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.
Tags: retirement, Retirement Planning
What the SECURE Act Could Mean for Retirement Plans
Jul 19, 2019
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…)
Tags: charlotte NC, Retirement Planning, Secure Act
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…)
Tags: Retirement Planning, social security
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…)
Tags: Medicare
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.
- 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…)
Tags: financial advisor, retirement
Charitable Contribution Limits
Jul 3, 2019
Among the big changes in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) were new limits on standard and itemized deductions. These limits and restrictions created new hurdles when planning deductions with tax advantages in mind. An exception was charitable deduction, which remains an option for high-income individuals looking to create a donation for the charity of their choice.
When making a charitable donation, two avenues to consider are donor-advised funds (DAFs) and private foundations (PFs).
(more…)
Tags: Certified Financial Advisor Charlotte NC, Tax Advantages
Can an IRA Be a College Savings Vehicle?
Jun 28, 2019
An IRA is a retirement savings account, right? Indeed. IRA stands for Individual Retirement Arrangement. Even with that definition, however, there is no prohibition on using an IRA to save for other purposes, such as funding a college education.
Why would anyone choose an IRA as a college savings vehicle? At first glance it may seem strange, since there are other types of investment accounts specifically dedicated to that objective. On closer inspection, though, IRAs (especially Roth IRAs) present some features that may be quite attractive to the parent or grandparent who wants to build education savings.
Parents are urged to save for their children’s college education as soon as possible, but what if their children end up spending little or no time in college? (more…)
Helping Your Parents Manage Financial Tasks
Jun 26, 2019
Worldwide, the number of people aged 60 and older is growing.By 2050, this demographic will be more than twice as large as it was in 2015.¹
Some of these seniors could face a financial test.Will they be able to look after their investments or financial matters at age 80 or 90 with the same level of scrutiny they exercised earlier in life?
Your parents may be facing such a challenge.If you sense that they are not quite up to it, then a conversation about financial issues could be in order.
If you need to have this kind of talk with your parents, it is best to proceed gently, while acknowledging some potential risks that may heighten if the status quo persists. (more…)
Making a Charitable Gift from Your IRA
Jun 21, 2019
Is your annual IRA withdrawal a bother? If you are an affluent retiree, that might be the case. The income is always nice, but the taxes that come with it? Not so much.
If only you could satisfy your yearly IRA withdrawal requirement minus the attached taxes. Guess what: there might be a way.
If you gift traditional IRA assets to charity, you could see some big tax savings. The Internal Revenue Service calls this a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), and you may want to explore its potential. Some criteria must be met: (more…)
Tags: Retirement Tax Savings
Tax Moves to Consider in Summer
Jun 14, 2019
Making changes earlier rather than later.
If you own a business, earn a good deal of investment income, are recently married or divorced, or have a Flexible Savings Account (FSA), you may want to think about making some tax moves now rather than in December or April.
Tags: Tax Planning
More Insights
May 10, 2024
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”
May 8, 2024
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”
May 6, 2024
At some point in our lives, we may inherit a home or another form of real property. In such instances, we need to understand some of the jargon involving inherited real estate. What does “cost basis” mean? What is a “step-up?” What is the home sale tax exclusion, and what kind of tax break does … Continue reading “Explaining the Basis of Inherited Real Estate”
May 3, 2024
Medicare won’t cover all of your health-care costs during retirement, so you may want to buy a supplemental medical insurance policy known as Medigap. Offered by private insurance companies, Medigap policies are designed to cover costs not paid by Original Medicare (Parts A and B), helping you fill the gaps in your Medicare coverage. You’ll … Continue reading “Buying Supplemental Health Insurance: Medigap”
May 1, 2024
Incapacity can strike anyone at any time. Estate Planning plans for it By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you … Continue reading “Estate Planning Intro”
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