The financial news that actually matters
A retiree who wants to support a favorite charity and happens to hold stock that has soared in value faces a choice with very different tax outcomes. Selling the shares and donating the cash triggers a capital-gains tax bill on the profit. Handing the shares themselves to the charity does not. Donating appreciated stock directly…
Most retirement accounts never pass through a will. An IRA, a 401(k), or a life-insurance policy moves directly to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, skipping the delay and expense of probate court. That convenience disappears the moment the form names the wrong party, or names no one at all. When an IRA owner…
A Social Security check enjoys a level of legal protection that most income does not, but that shield has holes, and they are all on the government’s side. Federal law generally keeps benefits out of reach of private creditors, so a credit-card company or a hospital cannot garnish a retiree’s monthly payment the way it…
Health savings accounts carry a quiet rule that reshapes how they work in retirement. During a person’s working years, an HSA generally cannot be used to pay insurance premiums without triggering tax. Turning 65 flips that: once the account holder reaches Medicare age, HSA money can cover most Medicare premiums with no tax at all….
A single Social Security record can support more than one person at a time. A retired or disabled worker’s spouse and children may each qualify for a benefit based on that worker’s earnings, and on paper those add-on benefits can stack up quickly. Social Security caps how much a family can pull from one record,…
Savers who chose a Roth 401(k) at work used to face an odd penalty for their planning: even though the money grew tax-free and came out tax-free, the government still forced annual withdrawals once they hit their seventies, the same as a traditional pretax account. A change in the retirement law swept that mismatch away….
For many older homeowners, a paid-off house is the largest asset they will ever leave behind, and how that house changes hands after death can cost an estate months of waiting and thousands of dollars in fees. A transfer-on-death deed offers one way to move a home directly to a chosen heir the moment the…
A home-equity line of credit is often held in reserve — a source of cash a homeowner can draw on in an emergency and otherwise leave untouched. That sense of a guaranteed backstop is where the trouble hides. Federal rules let a lender freeze new draws or shrink the credit limit when a home loses…
Older Americans remain a leading target for financial exploitation, and the losses often come from someone the victim knows — a relative, a caregiver, or a stranger who has spent weeks building trust. Families frequently learn of the damage only after the savings are gone. One low-cost safeguard sits unused on most bank and brokerage…
A Series I savings bond can look like a set-and-forget purchase, but its rate is anything but fixed. The interest a Series I bond pays changes every six months, and a bond bought during a stretch of high inflation can quietly step down to a fraction of its original yield without the owner doing anything…