Rodney Brooks
Verified- Retirement Columnist, U.S. News and World Report
- Contributing Writer, Andscape
- Contributing Writer, National Geographic
- Senior Fellow, Prosperity Now
Washington, D.C.
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Covers:
Retirement, the racial wealth gap
Articles by Rodney Brooks
Are Your Family’s Finances a Team Effort?
Now CNN — When Jill Langen decided to list her Clarkston, Michigan, home of 25 years for sale last month, she did it without the help of a real estate agent. Seven days later, she had an agreement signed with a buyer and her home was off the market. Langen’s decision to go it alone isn’t typical among …
Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage
Not long ago you only saw the barrage of Medicare Advantage television commercials in the period leading up to Medicare Open Enrollment. But now those promotions run year-round, offering a confusing and sometimes misleading array of plans sponsored by a variety of health care companies. Adding to the confusion is the fact that many people don’t fully understand the difference between Original Medicare and the Medicare Advantage plans.
Rodney Brooks’ Three Laws of Robotics
2 hours ago Artificial Intelligence investor confidence is collapsing. Who could have possibly predicted this, except everyone in tech? When you live in tech bubble central, signs of a tech bubble become easier to spot every time. Drive to Silicon Valley on any of the Bay Area's main arteries right now, and …
Is There Treasure in Your Attic?
Do you have a fortune hidden in your garage, attic or basement? You’d be surprised to learn what collectors consider valuable. In 1989, a man’s flea market purchase of a framed painting turned out to be a gold mine. He later discovered a folded-up document behind the painting: an original copy of the Declaration of Independence. It later sold at auction for more than $8 million, according to History.com.
Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Before You Retire?
Is retirement on the horizon for you? If so, congratulations! You've worked hard through your career, and you deserve the opportunity to live life on your terms, doing what you want to do when you want to do it. Before you stop earning a full-time wage and begin living off retirement benefits and savings, however, you might want to take a step back and make a plan. Learning things the hard way after the fact -- when it's too late to do much about it -- is a recipe for financial heartache.
Should you pay off your mortgage before you retire?
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What Is a Spendthrift Trust?
You may want to take care of your children in your will but suspect that they would blow through their inheritance in just a few years. That’s when a spendthrift trust comes in handy. Also called a spendthrift provision, this type of trust has restrictions that protect heirs from both themselves and potential creditors. What Is a Spendthrift Trust? A spendthrift trust allows you to leave funds to a beneficiary without giving full control over those funds.
This writer just traced his enslaved ancestors all the way to Africa. Here’s how.
This writer just traced his enslaved ancestors all the way to Africa. Here’s how. I knew little about either side of my family. My mom was from Warrenton, North Carolina and occasionally talked about growing up there. Her dad lived with us for a while. My father, who died at 43, didn’t share much about his family. However, they made sure we knew something of our family history with frequent trips to Baltimore where they had both been raised. Everything changed in the last year.
How to Cut Costs in Retirement
As if retirement wasn’t hard enough, inflation and economic uncertainties are adding to the pressures. Money is a big part of the stress. Financial planners generally recommend that people plan on spending 70% to 80% of their preretirement income during retirement. But many people worry that they won’t be able to save enough. And considering how bad we are at saving, many of us will find it difficult to meet our retirement savings goals, even with monthly Social Security checks.
This writer just traced his enslaved ancestors all the way to Africa. Here’s how.
Longtime columnist and author Rodney A. Brooks was able to trace his family's history to Nigeria as a result of newly available records and tools that now provide information about the American experience for Black people. Prior to 1870, U.S. records rarely noted names of enslaved and formerly-enslaved people. Pictured above is a collection of the Brooks family photos.
5 Financial Considerations of Gray Divorce
Gray divorce, also referred to as silver divorce, points to the trend of increasing divorce rates in older adults and particularly couples who had long marriages.Getty Images It’s a trend that accelerated as baby boomers set new standards for aging. Along with new standards for fitness and living and working longer, boomers set records for divorce. More people over 50 are getting divorced than ever.
1 in 6 Retirees Considering Unretiring
Facing rising inflation, market volatility and a looming recession, 1 in 6 retirees are considering unretiring, according to a survey by Paychex. Needing money (53%) and getting bored (52%) or lonely (43%) were some of the top reasons, as were inflation (43%), stock market volatility (41%) and needing health insurance (39%). “There are a lot of good reasons to continue working in retirement,” says Elijah Kovar, financial advisor at Great Waters Financial in Minneapolis. “You're challenged to learn.
Saying 'I Do' for the Second Time?
We all know the numbers: 40% to 50% of first marriages end in divorce, according to the American Psychological Association. The divorce rate for second marriages is even higher – closer to 70%, and people over age 50 make up more than 25% of divorces in the U.S. However, 80% of the people who divorce remarry, according to the Pew Research Center, especially those aged 55 and older. Things tend to be more complicated after that first marriage.
