Retirement Watch Weekly
Identity Theft’s Latest Trend
Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the U.S. The computer crime known as phishing is becoming the prevailing form of ID theft. Preventing phishing requires diligence. One thing is clear: credit card companies won’t provide much help. Prevention will depend on your efforts. Phishing involves using e-mail to get a computer user to reveal […]
New Looks in Annuities
Recent changes are making annuities hot again. At least that’s what the annuity sellers want you to believe. Some of the new annuity features are attractive. But others are just sales gimmicks. The biggest changes are in fixed annuities. The bear market in stocks initially drew investors to safer investments, such as fixed annuities. But […]
A Few Ways to Save Money
There are two ways to save money. One way is to cut nickels and dimes off each purchase. The other way, which we’ll look at in this visit, is to save a lot of money on a few big dollar expenses. Let’s see how you might be able to save big dollars on a few […]
Singles Need Estate Planning
Estate Planning discussions often assume that a married couple is involved. We all know that frequently isn’t the case. People can be widowed, and the divorce rate among older Americans is rising. The Census Bureau reports a doubling since 1989 of the number of older couples living together without being married. A single person ? […]
Estate Planning to Make a Family Business Last Generations
Why do only 10% of family businesses reach the third generation? Perhaps one reason is that only 28% of family businesses have a succession plan. Yet, 40% to 60% of current owners say they want their businesses to stay in the family. Unfortunately, few have a plan to make that happen. Estate lawyers and financial […]
How to keep the Inherited IRAs from the IRS?
You work hard to manage your IRAs and set them up just right. One reason is so your heirs will get the maximum benefit from the IRAs. Unfortunately, heirs rarely know what the owner had in mind or what the IRS requires when IRAs are inherited. As a result, the IRS gets thousands of extra […]
How to Spot and Avoid Scams
Corporate accounting and mutual fund scandals are not the biggest scam risks to investors. Identity theft is a big risk, but you don’t want to focus on it so much that you lose track of the other frauds coming your way. Versions of the old-fashioned Ponzi scheme proliferate. Retirees and those close to retirement still […]
Navigating Troubled Markets
Fear stalks the markets these days. The last few months we gradually added protection against such a surge in investor pessimism. Those moves served our portfolios well in the recent downturn and will help if things get worse. Don’t try to forecast whether this is a correction or a new bear market. It is a […]
