Phil Cannella: You CAN fight your health insurer! According to the Government Accountability Office, patients who receive a health insurance claim denial have a 39% to 59% chance of getting it reversed if they appeal directly to their insurer and a 23% to 54% chance if they appeal to a third party authorized to hear such appeals. If you want to maximize your chances of getting the denial revised or reversed, take the following approach:” Check for errors. According to the American Medical Association, 19% Read More +

Is the American Dream slipping away? We all work years and years dreaming that the fruits of our labor will pay dividends in our retired years. But the truth is, according to noted retirement specialist Phil Cannella, that an increasing number of are not realizing that dream. According to AARP public policy Institute, which surveyed 5,000 Americans age 50 and over, 67% of respondents say their retirement savings have shrunk in the past three years, with 25% admitting their savings have been exhausted altogether since Read More +

Is Your Advisor Looking out for You? Nowadays, the last thing you need is an unscrupulous financial advisor. With the twists and turns of today’s economy, a retiree needs an advocate, not a con artist. Phil Cannella offers some red flags to watch out for: • Avoid stockbrokers who claim to have a “secret method” that yields good returns even in bear markets. Listen with your head, not your wallet. • Avoid advisors who use overly complex language or ask you to “just trust” them Read More +

What retirees need to know about bankruptcy and receivership Financial news stations spout the words bankruptcy and receivership as if their definitions were common knowledge. There are important differences between the terms—especially where retirees are concerned. Bankruptcy vs. Receivership The most common option for bankruptcy is Chapter 11, or reorganization. Under this option a company continues, rearranges debts by postponing the paying of its bills or by reducing obligations, assets are sold, and proceeds go to creditors. Notice that the process does not necessarily include Read More +

Do Investment Bank CEOs Deserve Their Huge Payouts? We’ve all heard that the banking industry is “too big to fail.” But should the same apply to bank exec’s salaries? Over the past decade, CEOs of “too big to fail” banks have collected $1.15 trillion in cash and stock—or an average of $19 million a year, according to regulatory findings. This sum easily eclipses the total return banking-industry investors would have received on the market. An investor who put $100 into a market-weighted basket of shares would Read More +

Does the SEC fire its investigators when they get too close to the truth?  Gary Aguirre was one of the SEC’s best investigators, but when he tried to subpoena one of Wall Street’s major players in a fraud investigation, he found out the hard way that it’s not a good idea to rattle too many cages in Washington.   Gary Aguirre was the SEC’s Rising Star Throughout his career, Gary Aguirre became know as a competent attorney who tackled big cases and won. He won Read More +

Each year, more and more seniors decide to suspend retirement and reenter the workforce. Should you find yourself in this situation, it is important to know and understand that there are federal laws to protect you from age discrimination on the job. Read More +

Millions of Americans have served in the Armed Forces over the years and most people would agree that they, and their families, deserve some financial security in exchange for their invaluable service.

The FDIC has announced new rules for major (or “systemically important” as the FDIC calls them) U.S. banks and financial institutions beginning in 2012. These institutions are now required to submit detailed plans on how their assets should be handled in the event of another financial meltdown like the one that occurred in 2008.  The rules would also extend to foreign banks with a significant presence in the U.S.  The new rules are intended to allow the FDIC to quickly sell off assets when a Read More +

A proposed federal “Millionaire Tax” has  many of America’s wealthy elite bristling.  Often called the “Buffet Rule” (after multi-millionaire Warren Buffet, who is credited with conceiving the idea), the proposed tax would adjust the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).  The AMT is usually adjusted every year to keep up with inflation, but many feel it has not been adjusted enough to reflect current economic conditions, or that a more permanent solution is needed.  When the present iteration of the AMT was introduced in 1982, it placed Read More +

In the face of a faltering European economy, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a new tax to yield some additional revenue, an unprecedented move for the conservative French leader.  The “Financial Transaction Tax” would affect financial institutions’ transactions on a day-to-day basis, returning some of that money to the government.  While European economists are divided on this issue, American economists are wondering if a similar tax could help rein in some of the unbridled Wall Street trading occurring in the United States.  If support Read More +

