Retirement Watch Weekly
Popular Strategy Ruins Estate Planning
Many people naively subvert their estate plans, creating nightmares for their heirs and bonuses for the taxman. The situation is easy to cause, but also is easy to fix. The problem is that few people realize the importance of the wording of the legal title to their assets. Yet, this simple decision, often made without […]
How to Help Children or Grandchildren Buy a Home
One of the best gifts is to help an adult child or grandchild buy a home. Unlike cash or investments, a gift related to a home cannot easily be squandered or sold to buy something frivolous. When the child or grandchild is making a significant contribution from his own assets through at least future mortgage […]
Your Home and Long-Term Care In One Package
More and more retirees are looking to solve their housing and long-term health care needs in one move. They are moving into facilities called continuing-care retirement communities, or CCRCs. These also are known as living-care communities. A CCRC has several types of living and health-care facilities in one community. Usually there is an independent living […]
How to Handle a Tough Market
Stocks packed a substantial correction into the first two weeks of January. Most indexes and sectors absorbed significant declines both in absolute terms and when compared to their 2004 gains. The S&P 500 gave up 25% of its 2004 gains in the following two weeks. The transportation index saw 17% of its substantial 2004 returns […]
How Pension Payouts Are Affected By Interest Rates
The prospect of rising interest rates this year could affect retirement payouts. If your retirement plan offers a choice between an annuity and a lump sum and you were planning to retire in the next year or two, pay attention now. Lump sum payouts increase as interest rates fall and decrease as rates rise. The […]
How to Grow Annuity Income
Old-style defined benefit pension plans are looking more attractive to many retirees and near-retirees. A defined benefit (DB) plan pays a fixed monthly amount for life, and many even increase the payment for inflation each year. When the stock market is volatile and uncertain, and bond yields are low, a DB plan can look good. […]
How to Reap More From Selling a Business
Business sellers often leave a lot of money on the table. They pay extra taxes on the sale, because they do not use some key tax breaks. We’ll look at one of those strategies in this visit. There are two problems a business seller must solve. One is liquidity. The seller wants cash for the […]
Best Estate Planning Strategies to Help with Education
Numerous vehicles are available to help prepare for education expenses. Parents and grandparents need to compare carefully to choose right vehicle for them. The Section 529 college savings plan gets the most attention. It is open to anyone regardless of income level. The investment earnings compound tax-free and can be withdrawn tax free if used […]
