Retirement Watch Weekly
When You Should File Gift Tax Returns
Too often people neglect to file gift tax returns. A smart plan is to file a gift tax return even when not required to. In some situations that provides substantial insurance. Gifts above the annual exemption amount ($13,000 for 2009) potentially are taxable and must be reported on Form 709. The gift might not be […]
Long-Term Care Insurance Policies and the Credit Crisis
The financial crisis is raising new concerns about long-term care insurance policies. In December Conseco announced it was transferring most of its 140,000 long-term care insurance policies into a nonprofit trust supervised by the Pennsylvania insurance commissioner. No new money will be put into the trust to pay claims, and insurance rater A.M. Best warned […]
Why You Must Convert Your IRAs
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA has been a valuable tool to consider since the Roth was created in 1997. There are two reasons why a conversion is worth far more consideration now than in the past. First, a brief review of the basics. A Roth IRA has “back-ended tax benefits.” There are […]
January 2009
January 29, 2009 10:25 a.m. Optimism Makes a Comeback Financial stocks soared Wednesday. Wells Fargo alone gained over 30%. Last week I discussed the sort of policies the government should implement to right the financial system and resolve the crisis. The recommendation involved having the government set up one or more bad banks to take […]
How to Safely Reduce Insurance Costs
Times are tight, so people are looking for ways to slash expenses. Insurance is a good target for many people. There are a couple of ways to safely reduce insurance costs. You might have unneeded or duplicate coverage. Those expenses can be eliminated. You also might be paying too much for coverage you need. Shopping […]
Estate Plan Building Blocks: Estate Tax, The Marital Deduction and Trusts
Many people have procrastinated about Estate Planning. They delayed making or updating plans because of uncertainty over the tax law or turmoil in asset values. People naturally procrastinate because estate planning is complicated and full of unfamiliar terms and concepts. Most of you will have or at least consider the same basic tools and strategies […]
How to Multiply the Benefits of Gifts
A key estate planing tool for almost every family is more valuable as of Jan. 1, 2009. The annual gift tax exclusion is increased to $13,000, up from $12,000. Each person can make gifts of up to $13,000 annually to any other person without incurring gift taxes or counting against the lifetime annual gift credit […]
Are Variable Annuities Safe?
First to fall were the homebuilders and mortgage companies. Then the investment banks and a few commercial banks tumbled. Next in line in the financial crisis might be insurance companies. Insurers, especially those that issue a lot of variable annuities, are under scrutiny and facing skepticism about their financial stability. The focus of attention lately […]
