Fifty-four million Americans are over the age of 65. And extended life expectancies, coupled with low birth rates, are moving us toward a “super age” where more Americans will be over the age 65 than under age 18. With higher percentages of people likely to live well into their 90s, your retirement nest egg may need to last 30 years or more. Depending on how much you’ve saved and how you plan to live during retirement, you may need to make some adjustments, like leaving your full-time job at age 70 rather than 65 or working part time during retirement. In this super age, employers in particular will have to adjust to an environment where younger workers will be in short supply. Many will have  to end ageist workplace policies and do what they can to retain experienced older workers or create attractive part-time opportunities for those who still have a lot to contribute professionally in their 70s and beyond. 

For further research: 

• Next Avenue, What 'The Super Age' Megatrend Means for You and Your Money
• Bradley Sherman, The Super Age: Decoding Our Demographic Destiny 
• Livingto100.com: Use this life expectancy calculator to estimate how old you will live to be.

Go to any library or your local bookstore and you’ll see shelf after shelf of books offering practical education on various financial planning and investing. Sorting through these choices can be overwhelming, so Pam, Richard and Terry are here to help by sharing recommendations for money-themed books they have learned the most from. These books will help you fortify your personal knowledge of how to save manage and invest your money. While most of these books have been published within the past few years, several are classics that have been updated over the years.

• John Bogle, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
• Thomas Stanley and William Danko, The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy
• Tiffany Aliche, Get Good with Money: Ten Simple Steps to Becoming Financially Whole
• Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig, The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing
• Terry Savage, The Savage Truth on Money

Richard’s picks:  

• John Schwartz, This is the Year I Put My Financial Life in Order
• Jane Bryant Quinn, How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide
• Kerry Hannon, Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy...and Pays the Bills
• Ryan Frederick, Right Place, Right Time: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Home for the Second Half of Life

Terry’s picks:  

• Ron Lieber, The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make
• Laurence Kotlikoff, Money Magic: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk, and a Better Life
• Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude
• Pam Krueger, The MoneyTrack Method: A Step-by-Step Guide to Investing Like the Pros

From donating appreciated stock to establishing a donor-advised fund to contributing part or all of your Required Minimum Distribution from an IRA directly to a charity, there are many ways you can support the nonprofit organizations and causes you care about while also receiving significant tax benefits. However, before you give to any charity, it’s important to conduct background research to make sure the organization is legitimate and that they’re using most of their donations to fulfill their mission.

For further research:

• Next Avenue, Your Year-End Guide to Giving to Charity in 2021 
• Terrysavage.com, Charity Now 
• Charity Navigator, Charity Watch and Candid: Three resources for researching and vetting public charities. 
• Giving Basket:  Use this online tool to support multiple nonprofits through one checkout experience.  
• State of Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Charitable Organizations & Fundraising research section 
• Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Vanguard Charitable: Two relatively lower-cost donor-advised fund options

Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund and Vanguard Charitable: Two relatively lower-cost donor-advised fund options

Whether it’s higher prices at the gas pump or at the supermarket, we’re all feeling the impact of inflation in different ways. Most economists predict that inflation will continue into next year, which could create extreme hardships for seniors living on a fixed income or for those who have had to use more of their retirement assets than they planned for. With the high likelihood of the Fed raising interest rates next year to tamp down inflation, these actions could put a damper on the surging stock market. That’s why now may be a good time to look over your portfolio to see if minor adjustments might be needed to reduce inflation risk in your investment accounts. For example, on the bond side you may want to invest in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) or I-Bonds, whose interest rates rise or fall with inflation. Or you may want to add a small allocation to gold or gold ETFs, since this precious metal historically has served as a hedge against inflation and volatile stock prices. If you’re very speculative, you might even want to consider making a very small investment in cryptocurrencies. However, If you feel that your portfolio is allocated in a way that combines decent income generation from bonds and capital appreciation from stocks, and you have an adequate reserve of cash for emergency purposes, you may not need to make radical changes to protect against inflation, especially since no one really knows how long it will last. If you’re not sure what steps to take, a qualified fee-only fiduciary financial advisor can offer common-sense advice to help you better “inflation proof” your retirement nest egg without sacrificing its long-term growth potential.

For further research: 

• Next Avenue, Money Advice for Retirees on Fixed Incomes When Inflation Is Soaring
• Terrysavage.com, Ravages of Inflation
• Treasurydirect.gov: Learn about and purchase TIPs, I-Bonds, and other Treasury securities.