Retirement Watch Weekly
Roth IRA Updates
Virtually any question you have about Roth IRAs has its answer on the World Wide Web. There are a number of web sites focusing on roth iras. Perhaps your best starting point is www.rothira.com, a site devoted exclusively to Roth IRAs. You’ll find articles on line and references to books and seminars, as well as […]
What Are Variable Annuities?
Variable annuities are a new look. Insurers are cutting expenses and adding investment options to make their products more attractive. As a result, investors continue their decade-long practice of pouring billions of dollars into variable annuities. The lure of annuities is that there is no investment limit, you get to choose how your money is […]
How To Get Ready For The Medicare Overhaul
Medicare recipients are in for a big shock this fall. The 1997 Balanced Budget Act enacted some major changes in Medicare that begin taking effect in 1999. You’ll be expected to make more choices. Yet a recent AARP survey found that only about 11% of Medicare participants know enough to make an informed choice. Perhaps […]
Overlooked Retirement Benefits In Tax Law
The latest tax law beats up on the IRS and gives taxpayers new protections. You know that from the mainstream media. But the media missed some other changes in the tax law that are of immediate importance to many of you. Here’s a summary of the hidden benefits in the law. Lower capital gains taxes. […]
5 Worst Estate Planning Mistakes
When I was growing up in suburban northern Virginia, near our home in the midst of the developing sprawl was a large, untouched tract of land in a prime location. Despite the obvious money to be made in developing the land, it sat for a couple of decades. Throughout northern Virginia, similar tracts could be […]
Estate Planning Strategies for Tax-Wise Funding of Grandchild’s Education
Grandparents and their adult children agree: A critical concern for both is how to pay for the education of the grandchildren. The grandparents, of course, can help. By using the tax law effectively, you can help pay for a grandchild’s schooling with the lowest cash outlay possible. Last year, Congress created the Education IRA. These […]
How should retirees handle the health care limbo
The number of retirees in “health care limbo” is rising, and could rise quite a bit over the next few years. Health care limbo is that period when a retiree is not covered by an employer or other private health plan and is too young to apply for Medicare. People get in health care limbo […]
7 Simple Estate Planning Strategies To Protect Assets
I’ve never been a big fan of offshore trusts and other exotic strategies to protect your assets from lawsuits and creditors. They are expensive, you might have to deal with questionable people, and it is not even clear the strategies really work. Some recent cases show that these strategies don’t exactly build a rock-solid fortress. […]
