12-7-2023 – December Question Of The Month
“Hello, Brian. My husband and I have saved a good amount of money for retirement. Most of it is in our pre-taxed IRAs and 401(k) retirement plans. We are concerned about tax increases in the future, so we are considering doing a Roth conversion this year. However, we are not sure we should do this. Can you provide some factors we should consider to help us in making our decision before the end-of-the-year deadline comes to make this move? Thanks so much.” Karen
It is December, and with all the holiday decorations out at the stores and Christmas music on the radio, we are now in the holiday gift giving season. Over the next several weeks many gifts will be given and received. The problem with this, however, is that each year many gifts are given, received and forgotten about soon after with no real meaning or lifetime value for both the giver and the recipient. This is truly a shame.
11-23-2023 – How Do You Find The Right One?
11-17-2023 – November 2023 Question Of The Month
“Hi Brian. I have been listening to your show for a while and have learned a lot. I realize now that I need to do some things to get my retirement plan much more tax efficient. You have mentioned several ways to do this, including tax loss harvesting. Can you please explain more about this? Thank you.” Ronald
11-9-2023 – Time is Running Out
Can you believe we are in mid November already! This of course means there are only a few weeks left in the year. Obviously it is one of the busiest times of the year and people everywhere will be scrambling trying to get things done. You probably do not need anything else added to your plate right now, but unfortunately the clock is also ticking on a few retirement planning moves that you have to and/or may need to make before time expires at the end of the year. So, it is crunch time.
11-2-2023 – Retirement Traps to Avoid
There is no denying that retirement planning is sophisticated, complicated, and an on-going process. You simply must keep up to date and educated on the ever-changing tax laws, rule changes, plan provisions, and constant market fluctuations in order to make adjustments and changes to your plan on a regular basis. Due to all of the complexities of retirement planning, everyone is going to make some mistakes. The good news is that small mistakes won’t destroy a retirement plan, however, some major traps might.
10-26-2023 – Don’t Get Tricked
10-22-2023 – Are You Scared?
10-16-2023 – Question of the Month
10-6-2023 – How Retirement Savvy are you?
9-28-2023 – The Original ‘Inherited Stretch IRA’ has been Eliminated. Now What Do You Do?
The SECURE ACT (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act) became law at the beginning of 2020. The legislation was mainly intended to expand opportunities for people to increase their retirement savings, which obviously is a good thing. However, the act also included one big tax law change that will cost most inheritors additional taxes, and that was the elimination of the ‘Inherited Stretch IRA’. So, now what do you do?
9-10-2023 – Do You Know all of the Different Factors that Affects your Social Security Benefits?
Most people pay a lot of money into the Social Security system during their working years. But do you know how much you will get out of the system? A recent survey says that most people do not know what exactly affects their Social Security Benefits.
“Hello Brian. I turned age 72 this year and was not at the age where I had to start taking required minimum distributions from my IRA accounts. I went ahead and took my RMD in January, before knowing that the Secure 2.0 Act changed the rule now to age 73. If I had known this, I would have not taken my required minimum distribution this year. Am I allowed to put it back into my IRA? Thank you.” -Jean
8-13-2023 – Key Dates and Ages Related to Your Retirement
When you think of certain important dates or ages, you generally think of birthdays, anniversaries, special moments, etc. However, as you get older and get into your pre-retirement and retirement years, some other dates and ages become very important. In fact, these dates may even become more important than birthdays and anniversaries because missing them or not understanding what happens at these times can have a severe impact on your retirement.
8-11-2023 – It is Back-To-School Time For Your Retirement Plan
7-30-2023 – You Cannot Retire Until You Consider These Factors
Many people are considering early retirement or being offered early retirement packages from companies and employers that are cutting back or reducing their workforce. However, you cannot make this decision based solely on the amount of money you have accumulated and saved. In fact, you absolutely cannot retire until you consider many often-overlooked factors.
7-13-2023 – Question of the Month
7-9-2023 – It’s Time for Your Retirement Checkup
2023 is half over, and this is the time of the year that many people have a medical checkup with their doctor to make sure everything is ok and to make health improvements. This is also a good time of year to visit with your ‘retirement doctor’ to evaluate your retirement plan and make sure it is up-to-date and accurate as well. In other words, it’s time for your retirement checkup.
All of this week people will be celebrating Independence Day. Independence Day honors the birthday of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence is the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty, and this is a special time for many Americans.
6-9-23 – How to Save Your Retirement Plan from Inflation?