News
Refresher
We try to educate our clients on annuities. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to review the basics. Click here to visit our annuities page. We’ve outlined information such as the different types of annuities, the nature of the underlying investment, the primary purpose of an annuity, the nature of the
Adjustments
While inflation has certainly been in the news a lot lately, one topic that hasn’t been discussed all that often is private pensions. Unlike Social Security payments, they typically don’t offer cost-of-living adjustments that keep up with inflation rates. State and local government pensions do typically offer cost of living
Food for Thought
There was a great article in the Wall Street Journal this past week that discussed some interesting ideas. The current tight labor market, coupled with the remote and flexible opportunities in the job market, may make retirees think about going back to work in one form or another. Especially when
Some Things Have Changed
“On the surface, retirement planning hasn’t changed all that much over the years. You work, you save and then you retire. But while the mechanics may be the same, today’s savers are facing some challenges that previous generations didn’t have to worry about,” says a recent CNBC article. We’ve touched
Tax Rules on Retirement Accounts
Tax-advantaged accounts, or qualified accounts, allow your portfolio to grow without the impact of taxes. This is a major benefit when it comes to saving for your goals. There are multiple retirement account options to choose from, and tax rules vary for each of them. Where you end up focusing
Two Frequently Asked Questions
Two of the most frequently asked questions when considering life insurance: What financial benefits will be available to survivors after your death What will their needs be? These are the most common types of benefits: Social security and other retirement-related survivor benefits; life insurance; and other assets and resources. Having
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
“Slow and steady wins the race” is an idiom we’ve all heard. But you probably haven’t thought to apply it to planning for retirement. Taking a slower, more consistent approach often leads to a better outcome. It’s easy to forget this, and to take risks in an attempt to catch
What Every Saver Needs To Know
This week’s article focuses on the fact that while “everyone’s retirement is different, 2022 is going to have some big differences from 2021 that will affect almost every retiree and retirement saver to some degree.” The article explains the specifics of what those differences are, including: Higher social security payouts
Biggest Risks To Your Retirement
What can be done to reduce those risks? You’ve been saving for years and have finally retired. There are so many world events going on, both domestically and abroad, that the only constant now seems to be change. The news is full of commentaries about market declines and inflation but
What Does it Mean to You?
We’ve received questions from some of our clients asking what a hike in the Fed rate means to them. As a result, we reached out to an investment strategist to see what they said. “This year’s expected series of rate hikes, the first since 2015, marks the beginning of Fed
Don’t Shy Away
A recent study found that “33 percent of people don’t think they would qualify for life insurance.” We hope you aren’t shying away from discussing the topic of life insurance because you think the same way! Purchasing this type of insurance is a big deal, but most likely necessary to
Reminder to Take Advantage
With the due date for filing tax returns fast approaching, you may be getting ready to make your 2021 contribution to your IRA or other qualified account. While you are at it, why not make your 2022 contribution at the same time? That would allow your money to work for
Taxes
With so much going on around us in the market, it is difficult for many of our clients to take the time to hit pause and think about the impact of taxes on their retirement savings. We thought we would make it easier for you by sharing an up-to-date 2022
State Pensions and Russia
Last week many people heard about the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System losing more than $3 million when it sold off its direct investments in a Russian Bank. (read more here) However, they aren’t the only pension funds in possible trouble. Many state pension funds have Russian financial holdings. “Pensions in
The News, and What it Means to You
With news reports saying the markets are nearing “bear market territory,” people are starting to ask us what that actually means. Let’s start with definitions: “A bear market is when a market experiences prolonged price declines. It typically describes a condition in which securities prices fall 20% or more.” “Bear
Stay On Track
There are many factors to understanding whether you are on track to meet your financial goals for retirement. These not only include what you have set aside in savings and investments, but your rate of return, and inflation. If factors you can’t control such as the market or inflation have
Tax Refunds
We are well into tax season, which means more and more individuals are beginning to think about their tax refunds and what they can do with them. The solution relates to how healthy the individual’s cash flow is. If you like the feeling of getting a “windfall” in the form
How is Social Security Taxed?
With tax season approaching, some of you have asked if the social security payments you receive are taxed. The answer is yes, if your annual income is above a certain amount when you’re receiving those payments. And because that income threshold is relatively low, it’s likely that some of your
Not Enough Time
We often think of retirement in terms of years. We think about how there isn’t enough time left in our lives to do all the things we planned on doing. That same thought of ‘not enough time left’ also comes to mind when we lose some of our life savings.
Social Security Survivor Benefit
We are often asked, “When is the best time for a widow or widower to collect the social security survivor benefits, they have become entitled to?” If you or someone you know have questions about this, we may be able to help. There is a process of applying for those
Retirement Can Sneak Up on You
We’ve all read so many articles reminding us to start early with our retirement savings. But, considering all of the different financial obligations that seem to happen along the way, some of them expected and some not, sometimes retirement sneaks up on you. Before you know it, you may realize
