Category: Personal Finance

Think of those who need help

… Obviously, there is some crossover in these initiatives. * Nearly one-fourth of the people in our country have health insurance paid for entirely by state and federal governments, through the Medicaid and CHIP programs (CHIP is for children). The …

4 Financial Surprises Awaiting Seniors in 2017

The stock market has been exploring all-time highs since the election, the U.S. unemployment rate is at a nine-year low of 4.6%, and U.S. GDP growth in the third quarter came in at 3.5%, its most robust growth rate in two years. By all accounts, there’s plenty of reason for investors and working Americans to be excited for what 2017 might bring.

Growing number of Americans are retiring outside the US

In this photo provided by Joseph Roginski, taken May 13, 2011, Joseph Roginski, right, holds a package in a storeroom of the Misawa City Hall in Japan, where donations of clothing and supplies were being kept for earthquake relief efforts. He says that while the cost of living is higher in Japan, access to health care is not.

Growing number of Americans retiring outside the US

In this photo provided by Joseph Roginski, taken May 13, 2011, Joseph Roginski, right, holds a package in a storeroom of the Misawa City Hall in Japan, where donations of clothing and supplies were being kept for earthquake relief efforts. He says that while the cost of living is higher in Japan, access to health care is not.

5 Changes to Social Security in 2017

As 2017 draws near, there are several changes to Social Security that current and future beneficiaries should be aware of. While benefits aren’t increasing by too much, some workers could see their Social Security tax bill rise significantly, and working beneficiaries could end up with a lot more money in their pockets in 2017.

People on the Move: 12/24/2016

Rebecca Fishman , a board-certified general surgeon with fellowship training in breast surgical oncology, joined Allegheny Health Network and is seeing patients at West Penn Hospital. Tucker Arensberg PC said the following attorneys were elected to the firm’s membership : Kristin A. Biedinger, Jeffrey J. Junstrom, James W. Kane, Peter A. Spangler and Carolyn A.W. Whitworth .

Populism, real and phony

… Trump’s Cabinet choices show which way the wind is blowing. Both his pick as budget director and his choice to head Health and Human Services want to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and privatize Medicare. His choice as labor secretary is a …

Populism, real and phony

… Trump’s Cabinet choices show which way the wind is blowing. Both his pick as budget director and his choice to head Health and Human Services want to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and privatize Medicare. His choice as labor secretary is a …

Finally Some Good News from Paul Krugman

Both his [Trump’s] pick as budget director and his choice to head Health and Human Services want to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and privatize Medicare. His choice as labor secretary is a fast-food tycoon who has been a vociferous opponent both of Obamacare and of minimum wage hikes.

Maybe Trump backers should have taken him literally

They will be forgiving if, say, he doesn’t literally get Mexico to pay for a border wall, or if he doesn’t literally ban all Muslims from entering the United States. But in other areas, Trump’s supporters perhaps should have taken him literally – because they now may have a serious problem.

Trump immigration plan could cost the U.S. billions

President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to overturn an executive order that provides temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children could cost the country tens of billions of dollars, a new study finds. Put in place by President Obama six years ago, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has helped hundreds of thousands of young people – known as the DREAMers – come out from the shadows and get valid driver’s licenses, enroll in college and legally secure jobs.

City of Concord to Host Workshop for Retirement Planning

The Concord Senior Center is hosting a workshop for people who want to learn about the role of social security, Medicare, pensions and plans such as 401Ks and IRAs in retirement. The workshop will take place for an hour a week over three weeks on Tuesdays, Jan. 10, 17 and 24, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The sessions will be held at the Senior Center, 2727 Parkside Circle.

The new OMB’s director’s first order of business? Standing up to Trump.

AS THE federal government has grown, so has the power and responsibility of the White House-based agency charged with keeping tabs on spending, revenue and regulation. The director of that agency, the Office of Management and Budget, is much more than the president’s bean-counter; he or she is a key player on policy, as well as, traditionally, the voice of fiscal responsibility both within the executive branch and in the public arena.

Largest public pension system to sell all tobacco stocks

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System decided Monday to sell its last $550 million worth of tobacco-related investments nearly two decades after trading away the bulk of them. In a 9-3 vote, the CalPERS investment committee disregarded the advice from its own financial advisers who recommended reversing a sell-off approved in 2000, which has cost the system more than $3 billion in lost earnings.

The nation’s largest public pension system is giving up tobacco.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System decided Monday to sell off its last $550 million worth of tobacco-related investments nearly two decades after trading away the bulk of them. In a 9-3 vote, the CalPERS investment committee disregarded the advice from its own financial advisers who recommended reversing a sell-off approved in 2000, which has cost the system more than $3 billion in lost earnings.

Home buyer plan short-term gain for long-term pain

Premier Christy Clark’s home-buyers plan is short-term gain for the B.C. Liberal Party and long-term pain for both those who borrow money from the government, taxpayers and the entire B.C. housing market . But for Clark this is all about getting re-elected next May. Who cares if some first-time home buyers can’t make their mortgage payments and lose their houses down the road? What’s it to her if housing prices go up for everyone because the B.C. government plan will reduce already limited supply? As flimflams go, this one is impressively slippery and a lucrative Christmas present to the B.C. Liberals’ biggest donors the real estate industry .

Business | Smart Benefits: Cures Act Remedies A Small Business Condition

The 21st Century Cures Act, just signed into law by President Obama, is a broad health bill but tucked in it is a section that benefits small businesses by allowing them to use HRAs to reimburse employees who buy their own insurance. Starting January 1, an employer with fewer than 50 full-time employees can offer stand-alone HRAs and fund them by reimbursing employees for their premiums used to purchase individual health insurance.

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… can do about those costs. Healthcare costs for the average over-65 household is $5,756 per year, including $3,900 for health insurance and another $672 for drugs. If your costs are higher, make sure to adjust your spending projection upward. If …