When you are at or near retirement, you may want to keep busy.  However, “pounding the pavement” and undergoing the daily grind of work may not be necessary as you approach, or are in, your golden years. You spent your youth advancing your career, and now it may be prudent to consider a less stressful use of your time. If you desire to dial down your work commitments, the following is a list of jobs recommended by websites including CNN Money, Bank Rate, and Associated Read More +

My Privacy? Sure, Take It. If you are a little surprised sometimes about how much Google seems to know about you—get ready. In March, the internet giant began operating under new privacy policies that dig deeper into the lives of its users. As we all know, Google is more than just a search engine. The company has many services, including GoogleMaps, YouTube, Gmail and Google Voice. Each of these services has maintained their own rules concerning online information. Now, sixty of Google’s services will be Read More +

Although self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) have been around since 1975, many investors have just found out about them.  A self-directed IRA is the same as a traditional IRA, except that it allows investors to put their money into investments other than stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  Though there are some exceptions, investors can put almost anything in a self-directed IRA, like certain precious metals, franchises, and real estate.  The flexibility of a self-directed IRA may appeal to some investors who want to have a Read More +

Rising Medical Costs Rip Into Retirees’ Savings First, the good news: Retirees now live longer. But they also have to pay for it. Staying healthy and sharp may cost the average retiree a huge chunk, if not all, of their retirement savings. For many, health care costs represent the great unknown. Retirees often overlook the real budget buster to their portfolios—the rising costs of healthcare basics like prescription drugs, tests, and emerging medical treatments. A report recently released by the American Association of Retired Persons Read More +

Judging from the menu of available scam operations, one thing is certain: the legions of con- artists prowling out there will never run out of scams. it’s a shame that today’s retirees are such a tempting target for this unscrupulous bunch; in particular scammers that target and rob those retirees with large disposable incomes. The newest scam to hit is the Area Code Scam. This particular scam can arrive by mail, email, or through a phone message. The messages urge people to call to claim Read More +

Remember  when the movie Cocoon packed theaters in the 1980s? In the film, a group of retirees swam in a pool which mysteriously granted them youthful exuberance. Today, thousands of older adults have flocked to swimming pools seeking the same healing powers the water can bring (and this time without a science fiction plot involved or actor Wilfred Brimley). Fitness centers across the country have added “water fitness” classes geared towards retirees, offering a chance for both physical therapy and fun. “It can be therapeutic Read More +

In the run-up to the 2012 election, much has been made about the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its Director, former Ohio Attorney General (and five-time Jeopardy champion) Richard Cordray. The CFPB was created to add another layer of regulation to the banking industry, as well as to regulate the practices of non-bank lenders, such as payday lenders. While most people agree Cordray is more than qualified to perform the duties of his new post, his appointment as Director of the new Read More +

By Kim Friel Our country faced record-breaking heat waves during the 2011 summer months, but an article posted this month by the Huffington Post warns those over 50 that the winter months pose the most danger.  For instance, the body’s reaction to cold weather can increase the chance of blood clots, which in turn can heighten the chances for heart attacks and strokes (Numbers 1 and 3, respectively, on the list of leading causes of death in the United States).  Also, the cold weather makes Read More +

To Crash Proof Retirement creator Phil Cannella, scams involving mortgage refinancing are some of the most heinous.  With the millions of pending foreclosures stemming from the great recession, many destitute homeowners are reaching out to anyone who can help them avoid losing their homes; but for some, that “helping” hand can also reach right into their pockets, leaving homeowners in an even worse situation than before. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warn consumers to be wary of anyone Read More +

2011 was a good year for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It brought a record number of enforcement actions against Wall Street firms and dispelled some of the doubt many have had about the organization’s fitness to regulate the financial industry.  The SEC has come under fire in recent years for several major gaffes, including its failure to detect Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, its destruction of documents, and a leasing scandal that cost taxpayers $550 million.  Since the appointment of [former] SEC Inspector General Read More +

The SEC and Bloomberg would rather talk about football tickets than about fixing a broken system. Bloomberg writer Rob Schmidt‘s December 15 follow-up to his November 23 article about the fallout from Crash Proof Retirement’s landmark interview with SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz is revealing on two levels. [dropcap color=”black”]F[/dropcap]irst, it shows that the SEC is more interested in discrediting Mr. Kotz  than in meaningfully addressing the many key issues the hard-hitting questions of Crash Proof Retirement Show™ founder and host Phil Cannella brought to Read More +