Someone trusts you so much that they name you to settle their estate after they die. You’re honored they have that much confidence in you, but you don’t think much about what’s involved in settling an estate. Among the long list of items you have to deal with is settling the deceased’s tax bill. You may have to file just [...]
Alhambra's Bob Williams describes Social Security Breakeven Age and how it can help determine when to begin receiving your Social Security benefit.
Alhambra's Bob Williams describes how working past age 70, after delayed credits have stopped, can still increase your Social Security benefit.
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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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