an especially interesting report, since A) inflation has been on the rise lately, and B) the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates, which means it’s more focused on preventing a recession than fighting against rising prices. But of course, the 43-day government shutdown sent all of the Labor Department researchers and statisticians back to their living rooms, which means there will be a gap in the consumer price index data. The best...
You’ve probably heard that index funds are “passive”—meaning they don’t have a team of managers picking stocks based on research and forecasts. But that’s not entirely true. Take the S&P 500 index, for example. Despite its name, the S&P 500...
For most Americans, estate planning focuses on passing wealth to the next...
The “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks have dominated headlines during this...