Author: Money Mechanics

Rather than clocking out once and for all, 75% of workers think they will work for pay in retirement, according to the 2025 EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey.This represents a significant increase from the current 30% of retirees who work, some by choice, others out of necessity.As “partial retirements” become increasingly popular, it’s important to understand how earning income can impact your Social Security benefits and taxes. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. CLICK FOR FREE ISSUE Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on…

Welcome to Kiplinger’s My First $1 Million series, in which we hear from people who have made $1 million. They’re sharing how they did it and what they’re doing with it. This time, we hear from a 70-year-old married and retired magazine editor for dairy farming who now lives in Boise, Idaho. He and his wife have been married for 48 years.See our earlier profiles, including a writer in New England, a literacy interventionist in Colorado, a semiretired entrepreneur in Nashville and an events industry CEO in Northern New Jersey. (See all of the profiles here.)Each profile features one person…

Retirement opens the door to new and exciting adventures — and an international trip can be the perfect way to celebrate the next chapter of your life.But planning your first overseas journey can seem intimidating. From logistics and setting a budget to choosing an itinerary that matches your interests, traveling at this stage of life has its own set of considerations and challenges, as well as enriching experiences.The chance for life-changing adventures abroad likely led 70% of adults 50-plus to plan trips in 2025, up from 65% in 2024, according to The AARP 2025 Travel Trends survey. AARP also discovered…

Spending your hard-earned cash in retirement can be a scary proposition. Without a paycheck coming in, it’s easy to worry about running out of money. Add volatility in the stock market at any given time, and this is what nightmares are made of for retirees.But fears of overspending in retirement don’t have to keep you up at night. There are methods you can adopt to protect your money from those nightmare scenarios. One popular way: the “me-first” rule of retirement spending, sometimes called the “flooring” rule (as in, you set a spending floor and put your own needs first).It’s a…

Key Takeaways Nearly half of Gen Z investors trade cryptocurrency. Crypto is highly volatile and not regulated by government agencies. Studies show that many Gen Z investors are willing to take the risk anyway. Gen Z in the Financial World Generation Z, born from 1997 to 2012, has never known life without the internet. That digital comfort may help explain why nearly half of Gen Z investors (48%) use online cryptocurrency exchanges—more than any other generation, according to the 2025 US Investments Trends Report provided by YouGov. In contrast, just 40% invest through banks and credit unions, and only 32%…

Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026 will be announced in October, but estimates are already anticipating an increase from this year. The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a nonpartisan group for seniors, announced its estimate on Thursday that the COLA will rise to 2.7% in 2026, up from the 2.5% increase this year. This is the same as the organization’s prediction from August. TSCL accurately predicted the 2025 COLA would be 2.5%. Others expect a slightly higher increase based on the latest government inflation data. Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, said she believes the COLA will…

KEY TAKEAWAYS OpenAI said its nonprofit parent will have an equity stake of more than $100 billion in the ChatGPT maker, making it “one of the most well-resourced philanthropic organizations in the world.”OpenAI also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with backer Microsoft to extend their partnership.Separately, Microsoft avoided a potentially massive antitrust fine from the European Union by striking a deal to unbundle its Teams communication platform from its popular office apps. OpenAI said its nonprofit parent will have an equity stake exceeding $100 billion in the ChatGPT maker, making it “one of the most well-resourced philanthropic organizations in…

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) is one of the Best TSX Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires. On September 9, Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE) announced that it will sell a 50% interest in WRB Refining LP to its joint venture partner Phillips 66 for $1.4 billion. The deal includes the Wood River Refinery in Illinois and the Borger Refinery in Texas. Together, both the refineries process around 495,000 barrels per day, with Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)’s share being 247,500 barrels per day. Management noted that this sale aligns with the company’s strategy to focus on assets core to its business. After the…

Tesla Inc. TSLA is facing a proposed class action in federal court accusing the electric vehicle maker of favoring foreign visa holders over U.S. citizens in hiring and firing decisions, a practice plaintiffs allege allows the company to pay lower wages.Tesla shares were up 7.36% during Friday’s regular session and down 0.0.99%, according to Benzinga Pro.Lawsuit Filed In San FranciscoThe lawsuit, filed Friday in San Francisco federal court, claims Tesla systematically discriminates against American workers in violation of civil rights law, reported Reuters.According to the complaint, Tesla hired an estimated 1,355 H-1B visa holders in 2024 while laying off more…

The market now largely that the Fed will cut rates next week, with some even debating whether the central bank could deliver a larger 50-basis-point cut instead of the usual 25. This makes it the right time to position in stocks that stand to gain the most from a lower-rate environment.This is all the more true as investors expect the central bank not to stop there, with further rate cuts anticipated between now and the end of 2025.Yet small-cap stocks are often cited as obvious bets in the event of a rate cut. Smaller companies are more likely than larger…