Retirement Watch Weekly
New Estate Tax & Social Security Rules, Limits
Inflation and other factors triggered some tax and benefit changes for 2012 announced recently by the IRS and Social Security Administration. The exempt amount for estates and gifts increases because of inflation. The estate of anyone dying in 2012 excludes up to $5.12 million from federal estate taxes. The annual gift tax exclusion remains at […]
Who’s Eligible for Aid & Attendance
You meet the service requirements for Aid and Attendance when you served 90 days or more on active duty, with at least one day in wartime, and who were honorably discharged. Widows and widowers of such veterans also are eligible. You need not have served overseas or in combat. Anyone who was a member of […]
Little-Known Long-Term Care Benefit for Veterans
Update: In 2014 the Veterans Administration proposed new rules that would restrict significantly the number of veterans eligible for the Aid & Attendance benefits described in this post. Details of the proposed rules are described here. In 2006 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs quietly issued a media release about an “underused, special monthly pension benefit […]
Year-End Moves for IRA Owners
Year-end is a tricky time of year for IRA owners. There are steps many IRA owners should take or at least consider taking by December 31. Make the wrong move and it could cost you money now or spread over the years. Take the time to carefully review your IRA options. IRA owners over age […]
Planning Year-End Taxes
You finally can do serious year-end tax planning in 2011. Year-end planning was difficult the last few years, because so much of the tax code was up in the air. But the December 2010 deal made the tax code fairly certain for 2011 and 2012. That’s important, because tax planning requires looking at two years […]
An Investment Strategy for All Markets
Most investment strategies aren’t based on long-term data or good theory. They work only at certain times. But those promoting the theories often don’t understand the limits and don’t convey the limits to the rest of investors. That’s why a good rule of thumb is that an investment strategy will stop working as soon as […]
Reducing Medicare Coverage
It’s no secret that everyone in Washington feels a need to reduce the cost of Medicare. What they disagree about is how to do it. The appointees of the administration, however, seem to agree on their preference. They want to reduce the care that is covered under the program. You’ve seen evidence over the last […]
Long Term Care Costs Rise, But at a Lower Rate
The cost of long-term care insurance rose again over the last year, but at a fairly moderate 4.4%, according to an annual MetLife survey. For a long time, the costs rose at 7% or more annually, well above the rate of inflation. In recent years the rate of increase has declined, but so has overall […]
