Ask Bob: Social Security and Zero Earnings Years
Social Security benefits are calculated on your top 35 earning years. What if you have some years with zero earnings? Alhambra’s Bob Williams explains.
The IRS Will Tax Less of an Estate in 2023
In 2012, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) established, for the first time, a permanent estate tax and gift tax exemption. The exemption is the amount an individual can pass on at death without paying estate taxes. The legislation set the exemption at $5 million per person, indexed for inflation. Five years later, Congress decided the exemption was not large [...]
2023 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits
Worried about saving enough for retirement? You can put away more next year. The IRS has just announced the new retirement plan contribution limits for 2023. The contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan increases to $22,500, up from $20,500. For individuals 50 and older, the catch-up contribution [...]
Market Currents: Fed Punishing Middle Class
Is the Fed punishing the middle class? Steve Brennan talks to Alhambra CEO Joe Calhoun about the Fed’s focus on killing jobs and stopping wage increases in an attempt to slow inflation. Has the Fed gone too far, too fast?
60,000 Real Estate Deals Fall Through in September
This is the time of year when lots of folks have visions of warming their feet by the fire while the cold wind whistles outside. But with the highest mortgage rates in more than four decades, many people are getting cold feet about a cozy place of their own. The 30-year mortgage rate broke through 7% in October and that [...]
Ask Bob: Social Security
Alhambra's Bob Williams highlights pitfalls to watch out for when signing up for Social Security.
Social Security Announces 8.7% Cost of Living Adjustment for 2023
As expected, the Social Security Administration has announced that the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be the largest COLA in 42 years, brought on by rampant inflation not seen in more than four decades. Social Security benefits increase automatically if the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) which measures price inflation for urban workers is more in the third quarter [...]
It’s Time to Tackle the Year-End Financial Checklist
Here we are again in the final quarter of the year when thoughts turn to Thanksgiving and Christmas and… reviewing your financial house. Oh, that’s not on your list? Well, let’s put it there because financial issues cannot be on automatic pilot. Things change and you need to keep current. Here are 16 items you need to review before the [...]
Gifting Just Got More Generous for 2023
If you’ve been gifting money each year to people you love, or using gifting as a planning tool, it’s about to get even better. In 2023, the amount you can give away takes a healthy jump and as long as your generosity doesn’t exceed the limit, you should stay off the IRS radar. In 2023 the new annual exclusion moves [...]
Medicare Part B Premiums Will Go Down in 2023
In a world where the price of everything is going up, Medicare recipients get a price cut beginning January 1, 2023. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just announced that the monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits, diagnostic tests, and other outpatient services, is decreasing $5.20 per month to $164.90. That’s good news in [...]
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