Traditional or Roth – Which IRA Works for You?
Many of us all but ignore our retirement accounts for much of our working lives. We look at a pay stub and have a vague sense of the “minuses:” Social Security, insurance, taxes. But the IRA is one of the most powerful retirement savings tools available to us, and so it warrants our attention.
How to Make Sense of Retirement and Estate Finance
Retirement is far off until it isn’t. This chapter of life can sneak up on just about anyone, and we do ourselves a favor to be as prepared as we can. Like anything involving the government, finances can be confusing, with different tax treatments, contribution limits, beneficiary rules and more.
6 Planning Opportunities for 401(k)s in Light of the SECURE Act
By the very name, the SECURE Act – or Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – is designed to enhance retirement savings. There are several provisions in the new law to help accomplish this goal.
Sorting Through the Noise on Social Security
We live in the Information Age, where any information we could ever want is available to us within seconds, but due to the overwhelming wealth of info and sources – not to mention neck-break speed of the instant news cycle – it feels hard to know what’s really going on.
In the SECURE Act Era, You’ll Need a New Retirement Strategy. Roth Conversions Could Be It.
But when the SECURE Act goes into effect – expected on Jan. 1, 2020 – beneficiaries will have to fully distribute taxable accounts within 10 years of the account holder’s death. That could push your loved ones into a higher tax bracket.
3 Retirement Potholes (and How to Avoid Them)
The retirement planning process is full of potholes – they seem to pop out of nowhere and can do major damage if you’re not careful. In my years as a financial guide, I’ve put in a lot of man-hours helping people avoid financial potholes. The danger is real and the monetary bruises take a w …
How to Go from Making Money to Making Money Happen in Retirement
It’s a concept that is all too important as 4 in 10 Americans are at risk of running out of money in retirement. The landscape changes when you retire. Your goal now is to conserve, grow, maintain and otherwise hold onto what you already have.
Are You 10 Years From Retiring?: 5 Easy Steps for Retirement Preparation
Ladies … listen up!… there’s still time … Ladies, if you’re nearing the retirement chapter of your life, listen up! Have you thought about what that time looks like? If you could paint a picture of this part of life, what would be included? Does your picture contain lots of color or is it grey?
How to Decide the Best Place to Live When You Retire
One of the questions I get asked often is “Where should I live in retirement?” Sometimes the person is asking about a list of cities, sometimes they’re asking about what type of residence – home, apartment, condo, retirement community, etc. – and sometimes it’s even other countries.
Future Funding of Social Security Is A Pivotal Piece To Retirement Security
You’ve probably heard of the three-legged retirement savings “stool.” The idea is that a quality savings plan for retirement starts with having three aspects of saving: personal savings, employer retirement savings and government-provided benefits.