Who’s Your Beneficiary? (VIDEO)
Who's the beneficiary on your accounts? If you haven't updated them in a while, if something happens to you, your money may not go where you want.
SPECIAL REPORT: The Definitive Guide to Medicare
There’s a common misconception that Medicare is a simple, automatic process when you turn 65. Nothing could be further from the truth. The responsibility to enroll is on your shoulders, and if you miss deadlines or don’t enroll in just the right way, you can incur penalties that will consume chunks of your retirement income for the rest of your [...]
The Estate Tax Exemption Amount Increases in 2022, BUT…
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 became law, estate tax exemptions got a substantial boost. The amount each individual could pass on free of federal estate taxes jumped from $5,490,000 in 2017 to $11,180,000 in 2018. That amount has increased each year since then based on the Consumer Price Index. In 2022, the exemption rises from $11.7 [...]
Medicare Eats Up Most of the 2022 Social Security Raise
There was dancing in the streets when Social Security announced that 2022 checks will go up by 5.9%, the biggest Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 40 years. But now, the streets are empty and the cheering is gone. Most of that Social Security COLA will be eaten up by increases in Medicare. Medicare Part B, which covers doctor services [...]
2022 401(k) and IRA Contribution Limits
The maximum contribution limits to tax-deferred savings accounts have been set for 2022. You can put more into employer-sponsored plans, but not individual accounts. IRA contribution limits, whether Traditional or Roth, will remain the same as it has been since 2019. You can contribute $6,000 and if you are age 50 or higher, you can make a $1,000 catch-up contribution. [...]
Does Your Estate Plan Cover Your Bank Accounts?
You just got the final draft of your estate plan. You’ve been thinking about this for a long time—how you want your estate distributed, who you want to take care of, who you want to benefit. As you scan the document, it includes your exact wishes for disposition of all the major assets; stocks and bonds, property, business ownership. But [...]
Medical Expenses Retirees Can Deduct
Like most people, I don’t want to pay more taxes than necessary. That common-sense approach to money began when I got my first job at the age of 13. I was paid $1.50/hour, slightly above the $1.30 minimum wage. I calculated exactly how much my first paycheck would be. But when I got it, somebody must have used new math, [...]
Ask Bob – What Do I Do If I Choose The Wrong Medicare Plan?
Alhambra's Bob Williams answers the question, "What do I do if I choose the wrong Medicare Plan?".
The Medicare Star Rating System—Help to Choose the Right Plan
Talk to anyone who’s about to go on Medicare and they’ll tell you that figuring out what plan to choose will make you pull your hair out (which is probably not covered by Medicare). There are so many things to consider, from drug coverage, to copays and coinsurance, emergency room visits, hospital stays, the network of available doctors, the network [...]
Estate Planning Review
We’ve been focused on Covid for so long that a lot of things have taken a back seat. We’re still regrouping, trying to find the new normal. Estate planning is one of the things that’s easy to forget in this new normal. Why not? You did the estate planning, you listed your wishes, and you put the document in a [...]
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