Congress has just changed the way Social Security works for those who file and suspend. How will it affect your own benefits? Luke F. Delorme of the American Institute for Economic Research describes the changes. For months, investors have been anticipating a hike in interest rates from the Federal Reserve. The question now is how quickly the Fed will increase rates. As Liz Ann Sonders of Schwab explains, the pace of rate increases has an impact on the markets. If you’re getting close to retirement, it’s time to make sure your financial portfolio is configured to help you make the transition. US News and World Report looks into ways to organize your portfolio for this stage of your life.

What Congress Just Did To Social Security– The U.S. budget deal includes a provision that seeks to end the file-and-suspend and restricted claiming strategies. These strategies had previously brought couples upwards of $60,000 more in total Social Security benefits.  The section of the bill is titled “Closure of Unintended Loopholes.” This article looks at the details of the proposal, who it will affect, and what you can do now. Read more…

Why The Pace Of Federal Reserve Rate Increases Matter–  The table in this article by Liz Ann Sonders shows every rate hike cycle since World War II, but breaks them into two categories—those when the Fed was moving slowly (taking breaks from hiking along the way), and those when the Fed was moving more quickly (hiking at most or all consecutive FOMC meetings). Whether you look at mean or median data, you can see that slow cycles have led to better stock market returns a year out. You can also see that bear markets and/or recessions were typically further out when the Fed was moving slowly.  Read more…

3 Ways To Shape Up Your Finances Before Retirement–  Most people save for retirement over several decades. Your goals and priorities when you began to save for retirement are not necessarily the same ones you have now. Here’s as article in US News and World Report on how to make sure your financial life is up to date and in great shape. Read more…

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John R. Day, Bill Ennis, Stephanie Davidson and Matt Heller

Disclosure – The articles mentioned in Mid Week with Day & Ennis are for information and educational purposes only. They represent a sample of the numerous articles that the firm reads each week to stay current on financial and economic topics. The articles are linked to websites separate from the Day & Ennis website. The opinions expressed in these articles are the opinions of the author and not Day & Ennis. This is not an offer to buy or sell any security. Day & Ennis is under no obligation to update any of the information in these articles. We cannot attest to the accuracy of the data in the articles.