Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

Now is a great time to make tax-saving moves to boost your tax refund.

Many people don’t realize that state and local workers in certain states don’t contribute to Social Security.

Finally, a new survey reveals that nearly two-thirds of people with assets of $100K or more are on track to meet or exceed retirement planning goals.

When I started saving for retirement, the credit union clerk recorded it in my passbook in black ink. Today, I downloaded my first retirement savings application, or app, to my iPad (or iPhone). It’s from Vanguard and it makes managing retirement savings ridiculously convenient. The app allows Vanguard customers to: View  account balances, including those in

Here’s a timely retirement planning tip from Greg Burrows, senior vice president at The Principal Financial Group: Put the extra 2 percent of salary that you’ll gain from the Social Security tax holiday, which Congress awarded us in 2011, in your 401(K), 403(b) or IRA. Burrows calculates that if a 30-year-old earning $50,000 per year would

Converting from a traditional 401(k) or 403(b) to a Roth 401(k) or 403(b) can be a very good retirement planning move if you think that you are in a lower tax bracket today than you will be when you retire. For instance, if you are unemployed and if you can afford to convert this year

The IRS yesterday announced the 2011 contribution limits on tax-advantaged retirement savings plans. Because inflation is low, most of the limits don’t change much for 2010. The employee contribution limit for 401(k)s, 403(b)s and 457(b) plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is unchanged at $16,500, although if you are over 50, you can