Student Loan Repayments Are the New Corporate Benefit

This week in our Retire with Money Facebook group, a member posted, “Was on track to retire but lost my job after nine years. Have grieved and regrouped. I am being offered an hourly position and the company requested an hourly rate. Is there an online resource where you can plug in an annual salary to calculate your hourly rate?” Members included several calculators that allow you to convert your salary into an hourly rate. If you work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, it’s 2080 hours, so you can divide your annual salary by 2080 to get an hourly rate. If you don’t get any benefits, multiply the answer you get by 1.3, some suggested, to build back in the cost of buying health insurance and, perhaps, the loss of paid vacation and a 401(k) match. One member took a step back and asked, “I think the bigger question is, are you doing the same job as you were before and, if so, why has it become hourly?... And, even more big picture... are you evaluating other employment opportunities?”

A Roth IRA can help you save for the future while providing flexibility. Two great benefits of a Roth IRA are potentially growing your money tax-free and making withdrawals without paying taxes or penalties. There are a few things to keep in mind with this type of IRA. For starters, there are income limits to open a Roth IRA. Also, if you want to withdraw earnings (as opposed to contributions), there are specific parameters you have to follow to avoid paying taxes and penalties. We cover all the basics so you can better understand the benefits of Roth IRAs, and include a few things to watch out for.

Hearing Aid Maker Turns to AI to Dampen Background Noises

A new startup is using artificial intelligence to help filter out background noises at restaurants, and it promises to keep improving over time. STAT NEWS

Powell Not Big on Bitcoin

10 Things the Fully Vaccinated Need to Know

You can visit friends and family, but air travel is still discouraged. AARP

Cultivating a Beginner’s Mind

An author discovers the joy of learning new hobbies as an adult after taking his young daughter to classes. NEXT AVENUE

Elizabeth O'Brien is deputy editor at Money. She has covered retirement and health care for nearly a decade. A Brooklyn resident and mom of two boys, she navigates the alphabet soup of Medicare and the New York City subway system with equal ease. You can email her at elizabeth.obrien@money.com and follow her on Twitter at @elizobrien.