Retirement Watch Weekly
Turning RMD Pain into Gain
A fiscal pain for many retired Americans are required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement plans. Calculating the distributions and withdrawing the money are chores. People worry about making a mistake that will trigger the 50% penalty. The problems are likely to get worse in coming years as Congress grabs for more […]
Staying in the 15% (or Lower) Tax Bracket
Most retirement tax planning and tax discussions have the wrong focus. They look at marginal tax rates, or the tax rate on the next dollar of ordinary income earned. If you’re married and earning $50,000 annually, for example, your next dollar will be taxed at the 15% rate. That’s a fine approach during the working […]
Importance of Slashing AGI
Minimizing adjusted gross income on your tax return reduces other retirement expenses. For example, $1 of additional AGI can bump your premiums by more than $500 annually. A host of additional costs and taxes are imposed when income is “too high.” For the full story and the strategies to consider see our April 2013 visit. […]
Better Dental Care Avoids Dementia?
The search for the cause of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia might have taken a big step forward. A new study found that people with Alzheimer’s have a bacteria related to gum disease in their brains, while those without Alzheimer’s don’t have the bacteria in their brains. Most people don’t realize it, but bad dental […]
Howard Marks on the Stock Market
Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital is one of our leading investors. He focuses on the credit markets, or bond markets, and generally looks for distressed opportunities and mispriced bonds. He recently sat down with Morningstar for an interview to give his assessment of the markets. He says the stock markets still aren’t overheated, despite recent […]
Shrinking Supply of Medicare Doctors
More and more doctors are declining to accept Medicare patients. This has beena problem for a long time, as I’ve alerted Retirement Watch readers. But it’s becoming worse as Congress reduces the payments to doctors and imposes new rules and restrictions. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (subscription might be required) that a fairly small […]
Peaking Behind the Stock Market Indexes
Most investors talk about “the market,” referring to the stock indexes. But you have to look behind the headlines or the index totals. There are many different stocks and sectors within an index. Your performance can be far higher or lower than the index depending on what you own. Looking into the details also can […]
More Mysteries in Medicare Spending
Over the years a number of studies have shown puzzling disparities in Medicare spending and reimbursements. Some regions of the country spend much more per beneficiaries than others. Yet, within those regions there are vast differences among providers. That makes it difficult for policymakers to decide how to control spending or make the system most […]
