Retirement Watch Weekly
When Your Bank and Retirement Accounts Can Be Seized
In recent months, my email inbox received an increasing number of questions about the ability of banks or the government to seize bank accounts. The concerns were raised, of course, by articles and videos on the internet, and the creators are selling various products and services. Most of the presentations say accounts over $5,000 can […]
The Power of Health Savings Accounts for Retirement Planning
The number of health savings accounts (HSAs) is soaring, but most account holders fail to take full advantage of the retirement planning power of HSAs. There were more than 30 million HSAs holding about $82.2 billion at the end of 2020, according to an estimate from Devenir, a firm that offers investment services to health-based […]
How a Trust or Estate Can Transfer an IRA to a Beneficiary Tax-Free
It is time to answer this question in the newsletter, because I have been receiving emails regularly asking about it. I advise my readers not to name a trust or their estate as beneficiary of an IRA, except for certain types of specially designed trusts. They also shouldn’t fail to name a beneficiary, because that […]
What You Need to Know About the Roth IRA Five-Year Rule
There’s a lot of interest this year in converting traditional IRAs and 401(k)s to Roth IRAs, and that’s caused a lot of people to ask about the confusing “five-year rule” for Roth IRAs. We recently had a teleforum with my readers, and the five-year rule was among the most-asked questions sent by email before the […]
What to Do Now, While Congress Deliberates About Estate Taxes
Congress is deliberating some of the most significant estate and gift tax changes in decades. The proposals being considered are for substantial increases in estate and gift taxes for many Americans. Most people say that they’ll simply wait to see what Congress does before considering changes to their estate plans.But there’s a big risk to […]
When a DAPT Should Be Part of Your Estate Plan
Asset protection is becoming a more import-ant part of many estate plans, and a domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) is the strategy of choice in more and more plans. A DAPT can help achieve several estate planning goals.Of course, the prime reason to consider a DAPT is to protect assets from potential creditors, including potential […]
The Foundations Of A Great Estate Plan
Everyone needs an estate plan, no matter how much or how little money is involved. For example, you need an estate plan even if you don’t expect to owe taxes on the estate. It is more important to decide who should receive the wealth, how much each should receive and when and how the wealth […]
Bob’s Journal for 7/15/21
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week I recently had the pleasure of being the guest of Stan Haithcock (Stan the Annuity Man) on his podcast “Fun with Annuities.” We discussed tax and retirement legislation being considered in Congress, Social Security, digital currencies, a bit about annuities, of course, and more. You can […]
