Retirement Watch Weekly
Turning RMD Pain into Gain
A fiscal pain for many retired Americans are required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement plans. Calculating the distributions and withdrawing the money are chores. People worry about making a mistake that will trigger the 50% penalty. The problems are likely to get worse in coming years as Congress grabs for more […]
Staying in the 15% (or Lower) Tax Bracket
Most retirement tax planning and tax discussions have the wrong focus. They look at marginal tax rates, or the tax rate on the next dollar of ordinary income earned. If you’re married and earning $50,000 annually, for example, your next dollar will be taxed at the 15% rate. That’s a fine approach during the working […]
Importance of Slashing AGI
Minimizing adjusted gross income on your tax return reduces other retirement expenses. For example, $1 of additional AGI can bump your premiums by more than $500 annually. A host of additional costs and taxes are imposed when income is “too high.” For the full story and the strategies to consider see our April 2013 visit. […]
August 2013
August 30, 2013 05:15 p.m. Your Retirement Finance Week in Review The week started with the big news being about potential military action against Syria. The increased potential for an action moved markets. But as the week went on, the data started to move markets. The most recent data is weaker than the lagging data, […]
Revisiting the Safe Withdrawal Rate
You probably have heard about the magic of the 4% rule, or the safe withdrawal rate. Unfortunately, this rule never was magic and now needs to be re-examined and revised. Otherwise, too many retirees are at risk of running out of money. The 4% rule was generated from attempts to answer the question: How much […]
Better Dental Care Avoids Dementia?
The search for the cause of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia might have taken a big step forward. A new study found that people with Alzheimer’s have a bacteria related to gum disease in their brains, while those without Alzheimer’s don’t have the bacteria in their brains. Most people don’t realize it, but bad dental […]
Howard Marks on the Stock Market
Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital is one of our leading investors. He focuses on the credit markets, or bond markets, and generally looks for distressed opportunities and mispriced bonds. He recently sat down with Morningstar for an interview to give his assessment of the markets. He says the stock markets still aren’t overheated, despite recent […]
Shrinking Supply of Medicare Doctors
More and more doctors are declining to accept Medicare patients. This has beena problem for a long time, as I’ve alerted Retirement Watch readers. But it’s becoming worse as Congress reduces the payments to doctors and imposes new rules and restrictions. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (subscription might be required) that a fairly small […]
