Author: Candace Williams

When Alzheimer’s Disease Is Diagnosed

Aug 21, 2019

Imagine the outlook for your life changing in minutes.A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can be that stunning. If your parent is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, how can you help them as they strive to make the most of the years ahead?

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis may bring stages of grief and anxiety – when and how should your parent share the diagnosis with loved ones, friends, and colleagues? (more…)

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A Bucket Plan to Go with Your Bucket List

Aug 19, 2019

The baby boomers redefined everything they touched, from music to marriage to parenting and even what “old” means – 60 is the new 50! Longer, healthier living, however, can put greater stress on the sustainability of retirement assets.

There is no easy answer to this challenge, but let’s begin by discussing one idea – a bucket approach to building your retirement income plan.

The Bucket Strategy can take two forms. (more…)

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Put it in a Letter

Aug 14, 2019

Actor Lee Marvin once said, “As soon as people see my face on a movie screen, they [know] two things: first, I’m not going to get the girl, and second, I’ll get a cheap funeral before the picture is over.”

Most people don’t spend too much time thinking about their own funeral, and yet, many of us have a vision about our memorial service or the handling of our remains. A letter of instruction can help you accomplish that goal.

A letter of instruction is not a legal document; it’s a letter written by you that provides additional, more personal information regarding your estate. It can be addressed to whomever you choose, but typically, letters of instruction are directed to the executor, family members, or beneficiaries. (more…)

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Is Your Company’s 401(k) Plan as Good as It Could Be?

Aug 2, 2019

How often do retirement plan sponsors check up on 401(k)s?

Some small businesses may not be prepared to benchmark processes and continuously look for and reject unacceptable investments.

Do you have high-quality investment choices in your plan?

While larger plan sponsors may have more “pull” with plan providers, this does not relegate a small company sponsoring a 401(k) to a substandard investment selection. Sooner or later, employees may begin to ask questions. “Why does this 401(k) have only one bond fund?” “Where are the target-date funds?” “I went to Morningstar, and some of these funds have so-so ratings.” Questions and comments like these may seem reasonable and might surface when a plan’s roster of investments is too short. (more…)

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Do Your Investments Match Your Risk Tolerance?

Jul 31, 2019

Hand over stairs
When was the last time you looked at the content of your portfolio?

From time to time, it is a good idea to review how your portfolio assets are allocated – how they are divided among asset classes.

At the inception of your investment strategy, your target asset allocations reflect your tolerance for risk. Over time, though, your portfolio may need adjustments to maintain those target allocations.

Since the financial markets are dynamic, the different investments in your portfolio will gain or lose value as different asset classes have good or bad years. When stocks outperform more conservative asset classes, the portion of your portfolio invested in equities grows more than the other portions. (more…)

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Eight Mistakes That Can Upend Your Retirement

Jul 22, 2019

Pursuing your retirement dreams is challenging enough without making some common, and very avoidable, mistakes. Here are eight big mistakes to steer clear of, if possible.

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What the SECURE Act Could Mean for Retirement Plans

Jul 19, 2019

Key to open Doors
If passed, it would change some long-established retirement account rules.

If you follow national news, you may have heard of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. Although the SECURE Act has yet to clear the Senate, it saw broad, bipartisan support in the House of Representatives.

This legislation could make Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) a more attractive component of retirement strategies and create a path for more annuities to be offered in retirement plans – which could mean a lifetime income stream for retirees. However, it would also change the withdrawal rules on inherited “stretch IRAs,” which may impact retirement and estate strategies, nationwide. (more…)

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Three Key Questions to Answer Before Taking Social Security

Jul 12, 2019

Social Security will be a critical component of your financial strategy in retirement, so before you begin taking it, you should consider three important questions. The answers may affect whether you make the most of this retirement income source. (more…)

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The A, B, C, & D of Medicare

Jul 10, 2019

Whether your 65th birthday is on the horizon or decades away, you should understand the parts of Medicare – what they cover and where they come from.

There are two components of original Medicare, Parts A & B. Part A is hospital insurance. It provides coverage for inpatient stays at medical facilities. It can also help cover the costs of hospice care, home health care, and nursing home care – but not for long and only under certain parameters.1,2 (more…)

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A Retirement Fact Sheet

Jul 8, 2019

Does your vision of retirement align with the facts? Here are some noteworthy financial and lifestyle facts about life after 50 that might surprise you.

  1. Up to 85% of a retiree’s Social Security income can be taxed.

Some retirees are taken aback when they discover this. In addition to the Internal Revenue Service, 13 states levy taxes on some or all Social Security retirement benefits: Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. (It is worth mentioning that the I.R.S. offers free tax advice to people 60 and older through its Tax Counseling for the Elderly program.)

2. Retirees get a slightly larger standard deduction on their federal taxes.

Actually, this is true for all taxpayers aged 65 and older, whether they are retired or not. Right now, the standard deduction for an individual taxpayer in this age bracket is $13,600, compared to $12,000 for those 64 or younger.       (more…)

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Market Update – Navigating May’s Stock Market Outlook
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After a strong first quarter for stocks, some April showers rained down as the S&P 500 fell about 4% last month. Hopefully those showers will bring some flowers in May, despite the widely cited stock market adage, “Sell in May and go away.” There is some merit to this old adage because the S&P 500’s … Continue reading “Market Update – Navigating May’s Stock Market Outlook”

Retirement and Adult Children
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Families are one of the great joys in life, and part of the love you show to your family is making sure that their basic needs are met. While that’s only to be expected from birth through the high school years, many households are helping their adult children well into their twenties and beyond at … Continue reading “Retirement and Adult Children”

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