Retirement Watch Weekly
Delay Social Security, Buy Annuities
Your federal government is giving you retirement planning advice. The General Accountability Office issued a report July 1 titled “Retirement Income: Ensuring Retirement Income Throughout Retirement Requires Difficult Choices.” You might ask why the government is giving you and others retirement advice. The GAO compiles and issues reports after a member of Congress requests one. […]
Fees that Kill Retirement Plans
Most investors know whether they are buying load or no-load mutual funds. But few investors know how much they’re paying in fees on their retirement accounts, especially 401(k) plans. There are a number of fees imposed on some accounts. They’re disclosed, somewhere. It’s not always easy to find a total for the fees you’re paying. […]
Diving Into Those Guaranteed Variable Annuities
Investors steadily increased purchases of variable annuities with guaranteed benefits in recent years. These annuities clearly are striking the interest of a substantial number of investors. But they’re complicated, and I doubt most of the buyers fully understand them or know how to compare them to alternatives. There are several versions of variable annuities with […]
The Tax-Free Annuity
Many annuities are used at least partially to pay for long-term care. When you own the right annuity, distributions to pay for long-term care are tax-free thanks to a 2006 law. To qualify for tax-free treatment, the annuity owner must need assistance with at least two of the activities of daily living (eating, dressing, bathing, […]
How to Fill Gaps in Your Estate Planning
Most estate plans are deficient. Even wealthy people who consult with high-priced lawyers have key gaps in their plans. I’m not even talking about people who don’t bother to develop an estate plan. I’m considering only people who developed plans. Too many of them have plans that aren’t going to meet their goals, preserve their […]
Transferring Digital Accounts for Estate Planning
An overlooked area of Estate Planning is the transfer of digital information. More senior Americans spend a lot of time online than a few years ago, and this online activity is as much personal as for business and must be cnosdered in your estate planning. This needs to be factored into your estate plan. Provide […]
Forecasting Retirement Medical Expenses
The greatest fears of Americans approaching retirement are paying for medical expenses and outliving their money. Those concerns are related, because medical expenses are the largest unknown factor in retirement plans, one of the major expenses, and most people don’t have estimates of their retirement medical spending. For example, 40% of Americans have no idea […]
Still Taking Advantage of the 0% Tax Rate
The 0% tax rate still is in effect. Created for select taxpayers for 2008-2010, it was extended with other tax breaks in the December 2010 tax deal in Washington. The 0% tax rate applies to long-term capital gains and qualified corporate dividends earned by those in the two lowest income tax brackets. For other taxpayers […]
