Health care costs are likely to be any retiree's greatest expense. Financial advisors, then, need to address the potential havoc health risks can have on a client's financial plan. The problem is: How to get clients to actually give personal...

The Terry Schiavo case incited passionate debate about a number of different issues. While opponents squared off on emotionally charged topics like quality of life and the government's proper role in such an event, there was unanimous support for...

At 6 feet 1 inch, 247 pounds and only 31 years old, Tedy Bruschi doesn't fit most people's profile of a stroke victim. But just two weeks after helping his team win the Super Bowl, the star New England Patriots linebacker was in an ambulance...

Brokers often take a shortsighted view of their careers, and this usually turns an effort to convince them to think about their own retirements into an uphill battle. Indeed, given the average advisor's zeal to earn as much as possible as quickly...

Merrill Lynch is taking a radical new look at how retirement and baby boomers are perceived and it could change the way their advisors structure their retirement businesses. A new study from the firm asserts that the oft-predicted baby boomer...

The word carries enough negative connotations that it comes as no surprise when its presence in a conversation about a retiree's future makes all involved uncomfortable. But there's no reason for discomfort on the part of the client or the advisor...

Businesses large and small have found 401(k) retirement plans to be an important benefit to attract and retain a superior workforce. But small-business owners often despite their good intentions rarely find the time or resources to select and...

Special needs trusts (SNTs) trusts created for the benefit of a disabled beneficiary present exciting opportunities for corporate fiduciaries. They also risk sapping fiduciaries' time and emotional energy. Sometimes, the wisest choice is for a...

According to a recent AARP survey of baby boomers, four out of five members of that generation plan on working after they retire from their jobs. Some will do so out of necessity to make up a shortfall in savings, for instance, or to patch...

For years, many opponents have seen the notion of Social Security privatization as a thinly veiled make-work project for Wall Street. Trillions of dollars, they said, would flow into stocks and mutual funds, producing a huge windfall for...