‘Yours Sincerely, Wasting Away’
Ultimately, I'm fatalistic about the high cost of getting old. No matter how expensive health care gets, the elderly and their families will pay no more than they are...
The Decumulation Beat
Xmas Cheer: The Debt Is Not Our Biggest Problem
Why do so many pundits and politicians, including the future director of the Office of Management and Budget, beat the debt drum so loudly and so often? It’s one...
Calculating After-Tax Social Security Benefits
A handy crib sheet recently published by Vanguard shows the formulae for calculating the portion of an individual's or couple's Social Security benefits that will be subject to ordinary...
At DCIIA Forum, Familiar Faces and Fresh Ideas
Does automatic enrollment lead to higher consumer debt? Should employers stop sponsoring retirement plans? These are other ideas were floated at the Defined Contribution Institutional Investors Association Academic Forum...
Anecdotal Evidence: How to Charm a Client
When dealing with your HNW clients and prospects, success depends less on performance or fees than on solving clients’ problems and simplifying their complex lives.
Anecdotal Evidence: Football and Financial Ads
Watching football games lets me see TV ads for financial services companies. Last weekend, I saw funny ads from E*Trade and GEICO, and a serious ad from Northwestern Mutua....
Retiring (Temporarily) to Paradise
An old friend who retired early to a hacienda by the sea in Nicaragua sent me an e-mail recently, responding to my question about his life there. His answer...
Two Definitions of ‘Best Interest’
The gap between what advisors can deliver and what clients feel that the DOL rule promises them is exactly where the plaintiff’s attorneys may focus their litigation efforts.
President ‘Id’ or President ‘Super-Ego’?
About Monday's presidential debate: It’s irresponsible for a candidate to stoke anxieties, to inflate them like toy balloons and leave them hanging in the air, without demonstrating a grasp...
Anecdotal Evidence
In this week's opinion piece: The possibility that the DOL rule will extend to taxable accounts; Vanguard's formula for calculating a safe withdrawal rate; thoughts on recent news coverage...
The Cost of Retirement Age Uncertainty
At age 23, Americans would give up as much as $1 out of every $25 of future personal spending to know exactly what year they would retire, a new...
The Great Woodstock Festival in the Sky
Sure, there will be stresses to federal and state budgets as the Boomers—with their titanium hips, Van Morrison CDs and organic green tea supplements—push the envelope of human longevity....
The Least Bad Choice for President
At a time when the country needs a smart young technocrat without baggage, we must choose between two oldsters who together carry more baggage than all the major airlines...
A Hydrologist’s View of Cash Flows in Retirement
John Walton, a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, has combined his knowledge of water with his personal curiosity about retirement income to create a "framework"...
PwC to Wealth Managers: Go Digital or Drown
'Digital has the potential to completely transform every stage of the wealth management journey, from how existing clients are advised and serviced to how prospective clients are identified and...
Where the Fiduciary Puck is Headed
'As a practical matter, the DOL rule killed the business of single product sales, and ushered in an era based on process,' said David Macchia, founder of Wealth2k, in...
Financial Groups Take DOL to Court—in Texas
RIJ believes that the federal government subsidizes the financial industry through favorable tax treatment, and that the public therefore deserves the assurance that anyone advising them on their retirement...
Donald Trump Believes What?!
Trump talked about Treasuries bonds as if they were the dispensable top-timbers on a Jenga pile, when they actually comprise the indispensable bottom tier. No, Treasuries aren't in danger...
How The British Save More for Retirement
In Britain, if you contribute £100 to your defined contribution plan and have a 25% tax rate, the government adds £25 to your account. Our system doesn't work that...
The Wealthier, The Quicker to Sell in a Downturn?
In a new research paper, a group of Big Ten economists and an IRS analyst say that wealthy people and older people are the most likely to sell in...
