host: sharon epperson, i will let you jump in.st: the comments i would get with your comment and question is it is really something to look at in terms of people andng to beat the system, expecting that the government money is there, and i will just try to get as much as i can in any way i can from the government. i think we see that, as you have mentioned, more with disability benefits. know that that money has to be there for everyone. some who may not really be considering that as they look to see how much they can get for as long as they can get it, without really thinking about the long-term consequences for the rest of the country. mary whoweet from says, i am almost 65 and the significant other is 72, social security is our only income, we are homeowners with no savings and a mortgage, we are not alone. guest: no, they are not alone. i wonder when they took their at 65 and 70.ty -- if they took at the full retirement age? it sounds like they really needed that money, so they took qualified. they think about the higher earni

sharon epperson, explain this. how and when can the federal government touch money in the social security fund? >> well, you know, that has been a big concern, bonnie, that the government has gone in and taken money from social security and that that trust fund will be depleted by 2034, and that the disability fund will be depleted by 2016. very big concern and it's shared by many people. i think the issue, though, at hand is congress will do what congress will do. what will you be able to do with your money. i think many people are very concerned about what does this mean for me at my time right now. you mentioned that you're nowhere near $2,000. i want to be clear that the maximum social security benefit is a little over $2,000 that one can receive. many, many people are just like you, getting well below that monthly benefit and trying to figure out how to make ends meet. that is why it is so important that people also put in their own money for retirement. yes, you have worked so hard in your businesses, working

host: sharon epperson, i will let you jump in. guest: the comments i would get with your comment and question is it is really something to look at in terms of people andng to beat the system, expecting that the government money is there, and i will just try to get as much as i can in any way i can from the government. i think we see that, as you have mentioned, more with disability benefits. know that that money has to be there for everyone. some who may not really be considering that as they look to see how much they can get for as long as they can get it, without really thinking about the long-term consequences for the rest of the country. mary whoweet from says, i am almost 65 and the significant other is 72, social security is our only income, we are homeowners with no savings and a mortgage, we are not alone. guest: no, they are not alone. i wonder when they took their at 65 and 70.ty -- if they took at the full retirement age? it sounds like they really needed that money, so they took qualified. they think about the higher e

i'm sharon epperson in for becky quick. how hair salons go social and mobile. is america suffering labor pains? we look at the state of american worker with labor secretary tom perez. a wild week for the stock market. massive swings up and down. should you pay attention to all the noise? and what does it mean for your retirement plan? and we'll take you inside cuba. what's really changed and should you be planning a vacation there anytime soon? "on the money" starts right now. >> this is "on the money," your mon money, your life, your future. >> what do a jewelry manufacturer, a hair salon and a wine store have in common? they've all jumped on the technology bandwagon to make their traditional brick and mortar businesses more modern, more mobile, more social. their small shops try to keep up with the bigger players in business and that's our cover story this week. three small businesses, three different vat jstrategies to ke with the times in the social media age. >> it's the best thing to happen to small business. you had to get through the gate keepers. now o

rejoining us now is sharon epperson. it's a brutal couple of days.e were talking earlier in the day and selling the rally more and looking at the final 20 minutes before close and up to the 40s. when's going on? >> less than 1% up for the dow and s&p 500. we were up about 3%. so some people may be saying what really? we're barely positive here with the major averages and even when we were at the highs of the session those were still were not enough to erase the losses of yesterday. the gain if we do see one the first for stocks in six sessions but traders say the market action that we're seeing are typical for right now. for this time of year and going to take sometime for confidence to rebuild in the market. a lot of it will hinge on what the market sees in china and with that rate cut what happens when w the markets tomorrow in china and here in the u.s. here in the u.s. we have seen technology leading the way. we were seeing that being a positive area. utilities were lower. but even when the dow was at the height up 441%, that's still 441 points i

that is where we find our senior personal correspondent for finance, sharon epperson. she has four things you want to avoid. >> there are a lot of things you need to watch, but mistakes about health care top your list, why is that such an important factor? >> a lot of people don't think about how much money outside of medicare, and you may have some of your coverage out of medicare, but there are costs you don't consider that you may have to occur. the average couple today will need to have about $220,000 in savings to cover their health care costs in retirement. that's a lot of money. you want to make sure you start thinking early about how to save for your retirement health care needs and one way to do it is open a health savings account. you to have a high deductible health plan to do this. a lot of small business owners do this and companies are offering this option. it allows you to put money away to pay for health care needs today, but if you don't have that many or as many expenses as you're able to save, you can take the saving the and invest it everything the

i'm sharon epperson in for becky quick. thanks so much for joining us. becky will be back next week and we'll be talking about improving your credit score. each week, keep it here. we are "on the money." have a great one. see you next weekend. coming up next on "today in new york," a tragic accident takes the life of a young actor. how the community is remembering the 21-year-old trailblazer. >>> a crash that sent a car into a building. what investigators now say about that driver. plus a check of the sunday forecast. i'm gus rosendale. >>> i'm pat battle. "today in new york" your sunday edition coming your way next. >>> this morning, a dark day on broadway as we mourn the loss of a talented young actor. >>> a deadly fall from the stands as the yankees face the braves in atlanta. >>> the big decision. republican presidential candidate donald trump promises will please his supporters. good morning, welcome to "today in new york" on this sunday, the last sunday in the mof nt of august, 2015. it's the 30th. i'm pat battle. >>> i'm gus rosendale. a warm star

