August 2009 - Posts
The Wall Street Journal, August 27th, 2009AARP and other self-styled senior lobbies are raising a ruckus over
the news that in 2010, for the first time in 35 years, Social Security
recipients won't be getting a cost of living increase in their monthly
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Forbes, August 26th, 2009Many variable annuity skeptics are taking a second look at these
complex insurance-investment hybrids that hold your money in a mutual
fund look-alike, have a life insurance death benefit and offer
income-for-life guarantees.
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The New York Times, August 26th, 2009When Harvey Clavon took out an exotic mortgage to refinance his home in
Santa Clarita, Calif., three years ago, he thought he knew what he was
doing.Mr. Clavon, 63, was planning to sell the home in a few years and
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Bloomberg, August 13th, 2009Sales of so-called immediate
annuities are climbing as retirees are drawn to lifetime
payments guaranteed by U.S. insurance companies.
Immediate annuities pay a periodic fixed amount of money
for life in exchange
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USA Today, August 25th, 2009Quick question: How much are 401(k) fees removing from your retirement nest egg each year?
If you are either unaware of such fees or don't
know their amounts, don't worry: Nearly 83% of Americans don't know,
either, according
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Bloomberg, August 25th, 2009Assets in U.S. variable annuities
rose the most in 17 years in the second quarter as stock markets
surged and savers invested more than in the prior three months.
Total assets were $1.19 trillion as of June 30,
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The New York Times, August 23rd, 2009For 10 days in June, Kristen Murphy chose to live somewhere she and many others fear: a nursing home. Ms. Murphy, who is in perfect health, had to learn the best way to
navigate a wheelchair around her small room,
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San Jose Mercury-News, August 21st, 2009Ann
Tubbs and Ehtesham Majid left behind their house in Moraga more than
two years ago to enjoy the urban lifestyle of San Francisco. The
retired couple ended up renting a place in the city but eventually
hoped
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Los Angeles Times, August 20th, 2009
Optimistic investors tend to be more
active retirement planners than pessimists, according to data released
by Fidelity Investments today.Out of the 1,000 husbands and
wives who participated in Fidelity’s survey,
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The New York Times, August 21st, 2009Sales of previously owned homes surged in July as buyers stormed
back to the market, taking advantage of falling prices, lower interest
rates and a tax credit for first-time homeowners, an industry group
reported
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Editor's note: The article below is extremely technical, and intended for readers already very well versed in the details of reverse mortgage legislation and regulations. For those not yet fully versed in reverse mortgages yet, we recommend
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The New York Times, August 18th, 2009In his apartment outside Philadelphia, Frank Levine pulled a list of
prescription medications from his refrigerator, his hands shaking
slightly. There was metformin HCl and glipizide for his diabetes; lisinopril
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The New York Times, August 18th, 2009In nature, every action has consequences, a phenomenon called the
butterfly effect. These consequences, moreover, are not necessarily
proportional. For example, doubling the carbon dioxide we belch into
the atmosphere
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Forbes, August 18th, 2009The U.S. Department of Justice
is indicting a Miami man for working with two co-conspirators in Russia
to steal 130 million credit and debit card numbers between 2006 and
2008. Breaking into the network of a payment systems
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Minneapolis Star-Tribune, August 17th, 2009Three years ago, Tracy Beckman moved out of the house -- five years
after his wife, Janel, was diagnosed with what probably is Alzheimer's
disease.
"I just didn't know how to deal with it," said Beckman, 64,
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The New York Times, August 16th, 2009IN the 1980s, I worked as a respiratory therapist in intensive-care
units in the Midwest, taking care of elderly, dying patients on
ventilators. I remember marveling, along with the young doctors and
nurses I worked
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The Washington Post, August 9th, 2009
Reverse mortgages have been around for nearly 20 years, but it wasn't
until the current financial crisis that they caught on. Seniors are
turning to these loans to tap the equity in their homes and generate
tax-free
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Norwich Bulletin, July 20th, 2009Typically used for income during retirement, reverse mortgages are
finding their way into the affluent marketplace as a vehicle for
advanced planning.
Paul Savery, a reverse mortgage consultant with Wells Fargo Home
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 11th, 2009The couple has spent several weeks trying to straighten out the
problem, and they hope their story can be a cautionary tale for the
thousands of other seniors, here and elsewhere, who head south for the
winter.
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Montgomery Advertiser, August 11th, 2009The mass baby boomer re tirement anticipated over the next 20-30 years
is expected to create an overall U.S. labor shortage of 35 million
workers.That's potentially good news for future retirees who either want
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Miami Herald, August 9th, 2009 Americans have been losing their jobs
in droves, yet one group has gained ground in employment during this
recession: workers 55 and older.The reason - economic necessity - says a lot about what aging baby boomers may
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Washington Post, August 10th, 2009
Reverse mortgages have been around for nearly 20 years, but it wasn't
until the current financial crisis that they caught on. Seniors are
turning to these loans to tap the equity in their homes and generate
tax-free
Read More
Birmingham Post, August 6th, 2009Anyone faced with funding long-term health care should look beyond equity release schemes or selling their homes.
That
is the message from a West Midland firm of independent financial
advisers keen to show that forward
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Reuters, August 7th, 2009When Illinois was
facing at least $55 billion in unfunded pension liabilities
back in March, Governor Pat Quinn outlined what he called "bold
reform" for the state's retirement system.
In a move now being replicated
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CNN Money, August 7th, 2009Forget lazy days rocking on a creaky porch swing, these days working is the new retirement. Last
year's severe market losses left many once-healthy retirement accounts
depleted, forcing many seniors to put their retirement
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The News & Observer, August 5th, 2009
Q: I'm thinking about getting
disability protection from a private company. If I become disabled and
have a private policy, would it reduce my Social Security disability
benefit?A: No. Your eligibility
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Bloomberg, August 5th, 2009Household income in the U.S. is
weakening as the influence of the government’s stimulus plan
wanes, prompting economists, Federal Reserve officials and a
Nobel laureate to warn that consumer spending may struggle.
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Dallas Morning News, August 3rd, 2009 Sarah Auclair wants to retire eight years from now at age 65, but, for now, that will have to remain a dream.
Auclair has nothing saved for retirement, so reaching her goal will
require a
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Times Herald-Record, August 2nd, 2009In my May 31st article, I wrote about the changes by insurance companies that are occurring with annuities today.An
annuity remains a popular vehicle to save for retirement and also has
the ability to provide you
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San Francisco Examiner, August 2nd, 2009So you find yourself disabled and unable to work. What to do? Is it
just as simple as applying for federal social security disability, and
begin receiving your earned disability checks from the government? Not
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