Events

Economic Update: Russell Price, Chief Economist for Ameriprise Financial will kick off our session with his insights on today’s economic environment. Russ has been the Chief Economist for Ameriprise Financial since 2012.

His views on the economy are frequently seen in the news media, and he has been repeatedly cited by Bloomberg as a “Bloomberg Best” for being one of the most accurate forecasters of the U.S. economy.

Infact, through the end of 2024, Bloomberg ranked him as the 6th most accurate forecaster of the U.S. economy over the previous 2 years, out of a field of approximately 70 global economists. He was the second-ranked forecaster in the U.S. brokerage industry at year-end.

He’s been in the top 10 of the Bloomberg economic rankings every year since at least 2016.

Is AI opportunity or hype? Luke Coogan – Regional Advisor Consultant, Columbia Threadneedle Investments will discuss technology investing focused specifically on artificial intelligence, its impact and the opportunities it’s creating. Throughout this presentation we will cover how AI is transforming the technology investing landscape, how it’s impacting our daily lives, and ultimately how it can affect the economy and our portfolios.

Mary Beth Franklin, CFP® from RetirePro, LLC., is one of the country’s leading experts on Social Security and Medicare and will be our guest speaker for this event. Mary Beth is an award-winning journalist and Certified Financial Planning professional. She is a former contributing columnist on retirement issues for Investment News, a publication for financial advisors. Mary Beth is the host of the public television program, Social Security & You.

“How to Maximize Social Security Benefits” covers the rules and strategies to maximize benefits for married couples, eligible divorced spouses and families with minor or disabled children. It explains how lifetime earnings and age of claiming benefits determines monthly benefits amount. The presentation outlines changes for 2025 including higher benefits and for some earners, higher taxes, due to annual cost-of-living adjustments. It also details the new Social Security Fairness Act which repeals two provisions that had reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits in the past for some public sector workers—including some police, firefighters and teachers— who have pensions based on work where they did not pay FICA taxes.