Welcome to our blog! Our aim is to provide you with information designed to bring focus and clarity on what will matter most to your retirement: converting savings to a growing stream of income for life.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
If there is a "silver lining" to all the inflation talk, it may be that Social Security benefits are expected to see a larger-than-normal increase in 2022. Preliminary estimates call for a 4.7% cost-of-living increase (COLA) in Social...
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If you are interested in creating and growing a stream of tax-free income in retirement, don’t overlook after-tax contributions in your company retirement plan. For employees who participate in their employer’s 401(k),...
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As Featured in: We had a client come in recently with an old 401(k) plan notification in hand. This account was left at a company he had terminated employment from back in 2001 and has had no contact with since. In the ensuing years,...
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With compassion, we would like to share a story with you. About a year ago we had a prospect named Jill come into our office. She was tragically widowed several years ago at the age of 52. She had three children, two who were in...
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When it comes to your retirement accounts, do you know who your beneficiaries are? These types of accounts have complex distribution rules and significant tax implications for those who inherit them. This complexity is compounded if...
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In retirement, with the possible exception of healthcare, taxes may prove to be your largest expense. Controlling the amount of tax you ultimately pay will help you maximize and grow your income and help your wealth last longer. Once...
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Pre-tax retirement accounts are a fairly new retirement planning tool all things considered. It wasn’t until 1975 that the Traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) first became available. And in 1981 the Internal Revenue...
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As Featured In: The widow’s penalty is often an unexpected and unwelcome surprise to a surviving spouse who has not had to deal with the disadvantages of being a single tax filer in decades but now faces a higher tax liability...
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If you are looking at a mountain of paperwork, you might be tempted to toss it in the trash, but doing so could cause problems down the road. Schedule some time to look at each document and sort them out.
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Because your estate is continuously changing and the circumstances that affect your estate can shift over time, it is important to keep a close watch on your estate plan and make adjustments as needed. This checklist can help you cover all
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How can I avoid making costly mistakes when I inherit an IRA from a person who was notmy spouse? Inheriting an IRA can be a financial windfall, but it’s important to understand the complex,specific rules that apply to non-spouse...
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Having too much without having too little cash on hand at the end of the year is a great balancing act. As the year draws to a close, take the necessary time to plan so you can relax and celebrate the holidays with confidence.
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Structuring your savings into different “buckets” can be an effective way to manage risk, not only market and withdrawal risk, but for inflation and longevity risk as well!
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Putting off planning is the most common regret among retirees today. Setting a goal for yourself and working toward it incrementally and diligently is the best way to begin boosting your retirement savings today.
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As a retiree, you’ve done well for yourself and your accumulated funds are a testament to your hard work. Proper and strategic end of year tax planning will allow you to further make the most of what you have.
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The right data in the wrong hands can cause a great deal of damage to your reputation and your bottom line. The best way to protect yourself from a data breach is to be aware, pay attention, and take action quickly.
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Unfortunately, financial scams are growing even more prevalent these days and can cause a great deal of harm. Your best defense against financial fraud is a good offense. Keep your usernames, passwords, and account data closely guarded.
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Allowing retirees to skip RMD payments can be advantageous in that it provides a tremendous opportunity for them to recoup losses from the drop in the market. So if you do not need the money to live on, you may want to let it stay put.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/garrettgunderson/2020/07/23/debunking-the-myth-of-lower-taxes-in-retirement/?sh=16ebcb7a5cd8 As Featured In: If you want to build wealth, it is your responsibility to save on taxes legally and ethically....
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Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Many wonder when the best time to claim Social Security benefits is. The truth is, that’s a complex question. There are as many different answers as there are strategies for claiming benefits. The right answer depends on the individual.
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Tuesday, June 9, 2020
When the pressure is on—for good or for bad—the individual investor tends to make reactive choices.By letting their emotions take the lead, they usually end up costing themselves a lot of money over time.
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Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Retirement will happen one way or another; to make it as successful and fulfilling as possible, educating oneself on the basics of retirement planning and actively planning for it must be the top priority as one heads into the transition.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Many retirees worry about where their money will be safest - cash or stocks. It’s important to not let the psychology of risk avoidance scare you into making a decision that could ultimately cost you in the end.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2020
No matter how much or how little risk you’re willing to take on as an investor, it is crucial to have a properly diversified portfolio. Diversification is one of the most violated principles but one of the most crucial to financial success.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Organized goal setting and having a clear vision of what you want for your future is not only an important part of retirement planning, it is absolutely essential to achieving the kind of retirement you dream of.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2020
If you’re nearing retirement, you’re moving into a period of tremendous change, with a lot of critical decisions in front of you. The plan you set now will ensure that you’re able to enjoy the life you’ve worked hard for.
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Tuesday, April 28, 2020
The retirement income planning process can be extensive but is too important to simply “hope for the best.” Don’t let fear tempt you into avoiding the problem or running away. You can reach your goals if you stay willing to learn.
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Can impeachment cause a market crash? Key Takeaways Impeachments are rare events. Limited history shows that the stock markets, over the long term, are less focused on political drama and more on the overall strength of the US economy....
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Where should you begin your retirement planning? With so many pieces of the puzzle to sort and organize, and so much at stake, what starting point makes the most sense? Our advice is to start here: begin by determining these three...
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Ask the average person contemplating retirement for one of their top concerns after they stop working, chances are they’ll say something about being able to afford healthcare. And its a very rational concern! The Baby Boomer...
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Beginning in 1998, taxpayers have been permitted to both contribute to a Roth IRA (subject to income limits), and to convert existing assets in a traditional pre-tax IRA to a Roth IRA. In 2006, under the Pension Protection Act, the...
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Anyone with a retirement account, such as a 401(k), Roth 401(k), 403(b), 457 plan, and most IRAs (but not Roth IRAs), will have to deal with something called required minimum distributions at some point during their retirement. A...
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Every successful investor we’ve ever known was acting continuously on a plan; failed investors, in our experience, get that way by reacting to current events in the economy and the markets. We neither forecast the economy, nor attempt to ti
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It’s been a wild few weeks in the markets, some people are surprised, while some are concerned. Some people will be proactive, and others will be reactive. What should you do?
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When creating income from your investments in retirement, the sequencing of your withdrawals, along with the decisions you make regarding how and when to claim social security along with some other pertinent factors, can have a large...
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Our experience of over 20 years tells us that pre-retirees are confused about how to go about determining the amount they need to accumulate in order to be “ready” to retire. . We are all aware of the importance of saving...
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The transition into retirement is one of the biggest and most impactful transitions of a person’s life. The only bigger transition, in fact, is the eventual decline of health along with the progression into old age. With a...
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There is never a one size fits all answer to this question! There is, however, several fundamentals that all successful investors should follow. These fundamentals become even more important to execute as you approach retirement. When...
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Most pre-retirees and recent retirees tend to focus on the risks of investing in the stock markets rather than what we believe is a more important risk to manage, protecting your purchasing power! To understand the importance of...
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Friday, July 13, 2018
When it comes to investing (or anything in life worth doing well) it helps to know what you’re facing. In this case, that’s “the market.” How do you achieve every investor’s dream of buying low and selling high in a crowd of highly resource
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What’s Wrong with the Conventional Wisdom for Investing in Retirement? It is not uncommon for us to hear from a prospective client “I’m getting closer to retirement, shouldn’t I be moving my money into something more conservative?”
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Wednesday, June 27, 2018
This is a message of hope! Hope grounded in historical facts, combined with a pragmatic and admittedly limited view of where we are today, and a simple actionable plan forward. And in no way is it meant to be political in nature.
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