sharon epperson is here to tell us if you're on the right track.are the signs that you're in good financial health? >> one of the things you should always do, give yourself a financial checkup. the first place to start, know what's going in and what's coming out and know what you owe and own. that's really key. if you can tell folks and tell yourself what your liabilities are and assets are, you're in really good shape. >> how often should you do something like that? >> definitely once a year. the other important thing to know, when you look at what you owe and own, you get a better sense of what your net worth is and knowing your net worth and comparing that to your income, that's another key point. if your net income is higher, net worth is higher than your income, then you're definitely financially healthy and in great shape and living within your means. >> when i look at things leak i house, you may own money on a house, do you get to count that as an asset or liability? >> the equity would be the asset but you definitely owe that money, you've

sharon epperson with more on what you need to know about retiring overseas when it comes to your money future. sharon, you're really looking to retire overseas or abroad. >> doesn't it sound great? >> it sounds great but what are some of the places that pop up? >> in europe, thanks to the strong dollar, the decline of euro and cost of living is much lower there. the living invest overseas and they have the top five, three of the countries are in europe. portugal tops the list. also, france and italy and then in central america, mexico and belize. >> i would worry what happens if the dollar turns around in interest rates. >> they do this every year. you have to do long term, whether or not you can really afford to live over time. there's a lot of factors to consider when you look at living abroad. one of the things that's interesting about these places is the cost of living right now is relatively low. the health care and the access to health care is pretty strong, strong community particularly in the central american countries and when you're thinking about central america, you're clos

. >>> sharon epperson is back with us with a reality check. what does this mean for those in retirement right now or on the verge of it? >> well, of course they are very worried, particularly if you're in your first year of retirement. you're very concerned about what is going to happen with your money. the key is that money in the stock market invested that has likely declined in this market correction is not money you should need in the next five years. >> right. >> that goes for whether or not you're retiring 20 years from now or next year. make sure that that money is not in the market and think about where your money is invested. if it's in a 401(k), make sure it's in things allocated for your goals and for the risks that you're willing to take. >> what if you've already retired? i would assume you've allocated some of those funds to other sectors of the market and you think that they are safe and you think that things are healthy. what kind of impact does an event like today have? >> well, it shouldn't have much an event on your portfoli

sharon epperson is here to tell us what it is. so what's the strategy, the silver lining, if you will? >> the silver lining is for retirement investors who have money in a traditional ira or 401(k), you can convert that money to a roth ira and if it makes sense for you to do so, the reason you want to do it now is because you've likely seen a decline in the value of those accounts and you have to pay taxes on the tax deferred accounts when you convert them to a roth account. the beauty of a roth account, of course, is you're able to see that growth tax free and draw earnings tax free in retirement, but the key here is going to be to find money that's not from your retirement funds and then be able to have that money tax free when you need it for retirement. >> all right. so that certainly sounds like a great silver lining. what if the market continues to fall and you lose more money in your roth account? >> so if that happens or you decide, hey, this is not right for me at this particular time and i don't want to have a roth accou

sharon epperson is here to explain. put us at ease. >> i will put you at ease. but a lot of people are worried. your 401(k)s and your iras may have lost value but this may be the perfect time to convert a traditional ira to a roth ira. it allows you to withdraw earnings tax-free after 59 1/2. when you convert a tax deferred traditional ira to a roth ira you have to pay income tax on the money you convert. a dip in the value of your retirement portfolio mean you could save big on taxes you pay up front. if you have an old 401(k) from an employer, you could convert that to a roth ira. some financial investors may depend more on your tax situation rather than the current market situation. converting to an ira is most beneficial to someone who is in a lower tax bracket. talk to an accountant and financial adviser to see if this silver lining strategy makes sense for you. >> what if you only want to convert some of your money, not all of it? >> you can do that. you could do one ira or a portion of an ira. you can also undo the conversion. you have until october 15th

epperson of cnbc on the 80th anniversary of social security and what the future holds for the program. later, conversation on the u.s. foster care system. the policy reform and advocacy director will join us. host: good morning. 14 we have aaugust three-hour "washington journal." we will talk about health care's ending in the united states. we will also take a look at the state of the foster care system in america. we begin with the increased speculation about a joe biden a presidential campaign. it reports say he is calling supporters to discuss the possibility of joining the democratic primary contests. we

