Demographics

When congressmen introduce bills that work at cross-purposes with the intent of Social Security, it's no wonder clients are confused too.

Clients often worry about the IOUs in the trust fund, which, while literally true, is unnecessarily alarmist. In the investment world, we call them bonds and they're not so scary.

You've probably heard it's best to wait until age 70 to file for Social Security benefits, if possible. But do you know when it's advisable to wait even longer?

America's wealthiest investors plan to increase their use of independent financial planners in 2014, according to a new study from Spectrem Group.

If your clients run into one of these guys, they just may leave you to make the change to fee-based.

The move is part of a shift of emphasis from life insurance "to a more well-rounded protection and retirement planning approach."

Quick question: Do you know how many programs operate under the Social Security umbrella? Do you know the differences? If not, keep reading.

Younger millennials carry half the debt of their older peers.

Bill Harris shook up the financial services industry as CEO of both Intuit and PayPal. Now he's got his eye on financial advisors.

Set objectives for one simple, powerful reason: to identify what matters most to you. That will make it easier to build your business.

Only 42% of couples who have advisors work with them jointly, according to a new Fidelity study. Here's one way to fix the problem.

Spousal benefits are the meat and potatoes of Social Security planning. Have you helped your clients maximize their situation?

The mass-affluent are getting more serious about long-term financial objectives, although there is still a major gap between their retirement savings and retirement goals.

According to a report from consulting firm Booz & Co., more than half (51%) of the "rising mass-affluent" say they would consider using their primary bank for investing, compared with only 37% over the age of 50 who said they would.

Some planners have implemented online capabilities to serve an increasingly tech-hungry public. But how much tech is enough – and does too much get in the way of good planning?

A 529 owned by a grandparent doesn’t count as an asset on the standard financial aid form but planning is necessary to avoid an aid reduction when money is withdrawn to pay college bills.

The segment may be ready to equal or even surpass its high-net-worth peers in appeal to the financial planning industry.

Non-correlated investments used to entail high minimums and low liquidity — but now even mass-affluent clients can find diversification through alternative mutual funds.

Banks have aimed their efforts too broadly at the mass-affluent, a diffuse and broad swath of customers. Instead, they should pursue the “rising mass affluent,” a segment with the most potential for accumulating wealth, according to Booz & Company.

Since the crisis, this segment has focused on paying its debt, but now it’s investing for retirement again. The kicker: just 40% use advisors.