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We are about to embark, once again, on Joe Namath season! That is the “open season on seniors” when people enrolled in the Medicare system are bombarded with information, phone calls, fliers in the mail, and random salespeople walking up to their doorsteps. It’s a frustrating season for the consumer and Medicare Insurance agents alike. Our clients see the commercials and always have the feeling, “What am I missing out on?” The commercials are full of…

In any crisis, “playing it safe” to avoid losing your money can seem like the only rational strategy. However, in the past 60 years, we’ve seen repeating patterns of crises. Despite these crises, the market has been resilient. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose from 679 points in 1959 to over 36,000 in January 2022.* Regardless, of the type of crisis, history shows that long-term investors who stayed the course through crises and didn’t lose sight…

A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales (National Bureau of Economic Research). We’ve already seen one quarter of economic decline, but whether we cross the technical threshold of a recession is inconsequential. For most investors, recession fears are rooted in their association with downward markets. Historically, a bear market has accompanied,…

The Social Security Statement Gets a Makeover – The personal Social Security statement, created to help Americans understand the Social Security benefits they might be entitled to, has been redesigned for the first time. The new statement is shorter, uses visual elements and plain language, and includes fact sheets tailored to a person’s age and earnings history. Page one contains personalized estimates of retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, along with a bar chart showing projected monthly…

Inflation: What’s Next? Inflation is on a tear, notching the fastest 12-month increase in almost 40 years.  From November 2020 to November 2021, inflation — as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, or CPI-U — increased a total of 6.8%, with the highest monthly increases coming in April, June, October, and November. U.S. Monthly Inflation over the course of one year: November 2020 – 0.2%, December 2020 – 0.2%, January 2021 –…

Is the Russia-Ukraine War a Threat to the Global Economy? Before Russia stunned the world by invading Ukraine, it was widely believed that the economic ties formed through globalization would help promote peace. But the war is testing that assumption and drawing attention to the vulnerabilities in far-flung supply chains, which were already under pressure because of the pandemic and recovery. In response to the brutal invasion of Ukraine, the United States, European Union (EU), United…

The gig economy is growing, and so is the tax burden of those who are successfully turning their side hustle into their primary source of income! Follow these tips if you bring in self-employment cash!

Will your retirement dreams match your reality? That’s perhaps the most critical question to ask people who are currently retired. Was your retirement what you expected, or was it something else? For more than 30 years, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has conducted the Retirement Confidence Survey, which gauges the views and attitudes of working-age and retired Americans regarding retirement and their preparations for retirement.1 Part of the survey takes a deep dive into workers’…

A cyberattack shut down a major gas and energy pipeline supplying the East Coast of the United States for several days. The actual pipelines themselves are still functional and have since started running again, but it’s led to long lines and closed gas stations in many regions.1,2 While this situation is alarming and has a number of short-term consequences, it’s important to remember that the attack has mainly affected the computer systems used to transport the…

Are your financial goals well-defined?  While “I want to have lots of money” may sound like a great goal, it’s just too vague. How much is “lots?” If you don’t know … how will you know when you have it? And will the “lots” of today be enough for tomorrow? In developing your financial goals, make sure they’re S.M.A.R.T. … Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely April is Financial Literacy Month. If you haven’t already taken some…