What Raising the Retirement Age to 70 Would Mean for Social Security
Congress has approved several new laws impacting employer-sponsored 401(k) plans but still hasn’t addressed Social Security, which the government says will run out of money by 2033 if nothing is done. People are living longer and drawing benefits longer than anticipated when the law was enacted in 1935 when the average U.S. lifespan was 61 for men and 65 for women.
Money Talk: Three 401(k) tax tips for 2023
By Rodney A. Brooks The tax filing deadline is coming at us fast. Hopefully, most of us have already filed and are sitting home waiting for that refund. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start thinking about how to reduce taxes in the future. One of the best ways to reduce your taxes now or in the future is to contribute to a 401(k) or a 403(b). Here are three 401(k) tax tips for people of all ages, but they are especially relevant for Millennials and Gen Z’ers.
Money Talk: New 401k Rules
By Rodney A. Brooks Big changes are coming this year for your company sponsored 401(k) plans. These changes will have a big impact on retirees, but the bill, passed last year contains benefits for all ages and income groups. The changes are in a bill called the Secure Act 2.0, an extension on changes approved by Congress in 2019 in the original SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement) bill. Here’s what is coming with the new legislation.
Money Talk: Holiday Gifting
By Rodney A. Brooks First of all, let me say, I’m not a grinch. So, I’m not suggesting that you don’t buy your young children the toys and gifts that they ask for. But the holidays are the perfect time to buy gifts for your children (or grandchildren) of any age that will teach them lessons about money and investing and provide them a solid foundation for their financial futures. Let’s start with a little lesson on the stock market.
If You Have a 401(k), Watch Out for Changes
The latest government omnibus spending bill includes big changes to 401(k) and other retirement plans. These provisions will have a huge impact on retirees but contain benefits for all income levels and ages. The provisions, part of a bill called the SECURE Act 2.0, basically build on changes approved by Congress in 2019, which raised the age at which retirees must begin mandatory withdrawals from their retirement accounts.
Questions to Ask Yourself During Retirement Planning
Many people are living longer, which means your retirement could last for decades. But that doesn’t mean you should start planning later. Developing a thoughtful plan can help you have a positive experience in retirement. Here are seven questions to ask yourself before you retire: When do you want to retire? Have you saved enough to retire? How will you maintain your standard of living? Are your investments appropriate for a long life in retirement? Are your affairs in order?
Money Talk : There are ways to help your kids pay for college without raiding your retirement savings
By Rodney A. Brooks A few years back I was doing an interview for a radio station. A woman called in who had proudly put her daughter through an Ivy League college. The problem: She was in her 50s and saved nothing for retirement. I told the woman who called the radio station that she still had options, but they were not great ones. She was probably going to have to retire later or plan on a standard of living in retirement that was less that what she was used to.
Money Talk : There are ways to help your kids pay for college without raiding your retirement savings
By Rodney A. Brooks A few years back I was doing an interview for a radio station. A woman called in who had proudly put her daughter through an Ivy League college. The problem: She was in her 50s and saved nothing for retirement. I told the woman who called the radio station that she still had options, but they were not great ones. She was probably going to have to retire later or plan on a standard of living in retirement that was less that what she was used to.
Money Talk : There are ways to help your kids pay for college without raiding your retirement savings
A few years back I was doing an interview for a radio station. A woman called in who had proudly put her daughter through an Ivy League college. The problem: She was in her 50s and saved nothing for retirement. I told the woman who called the radio station that she still had options, but they were not great ones. She was probably going to have to retire later or plan on a standard of living in retirement that was less that what she was used to.
Will Social Security's COLA Boost Mean Benefits Run Out Sooner?
Social Security paid benefits to 65 million recipients in 2021. Since 2010, the system has been bringing in less revenue than it pays out in benefits and covering the shortfall with its reserves. The 8.7% Social Security cost-of-living increase scheduled to be paid beginning in 2023 will provide vital income to retirees struggling to keep up with inflation, but could also put increased financial strain on the Social Security program.
How to Rebalance Your Portfolio After Retirement
Begin discussions with your financial planner at least a year or two, preferably five years, before retirement; a portfolio review is needed that includes rebalancing and strategic reallocation.(Getty Images) Your retirement portfolio needs to be carefully adjusted to avoid running out of money in retirement.
Texas Metro News
By Rodney A. Brooks One of Americas’ biggest fears is that they will run out of money in retirement – with good reason. Most of us have not saved enough for retirement. And the pandemic made things even worse. According to the Anytime Estimate Retirement Finances Survey, the financial stress resulting from the pandemic caused many people to either spend retirement savings or stop saving for retirement altogether.
Money Talk: Not contributing to your company's 401 (k)?
