Articles
HOW MUCH MONEY WILL I NEED IN RETIREMENT?
It’s THE big question. You might hate your job and yearn to retire, but feel overwhelmed by all the articles you see that tell you you’ll need $1 million or more to comfortably turn in your company keys. Unfortunately, most pre-retirees in the U.S. haven’t saved...
Social Security Claiming Strategies for the Widowed or Divorced
Last month we discussed general principles around seniors taking social security benefits and why one should strive for putting off claiming as long as possible to maximize permanent benefits for both oneself and/or their married partner. This month we examine tactics...
Smart Claiming Strategies for Social Security
Eleven million Boomers are retiring every day and the optimum age to begin claim Social Security benefits is on their minds. In a report from the Social Security Administration dated 12/31/22, 37% of men taking benefits and 42% of women receive 50% or more of their...
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly about Plain Old Brokerage Accounts
Plain vanilla brokerage accounts get a bad rap. All the conversations go to retirement accounts: how, when and why to fund them; what the rules are; strategies on maximizing them. You can pick up any financial publication and read about them. I’ve been a financial...
What the Secure Act 2.0 Means for Retirement Savers
The Secure Act 2.0, passed by Congress in late December 2022 and signed into law by President Biden, seeks to address the huge gap in retirement savings among both those working and those that have retired. The World Economic Forum forecasts that by 2050, unless...
Healthcare in Retirement
I meet with clients every month who want to hang up the “nine to five” and jumpstart their retirement chapter prior to qualifying for Medicare. I get it. Some people have health challenges, some folks want to start enjoying more quality of life…the reasons why are...
Let’s Talk About Roth IRA Conversions
There’s a lot to like about Roth IRAs. Contributions to them are after-tax and the growth over time will never be taxed when you take distributions out after reaching 59-1/2 years old. That’s a really valuable perk as your tax-deferred retirement plan at work or the...
Let’s Talk About Long Term Care
I’ve been a licensed financial advisor for nearly 20 years and conversations with clients about long-termcare are some of the most difficult with which I am faced. Nobody wants to talk about it. It’s scary andexpensive and completely contrary to topics like RV road...
The Secure Act & Eligible Designated Beneficiaries
The SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) was one of the biggest blasts to retirement planning to come down the chute in many years when it was signed into law in 2019 and took effect the beginning of 2020. One big bonus was the...
IRA Estate Planning With Your Spouse in Mind
I’ve been opening IRA retirement accounts for clients for nearly 20 years and the estate planning and choice of beneficiaries is pretty rote: name your spouse as your Primary Beneficiary and your child or children as Contingent Beneficiary(ies). Nothing wrong...
The Stretch IRA Is Dead. Now What??
I’ve been a licensed financial planner for about 20 years and it was pretty much a default that a married couple would name the other spouse as the primary beneficiary of their retirement money and then name their children as the contingent beneficiaries in the case...
Qualified Charitable Distributions & the QCD Anti-Abuse Rule
A boon for most taxpayers was the increase in the standardized deduction starting in 2018. Prior to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, a full 30% of households itemized deductions; since the change, a mere 10% do. This year, single people can deduct $12,950.00...
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