>>> we want to begin with sharon epperson. it was a rebound early in the day. looked like we were going to be out of this trouble at least from what we saw yesterday. but with a steep drop late before closing, what happened? >> we are looking at the dow, the s&p 500 and the nasdaq having wiped out all of their gains after a big rally this morning. a lot of traders saying the market couldn't sustain the momentum earlier of the day. all three averages up at least 3% at the highs of the session. now they are all in the red. the biggest reversal to the downside we've seen since october 2008 during the height of the financial crisis and the first six day losing streak for the s&p 500 since july 2012. really remarkable considering the day started so promising. we had seen the dow up over 441 points at the height of the session. and that was due in part to news of china's rate cut. but there is still a lot of concern for the outlook of the world's second largest economy. and we're looking at all of the major sectors in the market, lower. only consumer discretionary st

then sharon epperson on the 80th anniversary of social security and what the future holds for the program. later, a conversation on the u.s. foster care system, with the director of policy reform and advocacy. we'll also take your phone calls, facebook comments and tweets. washington journal, live each morning at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >>> with the senate in its august break, we'll feature brook tv programming week nights, starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. for the weekends, here are a few special programs. saturday, august 22nd, live from jackson, mississippi, for the mississippi book festival, beginning at 11:30 a.m. with discussions on harper lee, civil rights and the civil war. september 5th, we're live from our nation's capital. followed on sunday with our live in depth program, with former second lady and senior fellow at the american enterprise institute, lynn cheney. book tv, television for serious readers. >>> founded in 1865, the nation is america's oldest weekly magazine still in circulation today. to mark the magazine's 150th anniversary, publisher victor navasky and katrina vand

then, sharon epperson on the 80th anniversary of social security. the foster care system with the any akc foundation -- annie e casie foundation. this sunday night on "q&a." institute for policy studies ennis., phyllis b >> who is isis and what are their origins? why are they so violent? all of those questions are important. i address them in the book. and someore important, ways because we can do something about it, is what is the u.s. policy regarding isis? can we go to war against terrorism? are we doing the war wrong or is it wrong to say there should be a war against terrorism at all? those of the questions that in some ways are the most important and that will be the most useful. etsunday night at 8:00 p.m. and pacific. a panel talks about the political, economic and social applications of russia hosting the 2018 fifa soccer world cup. they also look at allegations of cooperate -- corruption. george washington university hosted this 90 minute event. >> good morning, everybody. i want to welcome you and start off by thinking george washington u

sharon epperson joins us with the details. this is an interesting wrinkle. tell me about the two states and tell me about whether the match is taxable or not. >> here you go. some are calling it landmark legislation, tyler. nevada passed a law in july giving employers a 25% tax credit on match contributions to 529 college savings plans. up to $500 per employee. the tax credit goes into effect as of january 1st, 2016. now currently fewer than 10% of firms offer a 529 plan as part of the employee benefits package and even fewer provide a match, that's according to strategic insight. so this legislation is an effort to encourage companies to offer 529 plans as a benefit and get more families to use them. now, nevada is the second state to give employers a tax break for matching contributions to 529 plans. illinois allowed employers to claim a tax credit since 2009, and since that time while the entire 529 savings plan industry increased accounts by 22%, illinois has increased by 45 has. here's how they work. states sponsor 529 college savings plan allowing your

cnbc's sharon epperson will look at the procespects for the syst and what consumers need to do in order to manage their retirement benefits. we'll be right back. >>> this weekend on the c-span networks, politics, books, and american history. on c-span, live from the iowa state fair, presidential candidates speak at "the des moines register's" candidate soap box. beginning saturday at noon, we'll hear from republican rick santorum and democrats lincoln chaffee and bernie sanders. sunday, republican candidates ben carson at 5:00 followed by george pataki. on c-span2 saturday night at 10:00 eastern, missouri senator claire mccaskill on her life and political career. sunday morning at 10:30, dinesh talks about his most recent book and campaign finance laws. on american history tv on c-span3, sunday morning, with many presidential candidates visiting the airz state fair, we'll learn about the fair's history and its tradition as a stop on the road to the white house as we look back at the 2008 presidential race. and saturday evening at 6:00 on the civil war, historian -- we will have a >>> wi

now we'll get right to it with cnbc's sharon epperson. here on wall street, a complete reversal.oday? >> well, we are looking at all of the major averages and if you took money out, you will be upset considering the fact we have seen quite a bounce today. we are looking at the dow, though, and the s&p

sharon epperson is cnbc's senior good morning. >> good morning. >> it's cyclical, these things happen every four years. if you've got money in the market, this is gut wrenching. >> it is gut wrenching, particularly for people who are near retirement, in retirement watching account balances go down or concerned it will happen. it's a scary time. it is something that's a natural process in the market. >> jim cramer likes to say no one has made a dime by panicking. what's your advice for people? what should they do today? >> first review what you have. you have. do your research. if you don't have a plan, that's a problem. if you do have a plan you need to stay the course. figure out what your goals are. how much risk you can stomach in this market. and then stay on that plan. >> a lot of people aren't picking up the phone to a broker and buying specific stocks. they have 401(k) plans. they have i.r.a.s. what should they know? that's how they are invested in the market. >> they need to know what they are invested in. this is a great wake-up call for people who haven't checked the 401(k)