Retirement Watch Weekly
Medicare Mistakes You Need to Avoid
Many retirees spend more money out of pocket than they should for medical care. One source concluded that about 90% of Medicare beneficiaries pay more out of pocket than necessary. It is not surprising. Medicare is a complicated program. Since Medicare Open Enrollment is almost here (Oct. 15-Dec. 7), the following are my tips for […]
New Tax Rule #1: Say Good-Bye to Tax Deferral
It is hard to abandon longstanding rules of thumb. But sometimes, circumstances change, and it’s necessary to change our thinking if we want to maximize after-tax wealth. Perhaps the oldest rule in the tax-planning book is to defer taxes whenever possible. “Don’t pay a tax until you have to” is one of the first planning […]
Be Sure Your Rollover is Done Right
Though the rollover is the most frequent IRA transaction, most people do only a few rollovers during their lifetimes. A consequence of this inexperience is that too many mistakes are made and people pay unnecessary taxes and penalties on their retirement nest eggs. There are more than 30 types of rollovers, though taxpayers often know […]
Should You Roll Over Retirement Funds or Stay Put?
More money than ever is moving from 401(k)s to IRAs, and regulators don’t like some of the choices people make with their money. More than $600 billion was rolled over from 401(k)s to IRAs in 2020, according to the Secure Retirement Institute (SRI), which estimates that within five years the annual rollover amount will exceed […]
How to Keep Your Heirs from Battling Over Your Things
When estate planners get together after work, inevitably they swap stories about the rancorous family battles over dividing estates they witnessed. Often, the worst estate battles are over items that seem of little or no value to outsiders. Old furnishings or household items, seemingly meaningless memento and similar items often stir up deep conflicts among […]
What Happens When You Neglect Your Estate Plan [TRUE STORIES]
Many people have their estate plans on the backburner. Two fairly recent cases show why procrastinating about or neglecting an estate plan is dangerous. In the first case, a family corporation’s ownership was divided among the husband, wife, and two adult sons. The wife passed away first. There apparently was no will, and no estate […]
Bob’s Journal for 9/23/21
The Evergrande Collapse and Global Stocks Last week when I wrote about the “Red Light for Some Stocks” in this email, I didn’t mean for the markets to take it as a broad sell signal. Major stock market indexes have been mostly declining since peaking on Sept. 2. The declines accelerated over the last week, […]
How To Craft the Perfect Will for Your Estate Plan: Part II
In last week’s edition of Retirement Watch Weekly, we discussed ways to construct a will to maximize the inheritance you pass on to your heirs. In this week’s, we’ll continue exploring this topic. Know your Children & Anticipate Issues with Your Estate Naming the oldest adult child as executor of an estate is very common […]
