by Kristine McKinley | Nov 1, 2009 | Retirement
The number of reverse mortgages backed by the government jumped nearly 20 percent in March and April (2009) alone from the same period in 2008. At a time when seniors have seen their retirement assets depleted by market losses, tapping home equity has been a safety...
by Kristine McKinley | Jun 30, 2009 | Featured Post, Retirement, Social Security
In January of this year, people collecting Social Security retirement benefits received one of the highest cost of living adjustment (COLA) increases seen since the 1980s. Unfortunately, that increase may be the last one you see for a few years. If you are retired...
by Kristine McKinley | Jan 21, 2009 | Financial Planning, Investing, Personal Finance, Retirement
It’s hard to say what 2009 will look like. While there are still several concerns (the housing market, rising unemployment, etc.), there will also be considerable government intervention to help improve the economy this year, both in the U.S. and worldwide. So...
by Kristine McKinley | Jan 17, 2009 | Investing, Personal Finance, Retirement
After watching their 401K balances shrink up to 40% in 2008, many people are wondering if they should change their allocation to include more “safe” investments, or if they should move completely to “safe” investments then move back into the...
by Kristine McKinley | Jan 12, 2009 | Retirement
Finally some good news for retirees… Social Security benefits are being increased 5.8% for 2009. This is the largest increase in more than 25 years! This increase will boost the average monthly Social Security retirement check from $1,090 to $1,153. Even more...
by Kristine McKinley | Sep 13, 2006 | Retirement, Taxes
Recently, someone asked me if they could deduct losses they incurred in their Roth IRA. Here’s my response… You can deduct losses in a Roth IRA, but the rules and treatment are different than you might expect. First, in order to claim a loss in...
