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If you are one of the many people who are averse to reading prospectuses, let me explain something: Prospectuses are like martial arts. They can teach you self-defense.... more

Members of Generation Z (ages 12 to 27) are continuing to move into the workforce, and they are beginning to save for retirement. If you were born between 1997 and 2012, let's talk.... more

There are many research tools available to help you pick stocks for your portfolio.... more

If you find you need to contact your brokerage firm's customer support department, but you can't remember the phone number, you might go online to a search engine to find the contact information -- an... more

Numerous changes to retirement accounts have come through two SECURE Acts, which took effect in 2020 and 2022. Yet one thing has remained constant: the age eligibility for making a tax-free withdrawal... more

If you have a My Social Security online account, there is a change coming to the way you log in.... more

Last week (July 19), the IRS and the Treasury Department issued final regulations that settle some debated issues about required minimum distributions (RMDs) for beneficiaries of inherited retirement ... more

A recent column of mine ("Wondering About Spousal Social Security Benefits?") raised some questions about spousal benefits, specifically about a "combination of benefits."... more

As we discussed last week, it's vitally important to understand family dynamics when preparing a will and planning an estate. In fact, books have been written about legal disputes that arise when thin... more

There’s a huge wealth transfer coming to the next generation -- more than $84 trillion through 2045, most of which ($53 trillion) is represented by transfers from the baby boomer generation, according... more

The oldest Generation Xers (those born between 1965 and 1980) are turning 60 next year. If you're one of them, you'll have a lot to think about since retirement is on the near horizon. Are you prepare... more

Are you considering investing in the stock market for the first time, but are hesitating? If you are serious about taking the plunge, think of your situation in terms of behavior change. That is, thin... more

Are your retirement savings on track?... more

So far, the IRS has processed 144 million tax returns through May 10, 2024 (tinyurl.com/5t59f7xm). Most (137,394 million) were e-filed either by the taxpayer or a tax professional.... more

Say you own the stock of a company whose earnings increased dramatically over the last quarter. Expecting a nice bump up in price, you see the stock price heading in the opposite direction.... more

If you have a Social Security number, you also have something else: the possibility of someone trying to scam you. The methods being used by scammers are getting more and more bold, and if victims fol... more

From time to time, readers of this column send me questions on topics of concern that relate to spouses. A particularly prickly topic is how Social Security retirement benefits work when a spouse dies... more

Have you hidden financial information from your spouse (financial infidelity)? Are you overcompensating when sending money to your adult children (financial enabling)?... more

Do you have bonds in your investment portfolio but have not found a good way for tracking their performance? The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority offers an online solution to your problem -- wi... more

If you are a seasoned do-it-yourself investor who lived through the dot-com bubble, the financial crisis and the coronavirus market, think back to 2000.... more

There are about a billion reasons for close to a million people to pay special attention to this tax column, even though Tax Day, April 15, has come and gone.... more

Does the post office come to mind when you're expecting a tax refund? Here's why it should be.... more

Since it's April (Financial Literacy Month), we need to talk about raising "public awareness about the importance of financial literacy." I'm borrowing that phrase from the Jump$tart Coalition for Per... more

The IRS estimates that 146 million individual tax returns would be filed for tax year 2023 (tinyurl.com/4acck2ja), and as of March 15, more than 71.5 million individual income tax returns had been fil... more

A reader reached out with a question about interest the IRS charges on tax underpayments.... more

Have you seen TV or direct mail ads for reverse mortgages? I'm going to guess that you have, especially recently, since the volume of mail ads has increased dramatically over the last few years.... more

I recently received a call from a reader with an interesting dilemma. "Meryl's" husband was about to retire. The couple had used a few traditional stockbrokers whom they enjoyed working with over the ... more

Do you suffer fear of missing out, or FOMO? Are you preoccupied with the thought that you should have purchased a stock before a massive gain? Stocks like Super Micro Computer and Carvana (both up abo... more