What Eliminating the Social Security Tax Cap Would Mean for High Earners
Social Security needs more money, and some Congressional lawmakers want high earners to help provide it. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, are calling for the elimination of the Social Security payroll tax cap. The proposal…
3 Ways to Save at Verizon: Bring Your Phone, Buy New or Upgrade
Verizon is known for offering a variety of deals for wireless customers, and right now, the carrier is promoting several ways to save on your cell phone plan. The right deal depends on whether you’re keeping your current phone, buying a new one or…
Sitting on Large Capital Gains? This Trust Offers a Way Out, But Few Advisers Even Mention It
Fifteen years ago, Ray and Diane Kessler’s investment manager recommended a chip company she was following. They bought 125 shares of Nvidia for about $1,500, mostly to be agreeable, and then forgot about it. Two stock splits later, they hold 5,000…
My First $1 Million: Retired Media Project Manager, 68, Southern Maryland
Welcome to Kiplinger’s My First $1 Million series, in which we hear from people who have made $1 million. They’re sharing how they did it and what they’re doing with it. This time, we hear from a married 68-year-old retired project…
5 Times You Should Absolutely Not Do a Roth Conversion
Roth conversions get a lot of enthusiastic press, and most of it is deserved. Moving money from a traditional IRA into a Roth can reshape your tax picture for decades and ease the required minimum distribution burden later in retirement. But somewhere…
This Is the Portfolio Shift Every Pre-Retiree Should Make Before Retirement
Most of my clients spend three decades focused on one number: How much they’ve saved. As they approach retirement, the question shifts. How much can we spend and keep the plan on track? That shift catches more people off guard than anything else I…
When Two Financial Lives Collide Later in Life
Finding love later in life can bring a renewed sense of possibility, but it can also come with homes, retirement accounts, trusts, business interests, adult children and estate plans that make financial decisions more complicated. According to a widely…
Ask the Tax Editor, September 18: What Are Qualified Dividends?
Each week in our Ask the Tax Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at four tax questions from readers on investments, including one on the definition…
How Advisers Can Help Women Take the Reins of Their Retirement
Women are stepping into the retirement conversation with more power and purpose than ever. They control a growing share of household wealth, typically outlive their spouses and increasingly hold full authority over the financial decisions that shape…
Will This ‘Tax’ Tear Your Family Apart, Even Though Their Inheritance Is Split Equally?
Right now, I’m watching three of my closest friends’ families fall apart in slow motion. The circumstances are different, but the arguments sound remarkably similar: “Mom already gave him money for years.” “Dad told me…