Retirement Watch Weekly
The Fed Is Fighting a Two-Front War
The Federal Reserve is fighting simultaneously for both price stability and financial stability. Because the Fed pumped too much money into the economy in the years before 2022, high inflation became self-sustaining, causing the Fed in 2022 to engage in perhaps its fastest and most aggressive monetary tightening ever. Negative effects of the tightening are […]
Plan Now to Avoid Stealth Taxes in 2023
Retirees and near-retirees need to worry more about Stealth Taxes than regular income taxes. Stealth Taxes include the amount of Social Security benefits added to gross income, the Medicare premium surtax (also known as IRMAA), the 3.8% net investment income tax and more. Some Stealth Taxes are directed specifically at retirees, such as the tax […]
When Your Bank and Retirement Accounts Can Be Seized
The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank almost triggered the first use of the “bail-in” established in the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law enacted after the financial crisis of 2007-2009. The federal government prevented use of the provision and acted to protect large accounts of a number of Silicon Valley firms by declaring […]
Know the Safety Nets and Other Protections for Your Money
Bank failures are in the headlines again. Tighter Federal Reserve monetary policy or an approaching recession almost always lead to more bank failures. To avoid being caught in a failure, of course do what you can to avoid a high-risk bank or financial services company. But banks and other financial services firms carry risks that […]
8 Strategies for Turning RMDs Into Opportunities
Lifetime income taxes can be reduced substantially by using the right strategies to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional IRAs and other qualified plans. In the March and April 2023 issues of Retirement Watch, I explained how the RMD rules can increase lifetime income taxes for traditional IRA owners and their families and discussed […]
The Forgotten Element of Estate Plans: Portfolio Restructuring
Simplifying and streamlining our portfolios and the rest of our finances should be an estate planning priority as we age. I learned this firsthand when I took over management of my parents’ finances. I was fortunate that my parents were still around and alert when I took over, so they could explain some things and […]
How to Make Your Most Important Decisions: Choosing Trustees and Executors
Estate plans consist mostly of documents, but whether or not a plan is successful usually is determined by the key people who administer it. Yet, decisions about who those people will be often aren’t made carefully. There are two key appointments for financial matters in most estate plans. One is the trustee or trustees of […]
How To Make Your Home Equity a Retirement Asset
The residence usually is one of the most valuable assets retirees own. It also is one of the worst-managed assets. Few people realize the home can be used to increase retirement cash flow or know how to do so efficiently. In the past issues of Retirement Watch, we’ve gone over reverse mortgages and issues related […]
