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Retirement & Financial
Planning Insights
Explore our latest news and expert insights on retirement, annuities, and wealth management.
These resources are designed to help you confidently plan for your financial future.
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
Reevaluate Your Budget
A new year often means a fresh start! Reevaluating your financial needs, budget, and savings is also often done now. Building a budget or adjusting the one you already have is one step, as is looking honestly at any debt. Another important step is making sure that your emergency savings
The 2022 Cost of Living Adjustment
With 2022 just beginning, we thought we’d share with you some of the changes to Social Security. The Social Security Administration has issued a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (known as a “COLA”) for 2022, the largest COLA in nearly 40 years. How much of a difference this will make in your
Review Your Strategy for the New Year
Over the past few weeks we’ve made posts regarding some of the things to think about when providing for your family’s future and protecting what you’ve worked for. As we enter the New Year, there are also strategies you can think about putting in place to pass on your legacy.
Retirement Road Map
Take the first step to protect yourself. The pandemic has created a lot of unexpected events, has impacted the markets, and has caused each of us to adapt to the changes. Now is a good time to review how your needs may have changed and what you’ll need to adjust
Protecting Yourself From Risk
As we’ve talked about before, investment risk is a risk that everyone shares. Having a portfolio of products aligned with your risk tolerance and time horizon is important to protect against market risks. As you age, your time horizon and risk tolerance will most likely change. It is important to
The Cause of Inflation
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal states “Last April, economists thought inflation would be around 2.5% right now. Instead, it’s over 6%. Even by the forgiving standards of economic forecasting, that’s a miss of epic proportions.” So, what’s the cause of this increase, and what does it mean?
What Does Medicare Cover?
As a recent article indicates, Government data shows “nearly 70% of individuals who reach age 65 will need long-term care at some point.” Further, “while the median cost of an assisted living facility was $4,300 a month as of 2020, what most Seniors don’t realize is that Medicare doesn’t pay
Preparing For a Reduction
A recent article tells us “People retiring in the next few decades should only count on withdrawing 3.3% of their savings a year, down from the well-established number of 4%” according to a recent report by Morningstar. Inc. The withdrawal rate refers to how much a retiree can “safely” withdraw
Adjusting For 2022 Tax Rules
Soon it will be time to file your 2021 taxes. But did you realize that the 2022 tax rules will “differ substantially from 2021”? Your tax brackets will be higher, and so will your standard deduction. There is still time to reduce your 2021 tax bill, but time is running
Developing a Retirement Income Strategy
When building the foundation for your retirement income strategy, it’s important to consider ways to ensure your money lasts as long as you need it. Speaking with us about the following six questions can be a good starting point: How much of your necessary expenses are covered by outside income
Are you Ready to Retire?
If you’re able to easily determine your own retirement date, be thankful that circumstances haven’t led to that date having to change. Also, be aware that determining when to retire isn’t a simple choice. Are you sure you’re emotionally ready? You don’t want to end up regretting retiring earlier, or
Financial Independence, Retire Early
Do you know what FIRE is? FIRE, in financial terms, stands for “Financial Independence, Retire Early.” The goal of FIRE is to save or invest enough of your money that you can retire earlier than traditional retirement plans would permit. Essentially, you need to keep your expenses low so that
Will You Have to Retire Early?
“More than a quarter of all workers say COVID has prompted them to move up their retirement date,” finds a survey released in February, by the National Institute for Retirement Security. One study even suggested that nearly 2 million older workers have left the labor force for good since the
Financial Literacy
Many consumers have little understanding of the long-term problems that poor financial decisions can create. One of the key reasons that many Americans struggle with making the right decisions when saving and investing is a lack of financial understanding. Financial literacy is becoming increasingly important as more and more people
How Much Is Enough?
Most Americans haven’t saved enough for retirement. A recent article on Yahoo Money states “1 in 4 have no retirement savings.” Clearly $0 in retirement savings is not enough, so just how much is “enough”? How do you know how much you should be saving in order to reach your
How Well Did You Adapt?
We can all agree that the pandemic created many unexpected events in each of our lives, and we’ve all had to figure out how to adapt. That means now is a good time to review how your needs may have changed, and if those changes have impacted the financial goals
The Psychology of Saving for Retirement
If you have ever wondered why saving for retirement feels so difficult, this week’s article may be helpful to you. The article explains, “Psychology is often just as important in personal finance as are the numbers – the way we save, spend and invest are all influenced by the way
Avoiding Risk With Your Retirement Strategies
While you may know that you cannot avoid risk in your life, you can prepare for it with your retirement strategies. Depending on your stage in life, there are specific risks you may want to think about and incorporate into your planning. We read about three key retirement concerns and
Independent Living
Sometimes when we think of our later years in retirement, we forget to reflect on what savings we will need beyond the monthly costs of healthcare, rent, food, etc. at an independent living facility. We need to remember to consider the larger sum of money needed to “buy in” to