Category: Epic Insights

Wise Decisions with Retirement in Mind

Jan 1, 2020

Some retirees succeed at realizing the life they want; others don’t.Fate aside, it isn’t merely a matter ofstock market performance or investment selection that makes the difference. There are certain dos and don’ts – some less apparent than others – that tend to encourage retirement happiness and comfort. (more…)

Tags: retirement, Retirement Planning

401(k) Loan Repayment

Dec 30, 2019

The conventional wisdom about taking a loan from your 401(k) plan is often boiled down to: not unless absolutely necessary. That said, it isn’t always avoidable for everyone or in every situation. In a true emergency, if you had no alternative, the rules do allow for a loan, but they also require a fast repayment if your employment were to end. Recent changes have changed that deadline, offering some flexibility to those taking the loan. (Distributions from 401(k) plans and most other employer-sponsored retirement plans are taxed as ordinary income, and if taken before age 59½, may be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty. Generally, once you reach age 70½, you must begin taking required minimum distributions.) (more…)

Tags: 401K, Retirement Planning

Pension Plans & De-risking

Dec 25, 2019

A new term has made its way into today’s financial jargon: de-risking. Anyone with assets in old-school pension plans should know what it signifies.

De-risking is when a large employer hands over its established pension liabilities to a third party (typically, a major insurer). By doing this, the employer takes a sizable financial obligation off its hands. Companies that opt for de-risking usually ask pension plan participants if they want their pension money all at once rather than incrementally in an ongoing income stream. (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, retirement, Retirement Planning

Four Words You Shouldn’t Believe

Dec 18, 2019

“This time is different.” Beware those four little words. They are perhaps the most dangerous words an investor can believe in. If you believe “this time is different,” you are mentally positioning yourself to exit the stock market and make impulsive, short-sighted decisions with your money. This is the belief that has made too many investors miss out on the best market days and scramble to catch up with Wall Street recoveries.

Stock market investing is a long-term proposition – which is true for most forms of investing. Any form of long-range investing demands a certain temperament. You must be patient, you must be dedicated to realizing your objectives, and you can’t let short-term headlines deter you from your long-term quest. (more…)

Tags: Investing, Investment Planning

A Retirement Facts Sheet

Dec 16, 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.

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 currently 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. (West Virginia, incidentally, is phasing out such taxation.) (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Retirement Planning

New I.R.S. Contribution Limits

Dec 13, 2019

The I.R.S. just increased the annual contribution limits on IRAs, 401(k)s, and other widely used retirement plan accounts for 2020. Here’s a quick look at the changes. (more…)

Tags: Retirement Planning

Establishing Good Credit in College

Dec 9, 2019

Good credit may open doors. It is vital to securing a loan, a business loan, or buying a home. When you establish and maintain good credit in college, you create a financial profile for yourself that can influence lenders, landlords, and potential employers.

Unfortunately, some college students do not have good credit. In fact, Credit Karma says that the average 18-to-24-year-old has a credit score of 630. A FICO score of 730 or higher is considered good. (more…)

Tags: Credit Repair, Financial Planner Charlotte NC, Financial Planning

Can You Put Your IRA into a Trust?

Dec 2, 2019

Can your IRA be put directly into a trust? In short, no. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) cannot be put directly into a trust. What you can do, however, is name a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA. The trust would inherit the IRA upon your passing, and your beneficiaries would then have access to the funds, according to the terms of the trust.

Can you control what happens to your IRA assets after your death? Yes. Whoever was named the beneficiary will inherit the IRA. But you also can name a trust as the IRA beneficiary. In other words, your chosen heir is a trust. When you have a trust in place, you control not only to whom your assets will be disbursed, but also how those assets will be paid out. (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, ira

Facts About Medicare Open Enrollment

Nov 27, 2019

Medicare’s open enrollment period runs through December 7th. If you are enrolling in Medicare for the first time, you will discover that it is much more complex than an employer-sponsored group health plan.

When you are enrolled in Medicare, you pay multiple premiums for multiple types of coverage (Parts A and B as well as the Part D prescription drug plan), and unlike a group health plan, there are no caps on out-of-pocket costs and a risk that you might have to pay a hospital insurance deductible more than once per year. Original Medicare also does not cover some costs that many seniors would like to cover, such as dental and vision care expenses. (more…)

Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Health Care Needs, Medicare

What If You Get Audited?

Nov 20, 2019

“Audit” is a word that can strike fear into the hearts of taxpayers.

However, the chances of an Internal Revenue Service audit aren’t that high. In 2017, the most recent statistics available, show the I.R.S. audited 0.5% of all individual tax returns.

Being audited does not necessarily imply that the I.R.S. suspects wrongdoing. The I.R.S. says that an audit is just a formal review of a tax return to ensure information is being reported according to current tax law and to verify that the information itself is accurate. (more…)

Tags: financial advisor, Tax Audit