The latest cost of living adjustments have been released by the Social Security Administration. More detail is given in the article below, but once again, the adjustment amounts to less than 2% for the third year in a row...

Household Income In America – (see full article and interactive graph here, courtesy of NPR’s Planet Money Team)

The graph reveals a striking pattern. After adjusting for inflation, income was basically flat for households in the bottom half of the economic ladder. Right around the middle, income starts to pick up — and the higher you go up the income ladder, the more income growth you see...

Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, taking money out of retirement accounts before you’re actually retired [whether as premature distributions or loans on 401(k) accounts] has become less of a taboo. About 18% of 401(k) plan participants had loans outstanding in this year’s first quarter, according to the Investment Company Institute, the mutual-fund trade group. Some 1.7% of participants took a hardship withdrawal last year, a percentage that has held steady for several years...

The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance estimates that for a 60-year-old couple in good health, an optimal LTC policy -- one with a $150 daily benefit at plan inception, three-year benefit period, 90-day elimination, 100% home care benefit, 3% compounded annual inflation protection, and spousal discount -- would be valued at $164,000 for each person, while at age 80, it would be $325,000 for each person...