What to do? What to do? The 2020 presidential election is just around the corner and questions are being asked about how to protect your wealth, no matter who’s elected. Each candidate has broadly divergent views about income taxes, capital gains taxes, estate taxes; how much you keep, and how much the government will come after. With that in mind, [...]
Oh, my! I cringe every time I hear that someone has added their kids’ names to the deed of their house as an estate planning technique. It’s done for the right reasons, but it often backfires. Sometimes, elderly people will add kids to the deed, thinking they’re removing the house from their assets in order to become Medicaid-eligible. Unfortunately, there [...]
If you turn 60 years old in 2020, your Social Security benefit may get hit with a double-whammy. People turning 60 this year are at the tail end of the Baby Boom generation, and the first Americans ever required to wait until age 67 to receive full Social Security benefits. Older Boomers have been able to claim full benefits at [...]
“Will I outlive my money?” That’s one of the biggest concerns for most retirees. There’s the high cost of medical care, which gets more expensive all the time. There’s inflation, which raises the cost of goods and services, eating into your retirement budget. And then, there’s taxes, which are as certain as death, and the politicians who want to raise [...]
The most frequently asked Social Security question I get is, “When should I claim my Social Security benefits?” Well, that’s a loaded question, because there are so many moving parts and everyone’s situation is different. So, here are some considerations when you’re trying to figure out when is the right time for you to start Social Security. Age and [...]
Retirement is the time you want things to run smoothly. After all, you’ve spent a lifetime preparing for retirement—saving money, paying things off, having plenty of retirement income. The last thing you want is a notice from the IRS informing you that you’re going to be audited. The chances of an audit are extremely low. In 2019, the IRS audited [...]
Since the beginning of Social Security in 1935, a monthly Social Security check has become an expected part of retirement income for most Americans. And why not? Money has come out of your check every time you got paid and, supposedly, gone into the Social Security Trust Fund to ensure that you have money coming in for as long as [...]
The financial industry is in a state of flux, scrambling to adjust to the new normal thrust upon it by COVID-19. Most financial representatives are still working from home, talking to clients by video chat rather than the age-old norm of face-to-face, wondering if this is the way things will be from now on. Where’s it going? What does it [...]
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