Variable Annuities – Beware!
Variable annuities are insurance products. These contracts are marketed by insurance companies as investments. However, due to fees, surrender charges, tax issues and limited investment choices, annuities should be avoided if possible. Generally, two versions are offered: immediate and deferred. With immediate annuities, you give the insurance company a lump sum of money and they promise […]
Reasons to Delay Social Security Payments
In this article, I want to share some information on the benefits of waiting to begin Social Security. Industry research has confirmed that most retirees benefit from delaying Social Security payments. There are, of course, reasons why people don’t do this even though it might benefit them to do so. Some simply need the money […]
The Role of a Financial Advisor When a Spouse Dies
Hopefully you are reading this article prior to the death or incapacitation of your spouse. If your spouse has recently passed away, please accept our sincere condolences. Numerous organizations have offered helpful suggestions for coping with the loss of a loved one. One that is repeatedly mentioned is well summarized by CancerCare when they say, […]
Retirement Account Bankruptcy Protection
In 2005, a set of Federal bankruptcy law amendments added protection of retirement accounts from creditors. However, a few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that inherited individual retirement accounts are not protected. What this means is that your own IRAs and other retirement accounts are protected from creditors while you are alive. […]
The Future of Financial Advice
Should American financial advisors always be looking out for the best interests of their clients? Should our government intervene to ensure they do so? Australia thinks so, and has passed new laws to make it happen. To illustrate, let’s imagine that your credit card company offered to exchange your old card for a new one, […]
Procrastination Costs You Money
Smart, well-intentioned investors may harm their financial futures when they delay money matters. Tomorrow seems like a great day for difficult things. If it’s not fun, if we lack the proper skills or if the task takes us back to previous painful mistakes, tomorrow usually seems best. When outsourcing professional services, procrastination can be especially […]
Distribution Planning in Retirement
Retirement income involves thinking about the amount of money that you need for expenses and determining the source of these funds. The key difference between where you get your cash in retirement years versus working years is that you’ll no longer receive a paycheck in retirement, and you’ll need to replace that income from investments […]
How to manage expenses in retirement
The basic concept is really pretty simple: keep annual expenses below the planned withdrawal rate of your assets. As usual, it’s the details that can get a little tricky.
Help! The Required Minimum Distribution from my IRA is more than I usually spend
When your required minimum distribution (RMD) is larger than the amount of income you need for expenses, you have many options for handling the excess. We find it is helpful to manage the extra amounts wisely in order to avoid spending more than you had planned.
When am I required to start withdrawing from my IRA?
Generally, for the year in which an individual turns age 70 ½ an individual must start taking distributions from their retirement accounts. Whether these amounts are needed for funding your retirement, the IRS requires that you begin taking the distributions.