Retirement Watch Weekly
IRS Makes it Easier to Waive 60-Day IRA Rollover Requirement
New IRS guidelines make it easier to obtain a waiver for missing the 60-day requirement to rollover a distribution from an IRA or qualified retirement plan. When money or property is taken from a traditional IRA, 401(k), or other qualified retirement plan, the amount of the distribution normally has to be included in gross income. […]
Be Sure Your Heirs Don’t Mess Up Your IRA
Most of you put a lot of resources into accumulating your IRAs. They’re among the most valuable assets you own. You also took the time to include IRAs in your estate plan so they can pass to your loved ones at the lowest tax cost. You probably planned for your loved ones to benefit from […]
Central Banks Surprise Investors and Themselves
There are a lot of problems to worry about over the long term. For a considerable time, economic growth and investment returns are likely to be less than the long-term averages. Developed economies are burdened with excess debt in both the private and public sectors. Populations are aging in the developed world. Central banks are […]
IRS Curbs Some Estate Planning for Taxes of the Wealthy
The IRS never has liked estate planning strategies that result in what are known as valuation discounts. In August, it issued proposed regulations that would curb many of these strategies. Only a small number of estates will be affected by the new rules, since most estates avoid the federal estate and gift tax. After indexing […]
5 Important Estate Planning Steps for Your Portfolio – An Estate Planning Checklist
How will your investment portfolio and other assets be managed in the future? The odds are that, after you no longer are managing the assets, nothing good is going to happen. Many people neglect to include an investment portfolio transition in their estate plans, so the returns flounder or worse. Many estate planners don’t realize […]
The Economy Slows a Notch
Just when most analysts were sure the pieces were in place for an interest rate increase in September (December at the latest), the monthly employment reports changed everything last Friday. The positive news is that the previous month’s large number of new jobs was revised higher, from 255,000 to 275,000. But there were several […]
Understanding the Rules of IRA Contributions
Contributing to an individual retirement account (IRA) is an action that every account holder should be familiar with and comfortable doing. While, on the surface, contributing may seem like a simple enough part of managing an IRA, it is actually an incredibly important pillar of the retirement finance sector. As an experienced IRA owner can […]
The Fed Keeps Markets Jumping
The Federal Reserve’s annual policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last week kept investor’s guessing. Stocks drifted lower during the week as early indications were that Fed Chairman Janet Yellin would promise higher interest rates soon. Stock prices recovered after her speech, apparently because she didn’t mention a higher probability of a rate increase at […]
