Kiplinger's Personal Finance

a level playing field

The back page of a magazine is a position of high interest. For the most part, what’s featured there is meant to reward readers, a sort of cherry to top off the contents of the issue. And for some readers it’s the place they start reading. Some magazines feature a cartoon, some a crossword puzzle, some an essay. Our new back page feature, which we call “Making It Work,” is an interview with someone in a profession that has been rocked by the pandemic or the recession, or both. It debuted in the August issue, when we featured a nurse anesthetist and professor who foresees a nurse shortage because her students are not getting their bedside clinicals during COVID. Promoting diversity. For this issue, I interviewed Doug Glanville, a baseball commentator…

health plan options

One alternative that I wish you would have mentioned is health care sharing (“Rx for Your Health Insurance,” July). Health care sharing is technically not insurance, but it works very similarly, and the cost is usually half of a typical health insurance plan. Members pay a monthly sharing amount. To enroll, applicants are subject to medical underwriting and preexisting-condition limitations. My wife and I joined Medi-Share about two years ago. We are saving almost $800 a month compared with an ACA plan with similar out-of-pocket amounts. BARRY BRIDGES LOUISVILLE, KY. Editor’s note: Health care sharing programs are faith-based alternatives to traditional health plans. Medi-Share, for example, has a community of about 400,000 Christian members who agree to share each other’s medical expenses. But note that the payment of medical bills is not guaranteed.…

not ready to return to work?

ACROSS THE U.S., COMPANIES that sent their workers home in March to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic are gradually reopening. Most are implementing a long list of precautions, from requiring workers to wear masks to limiting capacity on elevators. But with coronavirus cases still rising in some parts of the country—and a vaccine months away—some workers are reluctant to go back to the office. Which raises the question: If you don’t feel safe, can your employer require you to return to work? The answer depends on a number of factors, but your individual circumstances are most important, says Alison Green, founder of the Ask a Manager website (www.askamanager.org) and author of Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses and Other Tricky Situations at Work. If you have a…

this olympian has a new goal: closing the wealth gap

Lauryn Williams is a certified financial planner with Worth Winning, in Dallas, and an adviser for Student Loan Planner, which provides consulting and refinancing services for borrowers. She is a three-time Olympic medalist in track and field and the two-woman bobsled, and the first U.S. woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Games. What led you to become a certified financial planner? I didn’t get the kind of service I wanted from either one of the two financial advisers I had during my time as an Olympian. They didn’t help me with my budget. We didn’t have conversations about my short- or long-term goals or savings. I was earning more than $200,000 in sponsorships before I was old enough to drink. I knew I needed more information to be better…

travel rewards cards offer new perks

SOME OF THE LARGEST issuers of travel rewards cards are adding new benefits to accommodate cardholders who have put travel plans on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. Rewards card providers “have really leaned in to where people are spending these days,” says Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com. The coronavirus crisis has compelled many Americans to use their credit cards for groceries, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com. In April, 46% of grocery shoppers paid with a credit card, versus 27% in December. In response, credit card issuers are offering more-generous rewards for groceries and restaurant meals, including takeout and delivery. Chase Sapphire Reserve, for example, will allow grocery store and gas station purchases to qualify for the $300 annual travel credit through December 31. Through September 30, Chase Sapphire…

more retirees can skip ira payouts

The CARES Act allows retirees who are 72 or older to skip required minimum distributions. Initially, the IRS said retirees who took a required distribution between February 1 and May 15 could roll the money back into their accounts, which excluded many seniors who took a distribution in January. Now the IRS has welcome news for seniors who took an RMD from their IRA or other tax-deferred plan in January and would like to put the money back. In recently released guidance, the agency said that anyone who took an RMD from an IRA or 401(k) plan in 2020 can repay the withdrawn funds—even if the withdrawal was in January. The IRS also extended the deadline for you to roll funds back into a retirement account from July 15 to August…