January 31, 2020 Most Americans are familiar with the old advice that “a penny saved is a penny earned” or “the sooner, the better”. This is just one way of describing the power of compound interest, where interest is earned on principal plus interest already earned. In contrast, whatever gets consumed today cannot be used … Continued
You moved to Silicon Valley to pursue career opportunities and then stayed to raise your family. You are now a retired empty nester who has enjoyed clement weather, diverse cultural experiences, superior medical care, and are contemplating how to spend the next chapter of your life. With so many retirement community options available in the … Continued
In the process of building solid financial resources to provide for their families, most successful investors also recognize the importance of adequately protecting their physical assets from potential accidents or disasters through the purchase of property and casualty insurance. The same reasoning applies to basic medical and life insurance, knowing that catastrophic events can occur … Continued
When it comes to compensation for highly paid employees, various tax-deferral strategies can offer significant savings over the long run. In the process, nest eggs can accumulate more meaningfully without being reduced by taxes, and sponsoring companies can also receive important benefits along the way. While typical retirement plans exist to help all employees, their … Continued
Understanding Social Security retirement benefits can be a daunting task for many, but even more so for divorcees. The eligibility rules are different when collecting a benefit on a former spouse’s employment record. The following article is meant to help demystify much of the confusion surrounding qualifying for a benefit and provide key guidelines to … Continued
Imagine for a moment adding 20 healthy years to your lifespan. How might you live your life differently? At what age would you consider retirement? Or perhaps, would you consider starting a second or even third career? How would you positively impact the lives of your family or the broader world at large? As the opportunity to improve … Continued
In the new tax law, there’s no going back (on Roth Conversions). As a result of the new legislation, taxpayers are no longer able to “recharacterize”, or undo, a previously executed Roth conversion. Roth conversions allow for an individual to convert some, or all, of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) into a Roth IRA, subjecting … Continued
The Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) remains permanent. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) were made permanent by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 and were untouched by this new tax overhaul. IRA owners age 70½ or older can distribute up to $100,000 per year from their IRA directly to charitable organizations. These distributions … Continued
The tax law changes the time frame for loan repayments from a 401(k). 401(k)’s were largely left alone in this new tax bill, which is a positive outcome for employees who contribute to their company 401(k) plans. The 2018 maximum contribution to a 401(k) plan remains at $18,500, plus a catch up of an additional … Continued
A major dilemma with navigating the divorce process is that it forces a person into an extremely emotional and gut-wrenching situation, and yet also requires extremely logical decision making to avoid major financial and legal mistakes. A quote by Winston Churchill – who was in the thick of trying to save his country while under … Continued