Annuities and Asset Protection: What you need to know! Joe Richmond (not his real name) followed every bit of advice his financial planner gave him. He paid himself first and accumulated a very nice emergency fund. He maxed out his employer-matched qualified plan, invested in income-producing assets, looked for any tax savings, and started a [...]
Most of our Veterans and their widows are unaware of all the benefits that are available to them through the Veterans Administration. Nearly two million Veterans or their widows are missing out on a valuable pension from the U.S. Government, leaving as much as $4.6 billion a year unclaimed. This lifetime benefit is available for [...]
Buy low and sell high, there may not be any tax liability! Did you know the tax law changed on Capital Gains? Do you know how important it is to understand short term and long-term tax brackets? Knowing the difference and how to use them when it comes to investing and tax harvesting can make [...]
If your Required Minimum Distribution is not managed properly you may be exposed to additional tax liability Determined by the fair market value of qualified retirement accounts, a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is the minimum withdrawal amount account owners must take when they reach age 70½. Types of accounts affected by the Internal Revenue [...]
A recent report about retirement confidence from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found a widespread concern over the future, the future in retirement income, the future of social security and the future of Medicare. This article was originally written in 2015 and it is coming true rapidly. Well worth a new read. Click here [...]
Are you using responsible management to maximize yields and reduce market risk As I work with pre-retirees and retirees, I am always amazed at their emotional response to managing their essential money. Believing the fallacy that if they give this money to the same brokerage firm their peers use to manage and invest in the [...]
Will everything in your life remain normal? “Normalcy Bias”: a belief people hold when considering the possibility of a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the likelihood of a disaster and its possible effects. Many people may tend to believe that things will always function the way things have performed in the past. This [...]
Turn on the radio, pick up the newspaper, google the word “Annuity” and sit back and think to yourself, what in the world is going on here? Huge firms and stockbrokers all build fear and loathing around this ominous word “Annuity.” Have you ever thought about the definition of the word Annuity? What is it exactly? [...]
“Laddered funds” to assure retirement assets are safe, growing, and accessible as needed for decades to come.” Imagine you are standing on the ground looking up at a 30’ tall building. You need to get to the top of the building, but you don’t have a 30’ ladder. You do, however, have THREE 10’ [...]
Journalist Jane Bryant Quinn wryly observed that “The shortest period lies between the minute you put some money away for a rainy day and the unexpected arrival of rain.” Most of us realize the day will come when we find ourselves in need of readily accessible cash. Whether it’s an unanticipated automobile repair bill, [...]
