3-28-2024 – How To Evaluate An Early Buy-Out Opportunity of Voluntary Retirement Offer
3-24-2024 – Question of the Month
“I have heard a lot about the benefits of doing Roth conversions to become more tax efficient. However, someone told me it is not a good idea because of the lost opportunity cost. What does that mean specifically, and is this a reason not to do Roth conversions? Thank you.” LeAnn
3-14-2024 – Will Your Retirement Plan Survive and Advance?
The month of March is basketball tournament time, and the theme for this time in the season is ‘Survive and Advance.’ In order to continue playing and prevent the season from being over, you have to win to move on to the next round. In today’s ever-changing and volatile financial world, your retirement plan has to be set up to survive and advance as well.
3-3-2024 – Have You Forgot Anout These Factors In Your Retirement Plan?
You know, many people think that they have thought of everything when it comes to their retirement plan. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most circumstances. Join me this weekend as we bring to your attention the many factors of retirement planning that are most often overlooked in the planning process, which very well could lead to a ruined retirement plan.
3-3-2024 – What You Don’t Know About Your IRA Can Hurt You
2-22-2024 – Tax Savings Moves You Can Still Make For The Year 2023
2-15-2024 – Key Retirement Planning Moves For Today’s New Financial World
2-4-2024 – How Does a Layoff or Potential Layoff Affect Your Retirement Plan?
1-24-2024 – Key Retirement Planning Moves For Today’s New Financial World
1-19-2024 – Question of the Month
“Hello Brian. I am 80 years old and took a $10,000 distribution from my IRA last year. When I did this, I asked my IRA custodian to send $5,000 to my church as a tax-free qualified charitable distribution and to send me a check for the remaining $5,000. I just received my 1099-R from my IRA custodian for this transaction, and it shows total distributions of $10,000. How do I report the $5,000 I sent to the charity so that money isn’t included in my adjusted gross income? Thank you.” Tom
1-12-2024 – Are You Ready For More Change?
Congress approved the Secure Act law, which took effect at the end of 2019 which brought many changes to the financial and retirement planning arena. And now they have done it again by recently adopting the new Secure Act 2.0 law which brings even more new and changing financial and retirement planning rule, law, planning guidelines and procedures. So, are you ready for more change?
1-4-2024 – New Year Brings New Rules
12-31-2023 – New Year’s Resolutions for Your Retirement Plan
At the beginning of every year, people tend to evaluate their lives and determine what needs to be improved in the upcoming year. This is a good idea, and it needs to be done with your retirement plan as well. Simply put, our financial world has severely changed over the last decade and continues to change. There are a lot of issues, concerns and changes going into 2024. With all these issues and more on the forefront of people’s minds this year, it is no surprise that there will be a lot of New Year’s resolutions in 2024 that are financially related.
12-14-2023 – Question Of The Month
“Hello Brian. Over the last several weeks, you have mentioned the different deadlines coming up for the end of the year to minimize taxes, avoid penalties, and maximize retirement. Can you please summarize these moves again? Since we are now really close to the end of the year, I want to make sure I don’t miss anything. Thank you.” Keith
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?