By Rodney A. Brooks One of Americas’ biggest fears is that they will run out of money in retirement – with good reason. Most of us have not saved enough for retirement. And the pandemic made things even worse. According to the Anytime Estimate Retirement Finances Survey, the financial stress resulting from the pandemic caused many people to either spend retirement savings or stop saving for retirement altogether.
How the Inflation Reduction Act Impacts Retirees
September 15, 2022 (U.S. News & World Report) - The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides many benefits for retirees and older Americans. If the legislation does slow inflation, it could be a huge benefit to low-income seniors and those living on fixed incomes. The bill will also help tackle skyrocketing health care costs for seniors. However, many significant provisions don’t go into affect for several years.
How the Inflation Reduction Act Impacts Retirees
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provides many benefits for retirees and older Americans. If the legislation does slow inflation, it could be a huge benefit to low-income seniors and those living on fixed incomes. The bill will also help tackle skyrocketing health care costs for seniors. However, many significant provisions don’t go into affect for several years. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will: Enable Medicare to negotiate the price it pays for prescription drugs.
Money Talk: Texas Metro New: Social Security
By Rodney A. BrooksDeciding when to take Social Security is a huge issue, and a very complicated one. A wrong decision can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. That decision can be critically important for African Americans.You need a plan for retirement that includes at least some savings other than Social Security.First, a couple of facts.• Three quarters of minority beneficiaries rely on Social Security for at least half of their retirement income.
This is the Day!
CELEBRATION! Black Press: Continuing a Legacy 10 yr Anniversary Garland Journal/Texas Metro News Hon. Bobbie Edmonds, Esq. Happy Anniversary! September 2022 Steve and Connie Craven married 2 years Danny and Roxy Heart-Edwards married 2 years Hon.
What’s in the New 401(k) Retirement Bills
Retirement plans could see some major changes if proposed new legislation is approved by Congress. “They have so many bills,” says Ed Slott, president and founder of Ed Slott and Company. “Some people call the whole batch SECURE 2.0. There’s an EARN Act (Enhancing American Retirement Now). One is the Retirement Protection Act. There’s a bunch of different acts here.” These retirement bills would: Increase the maximum annual contribution for retirement accounts by $4,000.
Bear Market Mistakes Retirees Often Make
In times of stock market declines, inflation and uncertainty, financial planners often have to hold the hands of their clients to help them through the volatility. For most people the advice is simple: You have time to wait it out and not react to the market's short-term ups and downs. But the advice is different for baby boomers who have already retired. Read: [ How Much Should You Contribute to a 401(k)?
How Millennials Should Manage Their 401(k) During the Bear Market
It can be scary to watch your 401(k) balance decline during a bear market. Most millennials still have 20 or more years until they reach retirement age, which is plenty of time for balances to recover. Nevertheless, the decisions millennials make now are likely to have a long-term impact on their retirement finances. The important thing for millennials and other age groups is to avoid the panic that will often lead to bad financial decisions.
Get up, get into it, get involved!
195 years of the Black Press Transformational Justice Coalition Get Out the Vote Special message from our CEO More than a dozen DFW area members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity were recognized at their national Convention with 50-year pins Willie Earl Johnson (r) is shown here with International Supreme Basileus Dr. David Marion. Former Theta Alpha Chapter Basileus (President) Derrick Payne with Brother Royle King.
Here's Why Saving for Retirement Is Especially Difficult in 2022
Baby boomers have lived through the tech bubble, the 2008 housing and market crash and even double-digit inflation in the 1970s, but never all these financial crises together. Now we have inflation, pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, a bear market, higher gas prices and rising interest rates. That makes an already formidable goal of saving for retirement even more challenging, especially for those approaching retirement in the next few years.
Pets and Passwords: What People Forget in their Wills
Things change quickly in today’s digital world, and Boomers especially need to keep up. It means you need to make sure your estate plan has been updated to reflect the new digital world. And when you do that, make sure your estate plan include some things that are frequently omitted or overlooked – pets and passwords. It’s critical to account for your pets, online accounts, passwords and even social media accounts. Pets need a place in your will Pets. Many consider their pets to be a family member.
Money Talk: Couples need to talk about money – no matter what age - Texas Metro News
By Rodney A. Brooks In any successful marriage or relationship household duties are shared. Each person does what they are best suited for, which means one person usually handles finances and pays the bills. But couples will certainly run into trouble if one partner completely absolves themselves from finances. Even if one partner pays the bills, it is critically important that both be involved in the couple’s finances.
Money Talk: Couples need to talk about money – no matter what age - Garland Journal
By Rodney A. Brooks In any successful marriage or relationship household duties are shared. Each person does what they are best suited for, which means one person usually handles finances and pays the bills. But couples will certainly run into trouble if one partner completely absolves themselves from finances. Even if one partner pays the bills, it is critically important that both be involved in the couple’s finances.
