Retirement Watch Weekly
Why You Should Avoid Tax Favored Long Term Care Insurance Policies
Sometimes a tax break costs more than it is worth. That just might be the case with the breaks for long-term care insurance that were enacted in 1996. All the questions still aren’t answered, but so far it looks like you might be better off taking a pass on these tax benefits. Congress meant well […]
Buying Life Insurance Can Be Easy And Cheap
Life insurance premiums have been crashing for years. Now is the best time to buy insurance, and it is easier than ever to get the best deal. That’s because a number of services operating on the internet or through toll-free telephone numbers will survey premiums at a number of insurance companies and give you the […]
Which Investments For Tax-Deferred Accounts?
The tax law can make the simplest decisions difficult. For example, which investments should be put in your tax deferred accounts, and which in your taxable accounts? The answers might not be what you think. A little over a year ago I challenged the conventional wisdom on how best to split your investments between taxable […]
Solving The Snowbird Health Care Dilemma
There’s a bit of trouble in paradise for some northern snowbirds who migrate to warm weather states for the winter. That trouble is health care. It is especially bad if you belong to a health maintenance organization, but also affects those covered by one of many private insurance and medigap plans. HMOs tend to be […]
A Roth IRA – Estate Planning For Your Grandchild’s Retirement
I keep scratching for traps in the new Roth IRAs. Surely Congress and the President wouldn’t create a vehicle with a genuine incentive to save and invest, I cynically think. But it is tough to find a major trap in the Roth IRA. In fact, there seem to be many attractive ways to use Roth […]
Avoiding A Surprise When Estate Planning Gifts To Grandchildren
Leave it to the law to make an unpleasant situation worse. Here’s one they didn’t teach in law school, but you need to know about it. We only stumbled upon it when Renee and I were reviewing our own Estate Planning. An unfortunate combination of events could lead to an unpleasant surprise for grandparents who […]
Those Dangerous Mutual Fund Rating Systems
The books are securely closed on 1997, and that means we’re being bombarded with the annual fund ratings and rankings from many publishers. I know many of you review these publications, because you regularly ask me why I recommend a fund that received a low rating from a service or am not recommending a fund […]
The 8-To-1 Life Insurance Pay-off
I’m not a big fan of using permanent life insurance to solve estate planning problems. I think with some planning most estate planning goals can be reached with low-cost term insurance and other strategies. But there is a type of life insurance that can be very attractive. In fact, this insurance has such a big […]
