Shot of a couple going over paperwork together at home getty Are you maxing out your employer’s retirement plan contributions? Did you know you might be able to put additional money into your plan after-tax? (The 2021 annual IRS limit for the total of all annual contributions is the lesser of 100% of your compensation… More
getty Most Americans don’t know what they don’t know about Social Security. A lot of what they think they know is wrong. Since Social Security is a major source of retirement income for many retirees, the lack of information and misinformation can be very costly. Most Americans believe their Social Security retirement benefits will be… More
getty The web site ProPublica recently reported that billionaire Peter Thiel has a Roth IRA with a value of more than $5 billion. That has leaders in Congress up in arms and talking about passing laws that could affect your IRA. The web site says it obtained IRS data or taxpayers’ filed returns, though it… More
They are known as the only certainties…but the proposed changes to taxes on inherited assets would … [+] certainly mean paying more and inheriting less. getty A key and controversial provision of President Biden’s tax overhaul proposal would cost families billions of dollars in additional taxes is the proposed shift from ‘Step-up’ basis to ‘Carryover’… More
Perfection in financial planning is impossible and its pursuit may actually be counterproductive. It may be better said that financial planning is fundamentally an exercise in mistake management and minimization. Much like major league batters in baseball, three-point shooters in basketball, and football quarterbacks in pursuit of completing passes, you may well fall short more… More
The advance Child Tax Credit payments to qualifying families are set to start in July and arrive … [+] monthly through December. getty We are a few weeks away from the arrival of advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments (July 15). If your family is potentially eligible for the payments, you might have already received… More
getty Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in 2017, use of donor-advised funds (DAFs) is soaring. They remain one of the best ways for many people to maximize the tax benefits of charitable giving. Contributions to DAFS increased by 80% from 2015 to 2019, according to the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT). Grantmaking… More
By Tracey Y. Smith, Next Avenue WireImage, Watching “In the Heights,” the hot summer movie launching in theaters and on HBO Max this week, you’ll see the effervescent 66-year-old dancer Lillian Colón. This is the first big film for Colón, a native New Yorker and Puerto Rican who became the first Latina Radio City Rockette in 1987.… More
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 17: Helen Reddy, Mark Rydell, Marion Ross and Ed Asner pose for a portrait … [+] on the set of the comedy Senior Entourage in Los Angeles, California on January 16, 2017. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) – Avoid these Social Security Mistakes to maximize your retirement income.… More
getty An extraordinary court case from Oklahoma shows the importance of having a will that is in writing and clearly written, preferably by an experienced estate planning professional. A man passed away, survived by his two adult children and a grandson. He left a one-sentence handwritten will (known as a holographic will) that left everything… More
getty Sometimes normal human instincts don’t lead to the best actions. That’s a basic finding of behavioral finance research, and it’s true of a lot of retirement planning. People often believe that taking more actions is better than doing less, but doing more often doesn’t improve retirement plans and often can make them worse. For… More
Even with the best financial planning, unexpected emergencies still arise in our lives. If you find yourself in need of cash quickly, you may be hesitant to dip into your retirement savings. There’s a good reason to be hesitant. If you touch the money you have saved for retirement; it can have unwanted consequences. But… More
Take the time to analyze whether a Roth conversion will reduce or increase the income taxes you pay. getty Are you considering converting part or all of your traditional IRA or 401k accounts to a Roth account because you’re worried that future income tax rates will increase? If you are, you’ll want to conduct a… More
Sometimes it makes sense to add risky assets to a conservative portfolio. Things to hoard (Photo by Yuriko Nakao) Getty Images Holy grail for the fixed-income investor: an asset that has a decent return of its own and runs counter to the bond market. Blend this magic stuff with your Treasury bonds and you’d have… More
The IRS is looking for feedback from the public by the May 28 deadline for the 2021-2022 Priority … [+] Guidance Plan. getty If you have any interest in having the IRS hear your voice, there are two mechanisms. One is the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), which is a volunteer effort with a three-year commitment.… More
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