How Will AI Affect Financial Planning for Retirement?
Artificial intelligence is moving from niche note‑taking utilities to comprehensive data‑overlay platforms that can synthesize a client’s accounts, tax returns, and CRM notes in a single query. Advisors who adopt these tools can model tax‑efficient withdrawal strategies, such as allocating a $50,000 distribution across IRA and taxable accounts to stay within the 12% bracket. For DIY retirees, chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT already provide nuanced guidance on Social Security timing and inflation risk. The technology is not a replacement for human judgment but a catalyst for deeper, more proactive retirement planning.
Why Do Older Sellers Get Less Money for Their Homes than Younger Sellers?
A new Center for Retirement Research study finds older homeowners earn lower returns when they sell, with an 80‑year‑old realizing about 0.5% less per year than a 45‑year‑old. On a median $400,000 home this translates to roughly $20,000 less revenue....
Why You Might Want to Hire Home Health Aides Through an Agency – Despite the Cost
Hiring home health aides through an agency costs more than direct hiring, but offers structured recruitment, wage transparency, and employee benefits. First Light Home Care in suburban Boston screens hundreds of candidates and hires only about 3%, paying caregivers $19‑$24...
A Major Change May Be in the Works for Your 401(k)’s Oversight
The U.S. Department of Labor is signaling a shift away from relying on court cases to enforce ERISA duties, a practice known as “regulation by litigation.” 401(k) lawsuits have climbed from 49 in 2023 to 69 in 2025, driven largely...
Uncertainty Around Social Security, Taxes, and Healthcare Is Bad for Households – and the Economy
Recent research by Greenwald Research, partnered with Jackson National Life, surveyed 1,443 near‑retirees and retirees with at least $100,000 in investable assets about policy uncertainty surrounding Social Security, Medicare, taxes and federal debt. The findings reveal that 21% of unretired...
Annuities in 401(k) Plans Aren’t All Their Cracked Up to Be
A new study from the Center reveals that 83% of retirees encounter unexpected expenses each year, averaging about 10% of their annual income. To cover such shocks over a 25‑year retirement, households need an emergency fund ranging from $200,000 to...
How Do Retirement Investors and Financial Advisors View and Cope with Policy Risk?
The paper investigates how rising policy uncertainty—spanning Social Security, Medicare, and fiscal policy—affects near‑retirees and retirees in the United States. Drawing on two original surveys, it finds older investors are acutely aware of the risk and are adopting defensive financial...
How Much Will Your Long-Term Care Needs Cost? It Depends on How Average You Are
Milliman’s 2025 Long‑Term Care Index estimates that a typical 65‑year‑old should earmark $135,000 for high‑intensity care, but costs diverge sharply by gender, health status and geography. Women face an average $171,000 bill versus $98,000 for men, reflecting longer lifespans. State‑level...
Stop Me Before I Open Another Account!
The article urges consumers to trim the growing tangle of credit‑card, bank, brokerage and retirement accounts that most Americans juggle. It highlights how the average U.S. adult now holds four credit cards and multiple savings, investment and inherited accounts, creating...
Americans Now Have Much More Money in IRAs than 401(k)s. Why That Leaves Workers More Vulnerable.
The U.S. private‑sector retirement system is witnessing a historic shift, with IRA balances now exceeding 401(k) assets by roughly $7 trillion. This migration moves workers’ savings out of the ERISA‑protected 401(k) framework into a less regulated IRA environment. IRAs lack the...
