Taxation in Retirement – Be Prepared!
Our last post concerned whether to convert your IRA to a Roth IRA. This week, we talk about your income taxes in retirement. It’s almost as important to plan for these tax expenses as to plan for your income when you begin this new stage of your life. Indeed, every factor affecting your retirement plan […]
Roth IRAs – To Convert, or Not to Convert?
We last discussed whether to roll your 401(k) plan into an individual retirement account (IRA) when you stop working for an employer. This week we discuss whether to convert your existing retirement account(s) into a Roth IRA. An IRA, and most employer-sponsored retirement plans, allows you to contribute pre-tax dollars toward your retirement; for many, […]
How Much Stuff Do We Really Need?
A lot of you know I like stuff. Good wines, good books, good food. Well-made clothing and shoes. Highly-crafted electronics that play the beautiful music I love listening to. But I sometimes have wondered, over the years, if my accumulation of stuff sometimes gets in the way of my being the best version of myself […]
Should You Roll Your 401(k) Into an IRA When You Retire?
Our last post discussed the importance of beneficiary designations for your retirement accounts, and keeping them up to date. This time, we address a question we hear a lot – when you retire, should you roll your 401(k) into an IRA? There are pros and cons to such a rollover; these should be weighed in […]
Beneficiary Designations and Why They Matter
Last week, we talked about the ins and outs of retirement account required minimum distributions (RMDs). This week, we focus on something all too often left undone, or left outdated – the beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts. Why does this matter? Well, in a nutshell, because absent your specific instructions, the assets you worked […]
The Ins and Outs of RMDs – Explained
Last time, we talked about allocating your retirement portfolio. In this post, we are going to dive into required minimum distributions (RMDs) – those withdrawals from retirement plans you must take, or else face a hefty tax penalty. As we’ve discussed previously (here and here), the rules governing RMDs changed considerably when the Setting Every […]
Allocating Your Retirement Portfolio
Our last post talked about retirement planning during times of market volatility, such as we are at present experiencing. This week, we are going to discuss how to allocate your retirement portfolio. And how do you best do that? The answer, as it so often is – it depends. There are so many factors to […]
Planning for Retirement in a Volatile Market
We are focusing on retirement planning – our last entry discussed some of the changes made to the governance of retirement accounts and distributions from them in the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act, and a few of the potential further changes in the House-passed Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0). Nonetheless, […]
How the SECURE Act Changed Retirement Plans
We first wrote about the significant changes to retirement plans made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act), in January of 2020 – shortly after its effective date of January 1 of that year. But we think now is a good time to revisit the Act’s changes, especially […]
When to Hire a Newbie versus an Experienced Pro
When our business has a job opening, we always have a choice – hire someone with experience or someone without it. Now, that would seem to be a no-brainer, right? Of course, we want experienced people handling our work and dealing with our customers! Or is it? Sometimes it might be better to go with […]