Retirement

After leaving the labor force in unusual numbers early in the pandemic, Americans approaching retirement age are back on the job at previous levels. When Kim Williams and millions of other older Americans lost their jobs early in the coronavirus pandemic, economists wondered how many would ever work again — and how that loss would

Their houses are piggy banks, their retirement accounts are up and their bosses are eager to please. When the boom ends, everything will change. This is an era of great political division and dramatic cultural upheaval. Much more quietly, it has been a time of great financial reward for a large number of Americans. For

There may be years when you have to drum up your own work — and create your own retirement plan. Cecile Corral had been feeling optimistic about her retirement savings. For a decade, she was making good use of an employer-sponsored 401(k), contributing 6 percent of her salary and receiving a match of as much

Five New York City employee pension groups that own stock in Activision Blizzard, the embattled video game maker, are suing Activision, saying that the company failed to turn over financial records as the groups try to investigate whether Activision secured a fair price in its planned sale to Microsoft. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware state

The employer that oversees the retirement savings plan would have to decide to include the digital assets account. Fidelity, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) plans, said on Tuesday that it would enable its participants to put a slice of their retirement money into Bitcoin — if their employers are willing to allow it. The

Financial infidelity destroys trust. It can deliver a serious blow to your post-career planning, too. Jessica Matthews knows what it’s like to be the victim of infidelity — the financial kind. Ms. Matthews, herself a certified financial planner, dealt with it after she discovered years ago that her husband was hiding more than $30,000 in

You may still be able to reduce your tax bill by contributing to an I.R.A., for instance. And if you have questions, the I.R.S. is offering free walk-in help on Saturday. After two years of extended deadlines, tax filing in April is back — and fast approaching. The pandemic led to delays in filing deadlines

Ned Johnson, the longtime leader of Fidelity, changed the way the middle class thought about its money. The DealBook newsletter delves into a single topic or theme every weekend, providing reporting and analysis that offers a better understanding of an important issue in business. If you don’t already receive the daily newsletter, sign up here.

Social Security benefits and your savings can be taxed. But in general, older Americans’ tax bills go down. If you dread tax day every year, here’s a bit of good news: Your tax burden probably will lighten when you retire. You’ll still pay taxes on income you receive from sources that haven’t been taxed yet,

Retirement investments that are fine in tax-sheltered accounts can generate big headaches without that protection. Vanguard’s target date funds are a case in point. Tax bills are bad enough when you know they are coming. When they are unexpected and large, and come from what seemed like a safe and reliable place, they are infuriating.

A growing array of investment options make it easier to put digital tokens alongside traditional investments. Here’s what to know. Larry David travels through the ages, pooh-poohing many of the world’s greatest innovations — indoor plumbing, the dishwasher and, lastly, cryptocurrency. “Don’t be like Larry,” the Super Bowl commercial urges. “Don’t miss out on the

Shortly after the Biden administration announced that it was taking steps toward regulating cryptocurrencies, the Department of Labor issued a message of its own: Crypto doesn’t belong in most employees’ retirement accounts — and the department intends to investigate some plans that already offer the option. The department did not go as far as banning

Several U.S. states have announced plans to sever or reconsider their financial ties to Russia, with moves ranging from outright divestment, as in the case of the Connecticut pension system, to restrictions on the sale of Russian vodka in Iowa and Ohio. The rapid-fire decisions in state capitals, by both Republicans and Democrats, came as

Many older Americans like to ease into being an ex-worker — but you need to think carefully about just how to get there. Pat Sterner, who runs her own business consulting for nonprofits in Duluth, Minn., would love to retire and spend more time kayaking on Lake Superior. In the summer, she says, her neighbors

Stocks and bonds are core investments. Now, Vanguard is suggesting that retirees willing and able to bear the risk may want a stock target of 50 percent. The stock market can provide eye-popping term returns but can also be counted on to produce big losses. High-quality bonds, on the other hand, typically generate modest returns

The national network of Social Security customer service offices, which were closed nearly two years ago at the start of the pandemic, is on track to reopen on March 30. The Social Security Administration and unions representing the agency’s work force agreed this week to reopen more than 1,200 offices, contingent on changes in pandemic

Everyone, sometime or another, dreams of quitting. For millions, the fantasy is real. More than 4.5 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in November alone — the highest one-month total on record. Much of the turnover has been in hospitality, retail and other lower-wage jobs that have been particularly challenging during the pandemic. But the

Conventional investing wisdom says that the older you get, the less of your financial assets should be in the stock market. One frequently heard justification is that stocks rise reliably in the long run but can fluctuate a lot in the short run and that if you’re old, you don’t have time to recover from

As life spans grow, a small subspecialty of financial planners address multiple stages of old age. When Cynthia Hutchins started her career as a financial planner in the 1980s, the concept of “retirement” was simple and straightforward. Most of her clients envisioned a few years of leisure after their full-time careers ended, with a pension,

Living longer can mean having a longer career, whether by choice or necessity. Stopping and starting isn’t easy, but it might be worth it. You’re probably going to need to work longer than you imagined when you were first starting out. After all, you might live to be 100. So let’s call it a 50-year