Many people nearing retirement age wonder whether they would benefit from securing the services of a professional financial planner. The answer is, most likely, yes. A good planner, who is your advocate (a fiduciary advisor) in all things, can make a big difference. But the specific benefit for you will, of course, depend on the …
Tax savings for 2018
The new federal tax law takes effect for tax year 2018. One of the biggest changes is a near doubling of the standard deduction to $12,000 on single returns, $18,000 for head-of-household filers and $24,000 on joint returns. That’s up from $6,350, $9,350 and $12,700 in 2017. Individuals age 65 or older and blind people …
What is Financial Risk?
Risk is a topic that gets a lot of attention in the financial planning business. But it’s a term that’s not really well understood. There are many technical definitions of financial planning risk. And there is the Webster’s Dictionary definition of risk: 1. The possibility of loss or injury. 2. The chance that an …
How to have enough money in retirement
One way to be sure you don’t run out of money in retirement is to carefully plan in advance. I like to talk about the Retirement Red Zone, the five years before you retire and the 10 years after. This window is when a lot of important choices and adjustments can be made to increase …
How Soon Can I Retire?
If you are a regular reader, you can predict that my answer to the question of when you can retire is, “It depends.” That’s because it does depend what exactly you want out of your retirement and what exactly you have put into your retirement up to this point. Here are some ideas to help …
What’s My 401k Statement Trying to Tell Me?
For most Americans, their 401k savings program at work is their single largest retirement asset. According to a recent report from Transamerica, “Thirty-nine percent [of baby boomers] expect their primary source of retirement income to be self-funded from accounts such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs or other savings.” The Pension Rights Center estimates that a full 65 percent …
