Mary Beth Franklin is a Contributing Editor at Crain's Investment News. An award-winning journalist, Franklin covers retirement planning, tax planning, Social Security issues and long-term-care insurance. She is a key participate in Kiplinger videos on annuities and long-term care and manages special projects such as the annual Jump Start Your Retirement Plan Days in conjunction with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.
Before joining the Kiplinger staff in 1998, Franklin was a syndicated columnist specializing in personal finance and health issues for older Americans. Her weekly personal-finance column for Maturity News Service appeared in more than 200 newspapers nationwide. A former Capitol Hill report for United Press International, Franklin has written feature articles for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and numerous magazines.
Franklin is frequent public speaker, addressing both financial industry and consumer groups. She has appeared on numerous national and local television and radio programs including NBC's Today show and Meet the Press, the CBS Early Show , CNN and PBS’s Wealthtrack program.
Franklin received a Bachelor of Arts in communications from American University, in Washington, D.C., and currently serves as a professional mentor to graduate students in AU’s journalism program.