What Is a Spendthrift Trust?
A spendthrift trust allows you to leave funds to a beneficiary without giving full control over those funds. Instead, an independent trustee is given the authority to distribute funds for the benefit of a beneficiary. Getty Images You may want to take care of your children in your will but suspect that they would blow through their inheritance in just a few years. That’s when a spendthrift trust comes in handy.
The Impact of Climate Change on Retirement Planning
Climate change is affecting us in ways no one could have imaged just a few years ago, and those dramatic changes in weather patterns may even affect your retirement. In recent years the world has been plagued by higher temperatures and increases in both the volume and intensity of natural disasters. You may need to incorporate the impact of climate change into your retirement planning.
How ERISA Impacts Your Retirement
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Key Takeaways The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, is a federal law enacted in 1974 that protects retirement assets by requiring clear plan details, fiduciary responsibility and participant rights. Employers and plan administrators must provide specific information to plan participants and act in the best interest of employees. ERISA plans may offer more protection from creditors than IRAs, but some exceptions apply.
By Rachel Hartman Verified, Rodney Brooks Verified, Susannah Snider Verified, Tracy Stewart Verified
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U.S. News and World Report
Verified
Hard hit by COVID-19, Black Americans are recovering slowly
Linda Butler-Johnson, a 61-year-old widow, hasn’t had steady work for two years, not since she was laid off from her housekeeper job at a Washington, D.C. hotel in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her rent was paid by a city rental assistance program all last year. But in 2022 she’s on her own, with no steady income. After a year of unemployment Moshi Bernard, 36, has a job as a librarian earning $20,000 less than she made in the finance department of a local hotel before the pandemic.
What Is a Deferred Annuity?
People who want a guaranteed income for life can achieve that with a deferred annuity.(Getty Images) Annuities are an integral part of the retirement portfolios of investors who want a guaranteed stream of retirement income. A deferred annuity is a contract that provides the buyer with a steady stream of payments at a future date, compared with an immediate annuity that starts payments right away.
A 401(k) Versus a 403(b) for Retirement Savings
You can save for retirement in a 401(k) plan or a 403(b) plan, depending on which type of account your employer offers. Both retirement accounts offer similar tax benefits, but there are also some important differences between a 401(k) plan and a 403(b) plan. A 401(k) and a 403(b) both: Have a contribution limit of $20,500 in 2022. Allow catch-up contributions of up to $6,500 at age 50 or older. Provide tax breaks to employees who save for retirement. Might provide employer matching contributions.
What Is a Bitcoin Roth IRA?
The popularity of cryptocurrency continues to soar, pushed by a younger generation of investors who see it as the future of currencies, despite the volatility and warnings from financial regulators. As support for digital currency grows, some investors are asking financial advisors if it can and should be part of their retirement plans. Cryptocurrency can be part of your individual retirement account, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it should. What Is Cryptocurrency?
How Claude Shannon Helped Kick-start Machine Learning
3 min read Among the great engineers of the 20th century, who contributed the most to our 21st-century technologies? I say: Claude Shannon. Shannon is best known for establishing the field of information theory. In a 1948 paper, one of the greatest in the history of engineering, he came up with a way of measuring the information content of a signal and calculating the maximum rate at which information could be reliably transmitted over any sort of communication channel.
What Will Happen to Social Security in the Future
Social Security paid more than $1 trillion in benefits to 65 million recipients in 2020. Since 2010, the system has been bringing in less revenue than it pays out in benefits and covering the shortfall with its reserves. Here's a look at what could happen to Social Security in the future. READ: [ How Much You Will Get From Social Security.
Change the 401(k) Tax Break? Why Keeping Tabs on Washington Matters
Is your 401(k) plan ready for big changes? They could be coming. The Biden administration reportedly seeks a raft of adjustments to the longstanding private American retirement system. Some of these changes could be dramatic, such as getting rid of the deductibility of employee plan contributions. Replacing that would be a tax credit, as Rodney Brooks of U.S. News & World Report explains in the detailed article below.
Aging While Black: The Crisis Among Black Americans as They Grow Old
After a lifetime of racial and health inequities, Black seniors are at risk of spending their last years with declining health, little income and virtually no savings. Numerous studies have noted that Black Americans have worse health than their white counterparts, including chronic diseases and disabilities leading to shorter and sicker lives than white Americans.
Aging While Black: The Crisis Among Black Americans as They Grow Old
By Rodney A. Brooks After a lifetime of racial and health inequities, Black seniors are at risk of spending their last years with declining health, little income and virtually no savings. Numerous studies have noted that Black Americans have worse health than their white counterparts, including chronic diseases and disabilities leading to shorter and sicker lives than white Americans.
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