Paying for Long-term Care with Health Savings Accounts
A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers in the United States who are enrolled in a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). There are no taxes on the contributions and no taxes on qualified withdrawals. As the cost of long-term care (LTC) insurance rises and the benefits decline, alternatives are […]
Saving for College
Okay, you don’t need to read an article to know that college costs a lot more than when you went to school. Despite the breathtaking numbers, lots of kids still go to school and there are strategies to help accumulate the required funds. To get started, let’s ballpark the amount of money we’re talking about. […]
IRA Rollover Rules Change in 2015
As a refresher, IRA rollovers are simply the transfer of funds from a retirement account such as a 401(k) into an IRA, or an IRA-to-IRA transfer. There are three ways to accomplish this rollover or transfer: Direct rollover – The administrator of your account may issue your distribution in the form of a check made […]
Retirement Planning for CSU Employees
CSU employees do not pay Social Security taxes. Because of this, employees are not eligible for Social Security benefits (see the exceptions discussed below). Because your earnings from CSU are not covered under Social Security, employees are mandated to participate in one of the following retirement programs: • Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) • […]
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 […]