Answer: If you leave your job, voluntarily or otherwise, you may be able to continue your employer-sponsored health insurance under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985. Eligibility does come with some restrictions, however. Employers with 20 or more employees are required to offer continued health insurance for up to 18 months
Changing careers can be rewarding for many reasons, but career transitions don’t always go smoothly. Your career shift may take longer than expected, or you may find yourself temporarily out of work if you need to go back to school or can’t immediately find a job. Consider these four tips to help make the financial
It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of taking the time to plan your estate. Nevertheless, it’s surprising how many American adults haven’t done so. You might think that those who are rich and famous would be way ahead of the curve when it comes to planning their estates properly, considering the resources and lawyers
Here are 10 things to consider as you weigh potential tax moves between now and the end of the year. Set aside time to plan Effective planning requires that you have a good understanding of your current tax situation, as well as a reasonable estimate of how your circumstances might change next year. There’s a
If you don’t know what happened to your money during the past year, it’s time to find out. December and January are the perfect months to look back at what you earned, saved, and spent, as W-2s, account statements, and other year-end financial summaries roll in. How much have you saved? If you resolved last
Answer: A dependent child may qualify to receive benefits based on your earnings record. To receive benefits, your child must be unmarried and be under age 18 (or 18 to 19 if a full-time student in elementary or secondary school) or be 18 or older and disabled from a disability that started before age 22.
Medicare is a federal program that provides health insurance to retired individuals, regardless of their medical condition, and some younger people with disabilities or certain health conditions. You can receive Medicare coverage either by enrolling in Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan (typically an HMO or a PPO). Original Medicare is divided into hospital
Even if you plan on waiting until full retirement age or later to receive Social Security retirement benefits, consider signing up for Medicare. If you’re 65 or older and aren’t yet receiving Social Security benefits, you won’t be automatically enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B. You can sign up for Medicare when you first
Many investors approach this goal by owning a mix of individual securities, a mix of funds, or both. However, some hybrid funds try to follow the same strategy in a single investment. Although the goal of these funds is simplicity, they are not as simple as they may appear, and different types of hybrid funds
At one time, the only way you could join your company’s 401(k) plan, 403(b) plan, or 457(b) plan was to put pen to paper and sign yourself up by filling out the appropriate forms. Now, though, in an effort to help participants increase their retirement savings, some employers have begun enrolling their employees automatically. With
