Retirement benefits

For a couple details: Part D monthly premiums are often in the $35 to $50 range and higher-income retirees pay more for drug coverage.

Data and a personal touch can net the young client who everyone fears will go to a digital platform.

Data and a personal touch can net the young client who everyone fears will go to a digital platform.

High front-end fees, complex payouts and a lack of dividend income are among the reasons.

Instead, focus on things as they are today, and the most likely scenario for tomorrow, while remaining flexible enough to accommodate changing circumstances.

Now may be the best time for retirees to make charitable donations, do a Roth conversion, and incur more qualified medical expenses to meet the threshold and qualify for a tax deduction.

Investors should take market volatility as an opportunity to engage in year-end tax planning that includes strategies such as tax-loss harvesting.

Here are key takeaways from a Department of Labor fact sheet.

Changing a Medigap plan during open enrollment could be costly, especially when the switch happens after the initial six-month window.

A Yale Law School professor proposes raising the full retirement age to 76 and imposing a steep 80% penalty for the highest earners who opt to claim their benefits early.

Clients fare just as well, and possibly better, with their other investments by developing the same savings habits of these retirement accounts. Plus, getting more out of munis.

Tell clients in this situation to make sure they know key dates and review their statements to confirm the amounts are accurate.

How some firms bypass traditional methods and offer points and rewards programs.

Assets at firm's Total Return Fund have slipped 70% from its peak in April 2013 to $82.6 billion.

Investments in certain closed-end funds or preferred shares are strategies clients should consider to make their savings last, an industry expert says.

How advisers can prepare for renewed interest in alternatives.

The early decision stops advisers from earning commissions on products that will also generate fees through the firm's Investment Advisory Program.

Those with the option of taking loans from their plans should consider tax implications and the possibility of missing out on the growth of the money that was borrowed.

Clients who borrow from their company retirement plans can often get a good rate with no hassle. But if they miss payments, they might face nasty tax charges.

Retirement investors should ensure they follow the rules so their heirs can fully gain from the account's tax advantages.