“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 Per Capita or Per Stirpes. [...]
Among savers and investors, the terms IRA, 401(k), and Roth are as common as drinking water, and sometimes the lines between them get blurred and the distinctions are lost. I’ve had multiple clients refer to their IRA as their 401(k) because that’s where the money was before it got rolled over. Many people haven’t been able to tell me whether [...]
It’s going to cost you more. What this time? Health Savings Account Plan deductibles. They’re driven by IRS rules for automatic inflation adjustment. And with inflation continuing to go up, so will next year’s HSA deductibles. In 2024, the minimum deductible for employee-only coverage will be $1,600, up from $1,500 in 2023, and the family coverage deductible will be $3,200, [...]
Officially it’s called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). More commonly it’s known as the Trump tax cuts. No matter what you call it, the provisions of the Act created in 2017 are set to expire on December 31, 2025. The TCJA made massive changes for businesses and individuals. A tax cut on corporate profits A restructuring of [...]
Medicare has been around since 1965. In all that time, you’d think people would have a better understanding of what Medicare is, how it works, and the benefits it provides. But of the 64 million people on Medicare, 75% say the program is confusing and they have a hard time understanding it. Some of the confusion may come from all [...]
In 2021, they said yes. Then they said maybe. Now, Medicare has decided it will cover Alzheimer’s treatments for Medicare recipients who meet specific requirements. In November 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the monthly Medicare Part B premium would go up for 14.5% to cover the high cost of the Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. Then, [...]
The past two years have seen historic Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Social Security recipients. The increases of 5.9% in 2022 and 8.7% in 2023 were the highest they’d been in 40 years because of rampant inflation. But unless things change by October, the COLA for 2024 will be substantially lower. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2023 report, [...]
When it comes to retirement, one of the questions I’m asked most often is, “When should I retire?” There are a multitude of factors that go into making that decision and it boils down to your individual situation. There’s no formula that says if you meet a certain list of criteria, you should retire early, or if you check off [...]
Social Security has been around since 1935, and even after all those years, there is still a lot of confusion about the Social Security Spousal benefit. What is it? It’s an opportunity to receive a Social Security check based on their spouse’s work record. It’s beneficial for people who have very little work history of their own or if they’re [...]
Inflation, if it lasts long enough and hurts deeply enough, will make people rethink priorities. That seems to be the conclusion of a new Bank of America Report called Tracking the Confidence of Plan Participants which outlines current trends of workers who are enrolled in their employer’s 401(k) plan. Across all age categories, the average contribution rate is 6.4%. [...]
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