Insights

You don’t have to stop working when you start collecting Social Security. But depending on your age and earnings, continuing to work can affect your benefits, taxes, and Medicare costs. Here’s what retirees need to know.

Wall Street ended last week on solid footing, with each of the benchmark indexes listed here posting notable weekly gains, capped by a Friday rally. The market was buoyed by strong Q2 corporate earnings results and a cooler-than-expected labor report, which quelled immediate fears of aggressive monetary tightening in the near term.

Should federal employees invest outside the TSP? Learn when an IRA makes sense, compare Roth and Traditional options, and maximize retirement savings.

The last week of July was an event-heavy one for Wall Street. Investors had to evaluate the impact of significant Q2 earnings results, a Federal Reserve rate decision, the latest gross domestic product report, and more inflation data.

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Most people assume Medicare will cover their healthcare costs when they retire. If you retire before 65, you are responsible for finding and funding your own health insurance until Medicare begins. For many people, that coverage comes through the Health Insurance Marketplace, and those costs can be significant enough to affect the shape of an entire retirement income plan.

Despite a broad-based rally last Friday, stocks generally closed the week lower. With the exception of the Global Dow, each of the benchmark indexes listed here ended last week in the red. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East have wreaked havoc with crude oil prices, which jumped to over $100/barrel last Thursday, only to plunge to about $90/barrel by the end of the week.

Most people spend years planning for retirement income. They model withdrawal rates, stress-test portfolios, and carefully sequence which accounts to draw from first. What very few of them plan for is the possibility that earning one dollar too much could cost them thousands. That is exactly what IRMAA does.