Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Warren Buffett’s decision to step down from Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025 carries a message that extends well beyond corporate succession. For anyone within a few years of retirement, the combination of Berkshire’s disclosed financial risks and Buffett’s own defensive cash positioning amounts to the clearest caution he has ever issued about the…
Several of the country’s largest employers are preparing to deposit $1,000 into federally created savings accounts for workers’ newborns, using a little-noticed provision tucked inside the same law that established Trump Accounts. The move represents an early corporate bet on a program that does not even begin funding until mid-2026, and it raises a pointed…
Millions of Americans reach their mid 60s with little or no money in retirement accounts, yet they still manage to leave full‑time work. The reason is simple: Social Security checks arrive every month whether or not someone ever built a large nest egg. The harder question is whether relying mainly on that check is sustainable…
The window for converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA at current tax rates is narrowing, and the stakes are climbing. Final regulations from the Treasury and IRS now confirm that mandatory Roth catch-up contributions will apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, which means higher earners over 50 will soon face…
Jack Bogle built his entire investment philosophy around a deceptively simple idea: most investors lose money not because they pick the wrong stocks, but because they pay too much in fees and trade too often. For anyone over 50, though, Bogle offered a more specific and often overlooked insight about how to think about the…
Every year, a growing number of retirees discover that a portion of their Social Security benefits is subject to federal income tax. The reason traces back to income thresholds written into law in 1983 and 1993, thresholds that were never adjusted for inflation. Because those dollar figures remain frozen while wages, pensions, and investment returns…
The Social Security Fairness Act promised to right a decades-old wrong for millions of retirees who had their benefits reduced under two controversial provisions. But the law’s rollout has created a new problem: large lump-sum payments that could push recipients into higher tax brackets, effectively shrinking the very benefits they were owed. For retirees counting…
Missing a required minimum distribution from your retirement account can trigger a 25% penalty, a costly mistake that catches thousands of retirees off guard each year according to IRS enforcement data. Three major RMD rule changes take effect in 2026 that fundamentally alter when you must start withdrawals, which accounts require them, and how inherited…
Market volatility has surged in recent months, leaving the 60 million Americans who hold 401(k) accounts according to Department of Labor data wondering whether their retirement savings can weather another potential downturn. With the Leading Economic Index declining for six consecutive months and unemployment metrics approaching recession thresholds, I’ve identified five critical warning signs that…
Some Americans are opening their banking apps in 2025 to find a Social Security deposit they did not expect. The Social Security Administration is rolling out a retroactive lump sum program that reaches back to benefit increases that should have started in January 2024, with more than $7.5 billion already distributed to 1 million people…