Retirement Planning

Important Ages on the Retirement Planning Timeline

By |2024-01-18T14:38:40-05:00January 18th, 2024|Financial Planning, Medicare, Retirement Planning, Social Security|

Retirement planning is one of those things you have to get right. It can make all the difference between the retirement you’ve dreamed of and one that doesn’t even come close. As part of the planning process, there are certain times and events you need to be aware of. These are usually expressed in terms [...]

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) from Inherited IRAs

By |2023-11-27T14:28:54-05:00November 27th, 2023|Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Savings, Taxes|

At the very moment IRAs joined the retirement savings universe in 1974, so did Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). The government was more than happy to provide a tax-deferred way to save for the future, but it came with a future reckoning—paying taxes on all the contributions and on all future growth whenever an IRA owner [...]

Taking Money from an IRA Without Penalty

By |2023-11-27T14:24:51-05:00November 27th, 2023|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Savings, Taxes|

The IRA is a great retirement savings vehicle; money grows on a tax-deferred basis and that’s a good thing. Eventually, though, you have to pay the IRS piper when you choose to withdraw funds for retirement or when you’re forced to withdraw the Required Minimum Distribution at age 73.   Let’s be clear. You can [...]

Roth IRAs and the Death of Military Personnel

By |2023-11-27T14:23:14-05:00November 27th, 2023|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Savings, Taxes|

There is a little-known rule connected to Roth IRAs that can benefit the surviving spouse of a deceased military member. It allows for a one-time, 6-figure contribution to a Roth IRA.   In the military, the death gratuity program provides a tax-free payment of $100,000 to eligible survivors of military members who die while on [...]

2 Confusing IRA Beneficiary Designations

By |2023-11-27T14:21:49-05:00November 27th, 2023|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Savings, Taxes|

“What in the world does that mean?”  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question during more than 30 years in the financial industry. Clients naming beneficiaries on IRAs, 401(k) accounts, annuities or insurance policies stop dead-in-their-tracks when asked to decide whether they want beneficiaries to receive proceeds from their account [...]

Guarding Against the Survivor Trap

By |2023-11-21T06:58:39-05:00November 21st, 2023|Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Savings, Social Security, Taxes|

It’s called the survivor trap or widow’s penalty. It’s a financial monster that eats away retirement income after one spouse dies, often leaving the surviving spouse with no hope of the retirement they expected. Here are some of the pitfalls of the Survivor Trap.   Loss of Social Security One of the first things to [...]

They Flunked the Social Security Quiz

By |2023-11-15T12:08:42-05:00November 15th, 2023|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Social Security|

The federal government has been sending Social Security checks to retirees for more than 88 years. You’d think that after almost a century of the Social Security program, Americans would have a good grasp of how it works. Over the decades, past research has shown that Americans are painfully ignorant about Social Security. Two recent [...]

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)

By |2023-11-09T10:58:46-05:00November 9th, 2023|Financial Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Savings, Taxes|

In the world of retirement savings, it’s easy to get confused because there are so many types of plans, many identified with weird names or containing numbers and letters that correspond to some section of the IRS code book—401(k), 403(b), 457, Traditional IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), Solo 401(k), Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit, [...]

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