Retirement Hot Topics

The Social Security Fairness Act became law in early January 2025. With its passage, the monthly retirement benefits of an estimated 3.2 million workers may increase, some payments by a sizeable amount. Sharon Carson, our Retirement Strategist, answers frequently asked questions about how this rule change may affect some of your clients.

Human impulse being what it is, New Year’s resolutions tend to be forgotten not long after they’re made. Retirement plans deserve a better fate! Michael Conrath, Chief Retirement Strategist, recommends using annual portfolio reviews to help clients gauge the likelihood of affording their desired lifestyle in retirement.

Every fall, the Social Security Administration announces cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) that will determine beneficiaries’ monthly payments for the following year. These annual adjustments, based on inflation data in the Consumer Price Index, have long been the practice. However, many beneficiaries don’t fully understand the bottom-line impact to their monthly benefits check—especially if Medicare premiums are automatically deducted from their benefit amount. Sharon Carson, our Retirement Strategist, provides answers to clients’ frequently asked questions.

Retirement income has become a hot topic across the industry and more than half of plan sponsors say providing retirement income support is a key purpose of their plan.*To better understand the type of support plan participants want from their employers, we went straight to the source and asked participants to tell us.

The rules and regulations governing Medicare coverage can be difficult to understand. As a result, people often—and inadvertently—make costly mistakes when they reach age 65 and become eligible for federal health insurance but choose to delay or entirely skip enrolling in the program.

The Social Security and Medicare trust funds are both projected to run out of money in about a decade. While it’s possible Congress will tackle these complex funding issues after the upcoming election—perhaps in conjunction with a broader tax bill—resolution is much more likely to be delayed for several years, regardless of which party is in power.