Retirement Watch Weekly
How Innovative Modern Trusts Improve Your Estate Plan
Trusts have been around since at least medieval times, but their details change over time. Recent innovations can make your trusts more powerful and effective. These innovations apply to a couple of features that frequently are treated routinely: the definition of a trustee’s powers and the selection of the trustee. The first step is to […]
Where We Stand After Two Years of Higher Interest Rates
There have been a lot of surprises in the two-plus years since the Federal Reserve began its historic interest rate increases. Continue to expect the unexpected. In May 2022, the Fed finally realized, much too late, inflation wasn’t transient. It needed to act. In June 2022, the 12-month increase in the Consumer Price Index peaked […]
Maximize the Benefits of Charitable Gifts for Your Charity
Many people include some level of charitable giving in their financial and estate plans, but too often they don’t develop a giving plan that optimizes the impact of their donations. A solid giving plan can increase the effect on charities and the causes that most interest the donor while ensuring the benefits to the donor […]
Can You Really Switch Medigap Policies and Medicare Advantage Plans Any Time?
The ability to switch Medicare plans isn’t as available as many beneficiaries are told or believe. Most Medicare beneficiaries know that each year during open enrollment (Oct. 1–Dec. 7) they’re allowed to change their coverage. The new coverage will take effect the following Jan. 1. During open enrollment, a beneficiary can switch from one Medicare […]
The Dangers of Rolling Over RMDs to Other Retirement Accounts
Some retirees continue to make a key mistake with required minimum distributions (RMDs), and that could cost them a lot of money. Retirees who don’t need the RMD to pay living expenses sometimes move the money to a Roth IRA, treating it as a conversion of the RMD to a Roth IRA. Others try to […]
IRA Tragedies: Four Cases Show the Pain Caused by Overlooking Simple Details
Many people are surprised and shocked when they learn what happens when retirement account owners neglect simple details about their accounts. They don’t know the significant powers IRA and 401(k) custodians have or other important facts about qualified retirement accounts. A review of some recent court cases should bring the points home. The newest case […]
Some Little-Known Risks of Using Safe Deposit Boxes
Many items wouldn’t be kept in safe deposit boxes if more people knew the facts, and that would be fine with the banks. Safe deposit boxes are used routinely without much knowledge about the potential consequences to the users and their loved ones. One issue is how safe items in the boxes really are. Safe […]
Bob’s Journal for 6/26
The Risks of Using Long-Term Data: A Case Study Long-term data and averages can be useful tools when developing investment and financial plans, but they must be used with care. Here’s a recent example. Those who study stock index data know that historically June 20 through the end of June is a bad time to […]
