Did you know that, if you are at least 70½ years old, you can make tax-free charitable donations directly from your IRA? By making what’s called a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), you can benefit your favorite charity while excluding up to $100,000 annually from gross income. These gifts, also known as “charitable IRA rollovers,” would […]
Will Wike, CFP® answers a question that we get frequently: “How do I prepare for retirement?” In this Authentic Advice video, we explore retirement readiness.
When people think of Social Security, they often think of it as just a retirement benefit. They assume if they work and pay into Social Security long enough, they will qualify for a monthly retirement benefit that lasts the rest of their life. Social Security is that and much more. In addition to retirement benefits, […]
W. Eric Hehman, CFP® answers some of the most pressing questions our clients have had in recent months.
Two Rebalancing Strategies Over time, the ups and downs of financial markets can change the profile of your investment plan, leaving you with more risk than you would like, or less growth potential than you need. Both of which can be detrimental to your long-term financial plan. When we return, I will share with you […]
What’s your disaster plan? Many of us are feeling the financial and operational shocks of Covid-19. A couple of years ago we went through ‘disaster’ planning, also known as ‘contingency’ planning, and we still do it every year. While we could not have predicted what would or could cause us to move the firm to […]
Are you a better-than-average driver? Regardless of what my wife says, I know I am, and chances are you think you are too. That is because nearly three-quarters of people think they are better-than-average drivers. Besides being mathematically impossible, this statistic is an example of overconfidence—and is just one illustration of how certain biases can […]
Most Americans will eventually receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds release lengthy reports to Congress that assess the health of these important programs. The newest reports, released on April 22, 2020, discuss the current financial condition and ongoing financial challenges that both programs […]
If you are like many Americans, you likely have an employer-sponsored retirement plan. This is the third article in a three-part series about the basics of 401k, 403b, and Defined Benefit Plans. You may be counting on funds from a defined benefit plan to help you achieve a comfortable retirement. Often referred to as traditional […]
If you are like many Americans, you likely have an employer-sponsored retirement plan. This is the second article in a three-part series about the basics of 401k, 403b, and Defined Benefit Plans. Retirement plans established under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, commonly referred to as 403(b) plans or “tax-sheltered annuities,” have become a […]