Ask Terry Archives

I worked at a very large company in a middle management type of position for many years. About a year and a half ago due to downsizing my position was eliminated and I have not been able to land a new job. I'm 58 and have just over 100K left in my IRA to live…

I am retired and I would like to get a new car. My car is 19 years old. What is your feeling about leasing versus buying.

Hi Terry, I'm sixty-three years old and have been retired for two years plus from the railroad (43yrs). I have an IRA and 401k held by separate financial institutions that were opened late in my career. ( reasons are to numerous to mention) Neither has been added to or subtracted from. I have no idea…

I'm a single mom with three boys aged 26, 20 and 16. I can opt for additional life insurance through my employer for $240,000 for $829 a year. I'd like to know if there are better options to purchase insurance individually. Thanks! Barb Graf

I just heard you on WGN and have a question regarding the American Equity Gold deferred income annuity. My husband and I rolled our IRA into this a year ago with a 10% bonus. We were told the financial agent does not get a percentage from our investments but is rewarded from American Equity themselves.…

My neighbor's house was misclassified for 50 years as a two story with full basement when in reality her home is a ranch with a full basement. This resulted in her home being over assessed by 1200 sq. ft. of living space since basements aren't considered living space for tax purposes in Cook County. This…

Hello Ms. Savage, Thank you for taking the time to answer our question. We are newly engaged and are looking to setup a savings account, what are our best options? Suggestions? Advice? Thanks !

Dear Terry, My 2 children are my IRA beneficiaries. If I die will they have to pay taxes on the proceeds. Do they have options?

Is it best to let dividens roll back over to purchase more holdings of the same fund ... or to take as cash for use in purchasing other stocks.

I am in the 8th year of a 30 year mortgage @ 4.5% with 85K remaining to be paid. Would it be wise to try to remortgage to get the current 3.5%? I have an excellent credit rating. Also, which website do you recommend to use for comparing current mortgage rates? Thank you!

I heard your comments on this on WGN. My husband passed away a year ago. I had all of his IRAs put into my account. I am 76 and have been taking RMDs. I have plenty of money on paper, receive 3 small pensions from teaching, and of course , receive social security each month.…

My parents (93 & 94) living in a 55+ community are needing to move to an assisted living facility. Is it true that they will have to sign all of their assets over to the facility? Any info that you could provide on protecting their assets or what steps we should take before this move…

Hi, Terry. In 2005, at age 56, I purchased LTC insurance through my employer, the federal government. I recently received a letter from Long Term Care Partners, Portsmouth, NH, saying that John Hancock, the insurer of the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)…says “Unfortunately, recent analysis of the program, using updated assumptions based on…

Dear Terry, Next year I and my wife will begin taking required minimum distributions from our traditional IRAs. Can we avoid paying taxes on the distribution by directing the the funds directly to a charity, say to a university, to purchase an annuity from the charity? May the amount we redistribute also be claimed as…

Hi Ms Savage, I'm sure you have addressed this type of question before...However, what is the best way to pay these student loans off to decrease the interest charges? Thank you so much! Jackie PS: I want to pay a little extra each month. Current monthly payment due (09/08/2016): $880.32 for all loans 1-02 Direct…

Could you please elaborate a little more on your paragraph "take a portion of your rollover money", specifically regarding rmds? Thank you Sam

My wife (age 73) and I (soon to be 73) are in fairly good health (although my short term memory has declined). What would it cost to obtain Life/long term care insurance to cover $4000/month care costs? And, is it advisable at this point in our lives?

i am 84. Is that too old to get such a policy? if not, what companies, offer such policies and what sum of money would be required up front?

I received a letter that I opened a savings account at some credit union in Virginia (never been there).. I called there saying I didn't open anything and they had already locked the account and closed an attempt to open a credit card and savings account through them. They are investigating. I called Experian through…

My son's settlement was put into a special needs trust. The bank has been investing it in the stock market. Is this a smart way to manage his money? Thank you, Stephan Terry Says:  So, I'm assuming this settlement was the proceeds of a lawsuit.  The suit may have required that a bank manage the…