Hiring a Financial Advisor for Retirement: Is It Worth It?
As with retirement itself, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. An experienced financial advisor can provide valuable insight and help to avoid potential pitfalls for some. Some, however, may consider the associated costs an unnecessary drain on their savings.
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Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Social Security recipients: Why your payment might be cut in half
Social Security payments for July are being distributed as scheduled, reaching over 71 million Americans. But if you've been overpaid by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and haven't started repaying, your monthly benefit could be noticeably smaller starting this month. The SSA is expected to begin withholding 50% of monthly benefits from individuals with outstanding overpayments beginning in late July 2025. This marks a new phase in the agency's effort to recover billions in accidental overpayments. While the SSA hasn't publicly confirmed how many beneficiaries are affected, records obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request show the agency attempted to reclaim overpayments from about 2 million people in the fiscal year ending September 2023, according to KFF and Cox Media Group. If you received more money than you were entitled to through Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and haven't arranged a repayment plan, your benefits could be reduced by half starting this month. This applies even if the overpayment wasn't your fault. Under its new policies, the SSA said it would begin issuing overpayment notices on April 25, 2025 and would start withholding 50% of the recipient's benefits after about 90 days (or approximately July 24, at earliest), until the overpayment is repaid. Withholding begins: Around July 24, 2025, depending on when you received your overpayment notice. Repayment options: Online bill pay, credit card, or check. Waiver requests: You can ask the SSA to waive the repayment if: The overpayment wasn't your fault You can't afford to repay Repayment would be unfair Waiver and repayment information is available on the SSA website. Most Social Security retirement benefits will follow the regular July distribution calendar: Thursday, July 3: For those who began receiving benefits before May 1997 Wednesday, July 9: Birthdates between the 1st and 10th Wednesday, July 16: Birthdates between the 11th and 20th Wednesday, July 23: Birthdates between the 21st and 31st Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for July were distributed on Tuesday, July 1. SSI recipients include people 65 or older or those with a qualifying disability and limited income or resources. The SSA recommends allowing up to three additional mailing days past your scheduled date before contacting them. About 99% of recipients now receive payments electronically, which helps reduce delays. If you believe your check is smaller due to an overpayment or have questions about your status, contact the SSA directly by phone at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778) or visit a local SSA office. For those looking to visit an SSA office, here are some locations in New York (excluding NYC and Long Island): Westchester County: 1 Park Place, Peekskill; 297 Knollwood Road, White Plains; 20 S. Broadway, Suite 500, Yonkers Albany County: 11 A Clinton Ave., Room 430, Federal Building Broome County: 2 Court St., Suite 300, Binghamton Erie County: 478 Main St., Suite 200, Buffalo; 1900 Ridge Road, Suite 120, West Seneca Monroe County: 200 E. Main St. (second floor), Rochester; 4050 W. Ridge Road (second floor), Greece Onondaga County: 100 S. Clinton St., Federal Building (fourth floor), Syracuse Contributing: USA Today Network This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Social Security recipients: Why your payment might be cut in half
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Retirement vs. Financial Freedom: What Is the Difference?
