Full Retirement Age
You’re eligible for the unreduced Social Security benefit (referred to as your Primary Insurance Amount) once you reach your full retirement age. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. You can start taking Social Security retirement benefits as early as 62, but the
Retirement Spending
Many people nearing retirement make the mistake of just “guessing” their retirement income needs rather than actually calculating what they’ll need to support their retirement spending. This is because many people don’t put enough thought into their financial needs when they are working, either. However, given that you don’t have
Best Places to Retire in 2024
We read an article recently examining more than 800 locations in America, comparing everything from housing costs to taxes to health care, air quality, and natural hazard risk. What they found were some of the best places to retire in 2024. The town of Las Cruces, for example, a town
How Would You Answer the Question?
Nobel laureate, the late Daniel Kahneman, proposed a question; “How does the experience of a loss compare with the experience of a gain?” There were four possible answers to choose from: Which answer would you choose? Kahneman’s research study concluded that losses are twice as painful as gains are pleasurable:
Financial Stability
A big part of planning for your retirement future is accounting for the “what-ifs.” No matter how careful anyone is, unexpected changes can occur: accidents, illness, and deaths. That’s where insurance comes in. Life insurance and the features it offers are definitely worth considering, and not only to provide for
Fine-Tuning Your Retirement
It’s been a while since the Secure Act of 2022 came about, but it’s time to refocus on its impact in 2024. Did you know that, beginning in 2024, Roth 401(k)s are no longer subject to RMDs? This means that Roth savers, whether in a 401(k) or an IRA, can
Financial Conflict Between Couples
Strategists who work with couples have found there to be a few conflicts that are most common between them. Different priorities: financial management done predominately by one partner, helping adult children, and disagreements over an inheritance. Each seems to resonate in different ways as we all know how common it
What Happens?
We’ve been asked a few questions regarding what happens to those portions of your estate that aren’t treated consistently with what you say in your will. Many people assume wills and trusts are the pillars of a perfect estate plan. However, asset titling–the way you own an asset–is just as
Roth IRA Vs Traditional IRA
Having just taken a look at your traditional IRA, you may be wondering if the time is now to convert it to a Roth IRA. Choosing between a Roth and a traditional IRA requires you to estimate what your tax situation will be when you start drawing from the account.
It’s That Time of Year
It’s usually around this time of year, when individuals are preparing paperwork for filing their tax returns, that we are asked what the deadlines for contributions are, and what happens if one spouse is non-working but still wants to make IRA contributions. As a general rule, you have until tax
The Busyness of Life
What does retirement really, truly mean? What are your plans for after you retire? We’ve been thinking about this recently. Many would define it as “retreating from the ‘busyness’ of life.” When do you plan on retiring? How old will you be? How long do you think you’ll spend in
Bridge the Gap
We’ve heard many times that it’s a good idea for retirees to put off receiving Social Security payments, as waiting can allow you to get more out of them than if you were to start as soon as age permits. One way to make this more feasible is to include
Stay Active During Retirement
Retirement is a new beginning. As a new retiree, you enter a new stage of your life, where your time is now regulated by you and you alone, rather than revolving around your work. Unfortunately, many new retirees find this isn’t what they’d expected it to be. Many people begin
Money in College Savings Accounts Can Instead Be Put Towards Retirement
Starting in 2024, due to the Secure Act 2.0, up to $35,000 of the money in a 529 college savings account to be rolled over to a Roth IRA for the beneficiary of the 529 account. Although funds in a college savings account going unused is rare, it’s not unheard
Seven Different Ways
We thought we’d bring to your attention an article recently published by AARP that discusses seven different ways retirement income will be different this year: “For most people, retirement finance is a delicate balance between income that’s likely less than what you made while working and expenses that may be
A Sudden Influx of Cash?
Annuities are one way to leverage a sudden influx of cash that may or may not have been expected, such as a bonus, inheritance, or sale of a small asset you had never factored into your financial profile. The reason they can be leveraged is because, unlike traditional tax-advantaged retirement
Retirement With $5 Million
There was a recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute on an analysis of retirement accounts using the 2018 Survey of Consumer Finances. According to the analysis, a $5 million retirement nest egg puts you in the top 0.1% of households. Then, the question becomes: what does $5 million
New Law For 2024
If you own a small business or family office you could be required to report ownership details to the federal government… or face stiff penalties and possible jail time. The Corporate Transparency Act went into effect on January 1, 2024, and it requires otherwise unregulated companies to report information about
Estate Planning
We all know that complex estates require sophisticated estate planning. If you have a large estate or own a business, only a qualified estate-planning attorney will have the knowledge and expertise to tailor to your specific needs. Because we have been doing business with you, we may be able to
Gifts That Keep Giving
The younger a child is when you contribute to their 529 plan, the longer the account has to potentially benefit from compound growth. In 2023, individuals can contribute up to $17,000 per year (and couples up to $34,000 per year) without eating into their lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.
Pre or Post-Retirement?
Most of us think of life insurance as a way to help the people who depend on us financially, or even just to help pay the debts we may have left for our end-of-life care, funeral, or burial costs. What few of us tend to consider is the simple fact
