Retirement Watch Weekly
How to Name a Charity as an IRA Beneficiary
Leave it to the tax code to turn something easy into something complicated.One would think that naming a charity as the beneficiary of an IRA would be an easy thing. Name the charity as the IRA’s beneficiary or as one of the co-beneficiaries. It is as simple as that, right? Wrong. If you name the […]
Avoid the New Pitfalls of Naming Trusts as IRA Beneficiaries After the SECURE Act
IRA estate planning was revolutionized by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. Few discussions so far have focused on the major changes made for situations in which a trust is the IRA beneficiary. There are good reasons to name a trust as an IRA beneficiary. But the SECURE Act changed the […]
How to be Sure Your Trusts Are Built to Last
The coronavirus pandemic revealed short-comings in many estate plans, especially in trusts. Be sure any trusts in your estate plan will stand up over the long term and meet your goals.News reports indicate more people realize the importance of an up-to-date estate plan. They’re flocking to estate planners. Unfortunately, many of these people will receive […]
The Family Bank Life Insurance Strategy: Your Own Personal Retirement Bank
In last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly, I introduced readers to the Family Bank Strategy. Today, we’ll answer some commonly asked questions about it, starting with… Who should consider the Family Bank Strategy? One good candidate is someone who is keeping money in conservative investments as a safety net or in case someone in […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/21/20
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week More Worries About Social Security’s Solvency I’ve been writing for a while that the pandemic is going to have a serious, long-term affect on the solvency of Social Security. Others are crunching the numbers and agreeing. Earlier, I cited a study from the Center for Retirement […]
How to Create Your Own Personal Retirement Bank with Life Insurance
Have you heard of the “Secret 770 Account” and “The President’s Account?” Or maybe you’ve seen these: Banking on Yourself® or “Infinite Banking?” Or perhaps even these: “Becoming Your Own Banker,” “The Personal Bank,” or “The Retirement Miracle?” If you read financial publications, especially online, you almost certainly have come across some of these. You’ve […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/14/20
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week Many Americans seem to expect a fast economic recovery, but the data indicate the downturn already is steeper than many people realize. Most respondents in surveys seem to expect a “V-shaped” recovery once the stay-at-home orders are lifted or eased. For example, the Small Business Optimism […]
How to Shelter Your Estate Plan from Disasters, Part II – The Importance of Estate Planning Forms, Documents and Checklists
The devastating effect the coronavirus outbreak has had on economic conditions inspired me to share with you a 7-step checklist on how to shelter your estate plan from disasters in last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly. Today, I’ll complete that checklist… Step 4: Document your property. To recover all or most of what you […]