Retirement and financial freedom are often used interchangeably, but they're actually quite different. Retirement is typically seen as an end goal — but what if you could achieve financial independence without waiting until your 60s? Read More: For You: That's the beauty of financial freedom: it gives you the flexibility to decide what your future will look like, according to your own timeline — not when you turn 65. Let's take a closer look at the differences between financial freedom and retirement. When people think of retirement, they picture a specific age or year when they'll stop working full-time and live off their pension, savings, residual income and Social Security. Some retirees may have made investments along the way, such as a 401(k) that they can roll over into a Roth IRA. They can also cash out their health savings account (HSA), which they can use for medical needs and expenses without being taxed. However, most people rarely consider retirement in terms of accumulating wealth, said Liberty Group. While it's important to consider your retirement age, it's also essential to think about the money you'll need to save far in advance so you can achieve financial independence, which means your income is larger than your expenses. For most retirees, this will enable them and their spouses to cover their bills with a little extra left over to take vacations and live a comfortable lifestyle during their golden years. However, they might not have achieved wealth. Some retirees who have held life-long vocations, such as teachers and business professionals, might decide to work part-time as substitute teachers or consultants. Others might take up pet projects such as fix-and-flip investing. Financial freedom is the ability to live your life on your own terms. It's not about a specific age to stop working in the future, such as retirement. Financial freedom enables you the flexibility to take time off, travel and create the space to pursue your passions — write a novel, start a new business venture, or study architecture for a year in Florence without the worry of financial stress. With financial constraints out of the way, you can decide to retire early and live a life that aligns with your goals and values that provide personal fulfillment rather than financial necessity. However, the sooner you begin, the more long-term wealth your investments can earn. By starting early, you're taking advantage of time and compound interest; an investment of $10,000 can grow into $78,000, according to a YouTube video by Endeavor Wealth Management, which also recommended diversifying your portfolio and never putting 'all your eggs in one basket.' You don't need to wait for retirement to experience financial freedom. With some planning, you can live your best life whenever you want. More From GOBankingRates 6 Hybrid Vehicles To Stay Away From in Retirement This article originally appeared on Retirement vs. Financial Freedom: What Is the Difference? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Trump wins big on the Supreme Court's "shadow docket"
The Supreme Court has handed President Trump a slew of major victories through an abbreviated process that doesn't require full-fledged briefings and arguments — and will likely continue to do so. The big picture: The court's "emergency docket" has been the focus of its activity in Trump's second term, allowing him to proceed with plans to fire government workers, proceed with mass deportations and ban transgender people from serving in the military. The court's actions on those issues are all temporary, but even temporary orders are a significant win for Trump, allowing him to implement some of the most controversial parts of his agenda. How it works: When the Supreme Court agrees to decide a case on the merits, it typically asks both parties to file written briefs articulating their legal theories. It invites outside experts and organizations to file their own "friend of the court" briefs, which can raise additional points; and holds oral arguments before the justices decide how they'll rule. The emergency docket, also known as the shadow docket, is designed for questions that need a faster answer. It's often used, for example, by inmates requesting a stay of execution (which the justices almost always deny). A growing number of political issues, though, are also finding their way onto the emergency docket, and some critics argue that the court is using the process to decide bigger questions than that process was designed to resolve. Orders on the emergency docket aren't rulings on the merits of a particular policy. They usually determine whether a policy can go into effect, not whether it's legal. Because they're not full-fledged rulings that lower courts need to rely on when interpreting the law, there's no majority opinion to explain the court's thinking, or even a definitive tally of which justices agreed with the order. Where it stands: Lower courts have handed down scores of orders that temporarily block Trump from implementing parts of his agenda. That type of order gets appealed through the emergency docket — and the justices have overruled lower courts on several hot-button issues. Just last week, the court allowed Trump to proceed with plans for mass firings across the federal government. It allowed the administration to deport a group of undocumented immigrants to South Sudan, a war-torn country to which the migrants had no connection, and other "third countries" that are not the U.S. and not migrants' native countries. The Supreme Court overruled lower-court orders that limited DOGE's access to Social Security records and made some of its work subject to the Freedom of Information Act. It also allowed the Pentagon to go ahead and prohibit trans people from serving. None of those are final rulings on whether Trump's plans are legal or not, but they still have an immediate impact. They may not ever get to the merits stage, and even if they do, actions like mass firings or sending migrants halfway across the world are immediate. Even if some of those firings are ultimately found to be illegal, for example, that hardly means every former worker will return to their old job. A ruling in Trump's favor on the emergency docket can also indicate that he's likely to win on the merits, too. What's next: This will likely continue. There are at least two more emergency petitions awaiting an answer from the court,
