Greetings from Illinois, a state that never tops the rankings of places to retire. We have one of the great American cities, but also polar vortexes and an enormous state budget deficit - and now there is renewed talk about taxing retirement income to help close the gap.

Jill Schlesinger got her start on Wall Street, and that is where she learned a lot of what she knows about the financial world. But she has built a career dishing out personal finance advice by pulling back the curtain on myths about investing, and showing how average people can make a solid plan for retirement.

When Medicare prescription drug insurance was created in 2003, the idea that beneficiaries with very high drug costs should pick up 5 percent of the tab seemed reasonable - but that was well before specialty drugs were invented that carry price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The idea that Social Security benefits should be expanded - not cut - is going mainstream.

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters)

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

Ai-jen Poo wants to transform caregiving into real work.

Is it time to raise the Social Security retirement age? The idea crops up often as a partial fix for the long-term financial challenges facing the program.

Insurance companies do not need any help marketing Medicare Advantage plans - just ask anyone over age 65 about the pitches that clog their mailboxes every year during the fall enrollment period, or check out the television ads that flood cable channels.