How well will your home age in place?
“It is an obstacle to have older Americans stay in their homes for longer and face budget challenges. It increases the likelihood that what is being passed down is a property rather than cash and that the property has some condition issues that make it costlier to sell.”
– Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, in a 6/23/26 article on the company’s website. He said many older homeowners, including those who have paid off their mortgages, are finding the cost of maintenance and repairs to be burdensome. As a result, he believes “the great wealth transfer” will not be as great as many assume. Read more at bit.ly/43VHE9R.
Grandparents catch a break
“The change has effectively revived what’s often called the ‘grandparent loophole’—a strategy that allows grandparents to contribute toward education costs while avoiding the financial aid penalties that once discouraged them from doing so.”
– Moneywise writer Jessica Wong, in a 6/21/26 article on Yahoo Finance. She points out that grandparent-owned 529 plan money used to count as untaxed income to the student, but no longer. Read more at bit.ly/3Soosiw.
People over projects
“Lead with love, not logistics.”
– Boise, Idaho wealth manager Jessica Smith, quoted in a 6/6/26 New York Times article about helping aging parents with their finances. She and others quoted in the article said the most common mistake adult children make when trying to help their parents is treating their finances as a problem to solve rather than asking what help they need or want. Read more at bit.ly/4eIpy04.
More to the story
“The widow’s penalty surprises many retirees because income and taxes do not always fall together. After the first death, the survivor may lose one Social Security check but still have much of the same investment income and required minimum distributions. The household has less income, but the tax system now treats the survivor as a single filer, with less favorable brackets and lower income thresholds.”
– Wade Pfau, in a recent post on his Retirement Researcher blog. He said Social Security planning involves much more than maximizing benefits. Read more at bit.ly/4uWGQwh.
