Articles and Videos

How Much Money Will You Need to Spend in Retirement?

August 13, 2020

Have you ever worked with one of those online retirement calculators? You plug in certain information — like your current income and savings, your expected rate of return, maybe an inflation factor — and eventually it tells you how much money you should aim to have in your portfolio at retirement in order to give you the income you need. Here’s the problem – they often give numbers that are far higher than you’ll actually need. If you require, say, $100,000 of income to retire at age 65, will you really need $230,000 per year 30 years later just to keep up with inflation? From our experience, as retirement goes on, spending needs (and thus your income needs) tend to go down over the long term – not up. What this means is that you may not need to have as much socked away in your portfolio as those online calculators would suggest.

Managing Your Financial Future

Paying Off your Mortgage: Good idea, or Bad? – Season 3: Episode 7

August 11, 2020

A few weeks back, we offered a strategy for people who want to pay off their mortgage in, say, 15 years, but don’t like the idea of making the higher principal payments that are required of a 15-year loan. Following up on that topic, we received an email asking about whether paying off the mortgage is really nothing more than a cash-flow issue. Is it? Or are there other things to consider?

Articles

Did You Just Inherit an IRA?

August 6, 2020

If you’ve been keeping up with latest tax laws, you may know that the rules regarding Required Minimum Distributions changed at the end of 2019 with the SECURE Act. And if you look really closely, you’d see that some of those rules changed again in March with the CARES Act. It’s not just important information, it’s also very confusing at the same time. Doing the wrong thing may cost you more in taxes than you’d normally have to pay. This is especially true if you’ve recently inherited an IRA, or will inherit one very soon. Knowing the rules, or at least having an advisor who knows the rules, may save you not only some taxes, but unnecessary headaches as well.

Managing Your Financial Future

What’s My Stock Allocation in Retirement? – Season 3: Episode 6

August 5, 2020

Retirement income calculators are everywhere online. What’s more, they’re fairly simple in nature: plug in some current income and savings, expected rate of return, an inflation factor, and eventually it’ll spit back a number that you should aim to have in your portfolio that’s supposed to give you the income you need. The trouble is – they’re often way off the mark. They may tell you that if you need, say, $100,000 of income to retire at age 65, then that number will rise to perhaps $230,000 or more by the time you’re age 95 because of the inflation factor. But from our experience, this just isn’t practical in the real world. As retirement goes on, spending (and income needs) tend to go down over those years – not up.

Articles

The 5 Must-Have Estate Planning Documents

July 30, 2020

Of all the financial topics to discuss, estate planning is hardly the most fun. But it’s one of the most important, especially if your goal is to have an effective transfer of your assets after you’re gone. The key, of course, is to take care of things while you’re still alive. In order to do… View Article

Managing Your Financial Future

You’ll Spend Less in Retirement Than You Think – Season 3: Episode 5

July 28, 2020

Retirement income calculators are everywhere online. What’s more, they’re fairly simple in nature: plug in some current income and savings, expected rate of return, an inflation factor, and eventually it’ll spit back a number that you should aim to have in your portfolio that’s supposed to give you the income you need. The trouble is – they’re often way off the mark. They may tell you that if you need, say, $100,000 of income to retire at age 65, then that number will rise to perhaps $230,000 or more by the time you’re age 95 because of the inflation factor. But from our experience, this just isn’t practical in the real world. As retirement goes on, spending (and income needs) tend to go down over those years – not up.

Articles

401(k) Rollover Decision Kit – 7 Vital Factors to Consider

July 23, 2020

While our grandparents may have worked one job their entire lives and retired with a company pension, those days are long gone. It’s more likely that you’ve worked for a variety of different companies throughout your career, leaving a trail of old 401(k)s that you really don’t know what to do with. Do you leave them where they are? Do you move it into your personal account, or to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA (a “rollover”)? What about the tax implications? Before you make a decision about what to do with your old 401(k) or 403(b) accounts, or whatever retirement plan you have at work, you need to understand what your options are. To help you out, we’ve created a free decision kit that addresses these (and other) issues. In this e-booklet, we talk about what we believe are the Seven Vital Factors you need to consider when you’re trying to figure out what to do with the money that’s in your old company retirement plans. Whether you’re headed into retirement, or you’re moving on to a different job, either way, you’ve got some important decisions to make. Allow us to give you some guidance.

Managing Your Financial Future

Here’s something you never hear: “I love paying taxes!” They’re an awful chore to do every year, and if you pay a professional to get the dome, that simply adds to the costs. Very few people even like to think about them. Still, income taxes are a necessary evil, and we’re stuck with them. That’s why it’s extremely important to give your tax situation some thought during the actual tax year, rather than waiting until the year is over. That way, you may be able to manage your tax bill so that it’s either lower right now, or potentially over your entire life — or both. The middle of the year may be the perfect time to evaluate where your tax situation stands, because doing so could potentially save you a lot of money at filing time next year.