Retirement Watch Weekly
Bob’s Journal for 5/9/2019
More Americans than ever are confident they will be able to live comfortably in retirement, but many of them could be fooling themselves. The percentage of retirees who are confident they’ll be able to live comfortably throughout retirement rose significantly from 2018 to 2019, according to the annual Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefits […]
Bob’s Journal for 5/2/19
Several stock indexes set new record closing highs in the last week, but not all the market data is positive. Most market observers look at data other than the levels of the indexes when assessing the markets. They look at data that collectively are known as market internals, technical factors or market action. Whatever you […]
Bob’s Journal for 4/25/19
Many investors misunderstand the recent changes in China’s economic policies, leading them to underestimate future growth. We recently added T. Rowe Price New Asia to some of our Retirement Watch portfolios, so it’s important to understand the changes. China tightened its economic policy about two years ago, because growth was higher than the country’s goals […]
Emerging Markets Have Value and Potential
This is a good time to make your portfolio more diversified globally. The United States has led the global economy and markets since about 2013 and especially since 2016. The global economy slowed and many markets around the world tumbled while U.S. markets marched higher. But in late 2018, the U.S. economy slowed noticeably in […]
Charitable Gifts: Maximizing the Power of Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-advised funds steadily increased in popularity over the years, but their use soared after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Their popularity is likely to continue increasing. Also known as a charitable gift fund, the donor-advised fund (DAF) took off after the early 1990s. Fidelity Charitable is believed to have set up the […]
The Tarkenton Plan to Avoid Financial Scams and Abuse
Financial scams and abuse, especially against older Americans, more than doubled over the last five years, according to reports from financial services firms. Part of the reason for the increase is that financial firms are more alert for signs of fraud and abuse. They also have more actions they’re allowed to take when they see […]
The War on Stretch IRAs Is Back
There long has been a group in Congress determined to end the Stretch IRA, and this year they seem intent to have their way. I’ve reported in the past few years that many in Washington were targeting the Stretch IRA. The Obama administration called for an end to this valuable estate planning tool in its […]
Why Beneficiaries Overpay Taxes on Inherited IRAs
The most frequent, most expensive mistakes with IRAs occur when it’s time to pass the IRAs to the beneficiaries. Sometimes the fault is with the original owner. Sometimes the fault is with the beneficiaries. In either case, the mistakes cause the tax-deferred compounding of the IRA to be lost. Income taxes are paid earlier than […]
