Some key financial steps that you could take. Your twenties are the perfect time to save and invest. Do it now, and you will have a great ally—time—on your side. Think about doing the following things if you’re not doing them already. Put money into a retirement plan. Save and invest through a 401(k), a 403(b), a Roth or traditional …
Smart Financial Moves in Your 40’s and 50’s
These crucial years call for action. Today, retirement may seem nearer to you than it once did. The following moves might be worth making—and soon. Catch-up contributions to your retirement accounts. Starting in the year you turn 50, you may make a total of $1,000 in catch-up contributions to your IRAs each year and put an extra $6,000 per year …
How Inflation Threatens Retirees
Its effect is subtle, yet significant. Even mild inflation eventually reduces the value of a dollar. If consumer prices rise just 2% a year for the next 25 years, $50,000 will buy the equivalent of $30,477 by the end of 2041. Or to put it another way, a car that costs $50,000 today will cost $82,030 by then. If inflation …
What is the Opportunity Cost of Achieving a Goal?
With the stock market hitting all-time highs on a what seems like a daily basis, now is the time to review heavily appreciated and concentrated stock holdings. What is intent of the investment that you are holding? Is there a particular goal in mind? No one knows what the value of the investment will be when you want to achieve …
Long Term Care Insurance: The Real Cost of Aging
There is a good possibility that you or your spouse will eventually require some form of long-term care. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 70% of people aged 65 or older will enter a nursing home for some period of time during their lifetimes.1 Whether you or your spouse will be among this group is …
Planning the Withdrawal of Your Retirement Assets
You’ve worked long and hard to accumulate your retirement assets that you are using to help finance your retirement. Now, it’s time to start drawing down those assets. Exactly how you liquidate your assets will affect your tax and impact how long those assets last, so it pays to plan a withdrawal strategy that is efficient and maximizes the benefits …
The Low Down on Robo-Advisor
The trend toward online investing and advisory services, also known as robo-investing and robo-advice is gaining momentum, but industry participants are struggling to get a handle on how retail investors view and/or use robo-services to conduct their financial affairs. Studies Abound Recent research conducted by major asset management firms has given some insight, yet often their findings turn up …
What You Need to Know About Generational Wealth Management
Discussing the transfer of wealth from parents to children can be uncomfortable for both parties. Yet by introducing your kids/grandkids to the wealth management process from a young age, affluent families may be able to diminish family tensions later in life and help ensure that the planning tradition passes intact to future generations. Closing the Communication Gap Opening the discussion …
Time to Brush Up on Your IRA Facts
If you are opening an (Individual Retirement Account) IRA for the first time or need a refresher course on the specifics of IRA ownership, here are some facts for your consideration. IRA’s in America IRAs continue to play an increasingly prominent role in the retirement saving strategies of Americans. According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the U.S. retirement market …
I ain’t afraid of the DOL!
There has been a lot of talk surrounding the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rules. The gist of the whole thing is the fact that financial advisors will have to act as fiduciaries, meaning that they have to put their client’s interests first before their own. Wait a minute. Isn’t that a financial professional is supposed to be doing? This …