Retirement Watch Weekly
Estate Planning for Married Couples and the New Estate Tax
Uncertainty about the estate tax is resolved. You don’t have to worry about frequent shifts anymore. Now, it’s time to consider how the new rules affect your Estate Planning and revise your plan. You know that the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption is set at $5 million per person, indexed for inflation. For 2013 […]
Covering the Overlooked Income Risk
At the bottom of the list of insurance policies most people consider is disability insurance. It’s the last policy people buy and the first they cut when cash becomes tight. Yet, disability insurance is essential for a package of complete protection, and at many ages you’re more likely to need it than other types of […]
Using the Overlooked Roth Opportunity
Roth IRAs are one of the most powerful retirement planning tools available. Most people, however, aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunity. Converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs is only the tip of the iceberg. We’ve devoted a lot of attention to the conversion decision since 2009, and those discussions are available in the Archive […]
Using a 401(k) Plan’s Investment Window
One of the most frequent questions I receive is: How can I implement your in-vestment recommendations through my 401(k) plan? A related question is whether a reader should keep assets at the 401(k) plan when leaving an employer or roll over the assets to an IRA. The sad fact is that most 401(k) plans aren’t […]
Avoid Becoming One of the IRS’s New Targets
New laws, changing demographics, and a new budget cause the IRS to shift its priorities. Many people who don’t pay attention will fall into the IRS’s snare. The new estate tax law means far fewer estates will be subject to taxes and need to be audited. The IRS plans to move many of its estate […]
How Long Will Your Nest Egg Last?
BlackRock has a useful chart on its web site that can give you a quick and dirty read on whether you’re planning to spend too much in retirement. Choose an estimated investment return, match it to a withdrawal rate from your nest egg, and it shows how long your money will last. It’s interesting to […]
Retirement Breaks for Entrepreneurs
When your business is doing well, one way to save taxes at the last minute is to set up a retirement plan and make a deductible contribution. Often you can make the contribution after the year is over. There is a wide array of retirement plan options available to the self-employed. The trick is to […]
More Changes Coming to Medicare
Medicare beneficiaries have been through a series of changes in recent years, and more changes are coming next year.The changes aren’t all positive, so they were released quietly last Friday. The good news are in the Part D Prescription Drug program. The deductible is being decreased to $310 for 2014. That’s a 4.6% decline. The […]
