Boomer-Living.com...enhancing the lives of Active Baby Boomers.
Archive for the ‘Financial Planning’
To Trust or Not to Trust… That is the Question?
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Late last month I received a newsletter from my old friend and colleague, Sam Swansen. For those of who don’t know Sam he’s an attorney, an author and an expert on matters of estate transfers. His...
Tags: Boomer-Living, estate planning, heirs, trusts
What’s the Right Amount to Draw from Your Retirement Fund Each Year?
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
With stagnant incomes and roller-coaster investment returns over the past decade, the Financial Planning Association of Washington, DC wonders if investors are asking themselves, “What became of all...
Tags: lifespan, nest egg, rules of thumb, treasury inflation protected securities
Some Annuities Offer to Pay for Long-Term Care
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Current estimates from AARP put the annual cost of a nursing home at a national average of $78,000. Older Americans, struggling to reassemble their retirement plans from the worst economic downturn in...
Tags: deferred annuity, disabled people, financial expert, long term care, pension protection act
To Roth or Not to Roth – That Is the Question!
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
One of the biggest questions that will pop into the minds of baby boomers this summer as they catch some rays at the beach is whether or not to convert their IRA to a Roth IRA.
Simply put, a Roth IRA...
Tags: baby boomers, estate tax purposes, income tax rates, life expectancy, state tax laws
A Summer-time Financial Checkup Can Make For a Better Year
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
This is not the time of year when everyone wants to stay indoors with their finances… but summer’s actually a good time to review them because there’s still enough time left to correct lapses in...
Tags: college savings, emergency fund, living expenses, necessary goals, tax planning
Ponzi Schemes Beg the Question: ‘Who’s Minding the Store?’
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
There’s an old expression in the financial services industry that goes something like, “It’s hard to tell who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out!” I’ve used it several times to describe...
Tags: Bernie Madoff, investment scams, ponzi schemes, securities laws
It’s Like a HEET Wave! Why Boomers Should Consider a Health and Education Exclusion Trust
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Written by: Renee A. Bouchard-Kaiser, Esq. and Gary Altman, Esq.
As many Boomers (particularly those of us here on the East Coast) muscle through the effects of the latest summer heat wave, I thought...
Tags: boomers, educational expenses, health and education exclusion trust, medical expenses, transfer taxes
The Economic Recovery, Revolution Act of 2010
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
As we have just celebrated our independence amidst the pall of a nearly comatose economic recovery, wouldn’t it be nice to see some glimpse of leadership coming from our government? Well, if they’re...
Tags: american cars, economic recovery, foreign cars, fuel efficiency, labor unions
Many Benefits to Utilizing a Family Mission Statement
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
A family doesn’t need a surname like Rockefeller or Vanderbilt to benefit from a family mission statement. According to the Financial Planning Association of Washington, D.C. a mission statement is a...
Tags: charitable pursuits, family assets, family dynamics, financial planning association, Money Matters
Feel Like Un-Retiring? How to Prepare
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
According to a press release by the Financial Planning Association, almost 93 percent of the net increase in the U.S. civilian labor force between 2006 and 2016 will be 55 or older. Many American workers...
Tags: age discrimination, economic downturn, financial planning association, health insurance issues, retirement
Three Most Important Factors Are All Alike
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
It is often said that the three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location. I assume the person who created this idiom was trying to impress upon all the belief that nothing...
Tags: important factors, negative cash flow, stocks and bonds, true diversification
How Financially Responsible is Your Grad? – Take This Into Account When Designing Your Estate Plan!
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Graduation time is upon us. My son, Matthew is graduating from Northwestern University this June and, like many families that have children that are graduating or who have already graduated, I have been...
Tags: financial guidance, graduation time, health insurance policies, parents and grandparents, private school tuition
Boomer Bride Alert! Is Long-Term Care Insurance in Your Prenup?
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Prenuptial agreements are popular with brides of a certain age (boomers-plus), who often have accumulated assets, careers, and lifestyles they want to protect. Now there's a new prenup wrinkle, a clause...
Tags: boomer brides, financial partners, long term care, prenuptial agreements, wedding bells
Debt ‘Rooster’ Comes Home to Roost
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Deficit spending — it’s a term we hear so often that I’m beginning to believe we’ve become numb or desensitized to its meaning.
Simply put, it means spending more money than you have; sending...
Tags: american taxpayers, debt crisis, early retirement, financial trouble, government influences
Special Needs Planning – What Every Boomer Needs to Know…and Share With Others
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Statistics show that the need for special needs planning is rapidly increasing. Cases of autism, substance abuse, dementia, and other psychological disorders, are on the rise. Many boomers have at...
Tags: boomers, entitlement programs, family affair, psychological disorders, special needs children
Non-Planners May Be Getting Nervous
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
We have an expression in this business that goes like this: “It’s hard to tell who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out!” The wild gyrations of the stock market in the past few weeks and the...
Tags: declines, financial planner, insurance policy, retirement plan, stock broker
Helping Your Kid Manage Money and Opportunity on Their First Summer Job
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
Your teen’s first experience working for an employer marks a milestone in their lives. While they might have earned allowances when they were younger for chores and for neighborhood babysitting, that...
Tags: college scholarship, first experience, job search, summer internships, work values
3 Reasons Boomers’ Retirement Plans Will Fail
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
This is not a politically correct argument. It is not a ‘let me tell you what you want to hear’ article. What it is, is a factual, no holds barred, reality check for you based on your plans to retire....
Tags: assets, boomers, investments, reality check, retirement plan
Try to Avoid These Stupid IRA Mistakes
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
It’s been just about a month since the traditional IRS Income Tax filing deadline of April 15. Many of us either took advantage of our IRAs last year or we now we wish we had. Since it’s not to late...
Tags: eligible rollover distribution, retirement strategy, tax filing deadline, traditional ira
No Estate Tax for 2010…….For Now
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
As of Jan. 1, there is no federal estate tax and a reduction in the number of taxable estates in the US.
Unfortunately, the clock is ticking on this federal tax hiatus, and the alarm may sound before...
Tags: boomers, estate tax returns, federal estate taxes, senate, sunset provision
Things College Grads Should Do To Plan
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
The Class of 2010 is stepping into an uncertain job market with big financial responsibilities and likely a bunch of debt.
With that in mind, smart grads might consider some of these ideas from the...
Tags: financial planner, financial responsibilities, graduation money, saving for retirement
“Beneficiary Audits” – It’s One Audit You Should Be Asking For!
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
With Tax Day behind us, the IRS is now hard at work auditing as many returns as possible in an effort to make sure that citizens are playing by the rules. For this reason, the word “audit” doesn’t...
Tags: audits, beneficiary designations, boomers, retirement accounts
How Boomers Can Choose the BEST Financial Advisor
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
After a turbulent 2008 stock market, many investors are questioning their financial advisors value. As a matter of fact, many will seek a new advisor in the years to come. And while this may seem a daunting...
Tags: best wealth management, financial advisors, qualitative questions, ultimate success
Does It Make Sense to Sell a Death Benefit For Cash?
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
One of the most important decisions to make about any asset is the end game – how it will be sold or passed on. People don’t always think of life insurance as an asset, but during this tough economy,...
Tags: healthcare costs, important decisions, life insurance policy, loan value
Reasons Boomers Should Rollover Their 401(K) to an IRA
Posted in: Financial Center & Financial Planning |
So Boomer, you just found a new job or better yet retired and you are wondering if you should do something with your old employer’s 401(k) Plan. You are not alone. I get this question often so here is...
Tags: 401 k plans, beneficiary, boomer, individual retirement account, investment options
