Ask Bob: Automatic Medicare Enrollment
Alhambra's Bob Williams tells you whether you are automatically enrolled in Medicare when you reach age 65.
What the Tax Man Requires After a Loved One Dies
Someone trusts you so much that they name you to settle their estate after they die. You’re honored they have that much confidence in you, but you don’t think much about what’s involved in settling an estate. Among the long list of items you have to deal with is settling the deceased’s tax bill. You may have to file just [...]
Ask Bob: Social Security Breakeven Age
Alhambra's Bob Williams describes Social Security Breakeven Age and how it can help determine when to begin receiving your Social Security benefit.
Ask Bob: Social Security and Working Past 70
Alhambra's Bob Williams describes how working past age 70, after delayed credits have stopped, can still increase your Social Security benefit.
Who’s Your Beneficiary? (VIDEO)
Who's the beneficiary on your accounts? If you haven't updated them in a while, if something happens to you, your money may not go where you want.
New Tax Brackets for 2022
It seems like you just finished filing your tax return and now it’s almost time to step into the ring with the IRS again. But as you contemplate gathering receipts and tax records for 2021, the IRS is at work adjusting tax brackets for 2022. The U.S. tax system uses a graduated scale, meaning you pay different percentages on your [...]
SPECIAL REPORT: The Definitive Guide to Medicare
There’s a common misconception that Medicare is a simple, automatic process when you turn 65. Nothing could be further from the truth. The responsibility to enroll is on your shoulders, and if you miss deadlines or don’t enroll in just the right way, you can incur penalties that will consume chunks of your retirement income for the rest of your [...]
The Estate Tax Exemption Amount Increases in 2022, BUT…
When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 became law, estate tax exemptions got a substantial boost. The amount each individual could pass on free of federal estate taxes jumped from $5,490,000 in 2017 to $11,180,000 in 2018. That amount has increased each year since then based on the Consumer Price Index. In 2022, the exemption rises from $11.7 [...]
Medicare Eats Up Most of the 2022 Social Security Raise
There was dancing in the streets when Social Security announced that 2022 checks will go up by 5.9%, the biggest Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in 40 years. But now, the streets are empty and the cheering is gone. Most of that Social Security COLA will be eaten up by increases in Medicare. Medicare Part B, which covers doctor services [...]
2021 Year-End Investment Checklist
The end of the year is a financial opportunity—an opportunity to take advantage of remaining tax breaks and keep Uncle Sam’s hand from going deeper into your pocket than it has to, and an opportunity to clean up your portfolio and make sure your financial house is in order. Here is a year-end financial checklist. Tax Loss Harvesting What [...]
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