Retirement

Social Security benefits and your savings can be taxed. But in general, older Americans’ tax bills go down. If you dread tax day every year, here’s a bit of good news: Your tax burden probably will lighten when you retire. You’ll still pay taxes on income you receive from sources that haven’t been taxed yet,

Retirement investments that are fine in tax-sheltered accounts can generate big headaches without that protection. Vanguard’s target date funds are a case in point. Tax bills are bad enough when you know they are coming. When they are unexpected and large, and come from what seemed like a safe and reliable place, they are infuriating.

A growing array of investment options make it easier to put digital tokens alongside traditional investments. Here’s what to know. Larry David travels through the ages, pooh-poohing many of the world’s greatest innovations — indoor plumbing, the dishwasher and, lastly, cryptocurrency. “Don’t be like Larry,” the Super Bowl commercial urges. “Don’t miss out on the

Shortly after the Biden administration announced that it was taking steps toward regulating cryptocurrencies, the Department of Labor issued a message of its own: Crypto doesn’t belong in most employees’ retirement accounts — and the department intends to investigate some plans that already offer the option. The department did not go as far as banning

Several U.S. states have announced plans to sever or reconsider their financial ties to Russia, with moves ranging from outright divestment, as in the case of the Connecticut pension system, to restrictions on the sale of Russian vodka in Iowa and Ohio. The rapid-fire decisions in state capitals, by both Republicans and Democrats, came as

Many older Americans like to ease into being an ex-worker — but you need to think carefully about just how to get there. Pat Sterner, who runs her own business consulting for nonprofits in Duluth, Minn., would love to retire and spend more time kayaking on Lake Superior. In the summer, she says, her neighbors

Stocks and bonds are core investments. Now, Vanguard is suggesting that retirees willing and able to bear the risk may want a stock target of 50 percent. The stock market can provide eye-popping term returns but can also be counted on to produce big losses. High-quality bonds, on the other hand, typically generate modest returns

The national network of Social Security customer service offices, which were closed nearly two years ago at the start of the pandemic, is on track to reopen on March 30. The Social Security Administration and unions representing the agency’s work force agreed this week to reopen more than 1,200 offices, contingent on changes in pandemic

Everyone, sometime or another, dreams of quitting. For millions, the fantasy is real. More than 4.5 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in November alone — the highest one-month total on record. Much of the turnover has been in hospitality, retail and other lower-wage jobs that have been particularly challenging during the pandemic. But the

Conventional investing wisdom says that the older you get, the less of your financial assets should be in the stock market. One frequently heard justification is that stocks rise reliably in the long run but can fluctuate a lot in the short run and that if you’re old, you don’t have time to recover from

As life spans grow, a small subspecialty of financial planners address multiple stages of old age. When Cynthia Hutchins started her career as a financial planner in the 1980s, the concept of “retirement” was simple and straightforward. Most of her clients envisioned a few years of leisure after their full-time careers ended, with a pension,

Living longer can mean having a longer career, whether by choice or necessity. Stopping and starting isn’t easy, but it might be worth it. You’re probably going to need to work longer than you imagined when you were first starting out. After all, you might live to be 100. So let’s call it a 50-year

Pinterest pledged $50 million to overhaul its corporate culture and promote diversity as part of an agreement to resolve allegations that it discriminated against women and people of color, according to court documents and statements from the plaintiffs and the company. The settlement was announced on Wednesday by Seth Magaziner, the general treasurer of Rhode

As an aspiring entrepreneur, you may have a good idea, but tread lightly before using retirement savings as capital. Renee Edwards has wanted to be her own boss since she first heard the name Warren Buffett. “I’ve been following him for a long time,” she said of the Berkshire Hathaway chief executive and revered investor.

Overconfidence is bad, and women are less likely to fall victim to it. Merrill was a guy, and so was Lynch. Goldman? A dude, and Sachs as well. Charles Schwab is a man, and so was E.F. Hutton. Gordan Gekko was an alpha male. And Jordan Belfort, the Wolf of Wall Street? Total bro. Heroes

Fund investors are rarely asked what concerns them or how they’d vote. But now, several measures aim to do that. Still, it’s just a start, our columnist says. When you buy shares of a publicly traded company, you’re a part owner and, in theory, have a right to vote on some important matters that come

The Labor Department proposed rule changes on Wednesday that would make it easier for retirement plans to add investment options based on environmental and social considerations — and make it possible for such options to be the default setting upon enrollment. In a reversal of a Trump-era policy, the Biden administration’s proposal makes clear that

Robert S. Kaplan will exit his role as head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas next month. Eric S. Rosengren, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is also retiring earlier than planned. Eric S. RosengrenSteven Senne/Associated Press Robert S. KaplanAnn Saphir/Reuters Two Federal Reserve officials embroiled in controversy for trading securities

Some Black and Hispanic millennials are looking to alternatives like real estate or entrepreneurship, or to trading stock on their own. Raul Duplessi became intrigued with the stock market nearly 15 years ago, when he landed his first job as a hotel doorman in Manhattan and a TV near his workstation played financial news on

Find someone wiser than you, check your credit report and taxes, and stop catastrophizing. This is how you can do it. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe your hours were cut. Or maybe you had to take over caregiving responsibilities. If your income fell precipitously in the last 18 months — even if things have