My Comments: I’ve dealt with inherited IRA accounts many times over the years. However, every time I encounter another example, the rules have changed for the worse. Yes, the IRS is under pressure to generate more revenue for the country, and this is one way to make it happen. Right now, I have a family …
Category: Retirement Planning
Ideas to help preserve and grow your money
5 Needed Documents for Anyone Over 65
My Comments: This article is directed toward younger folks who have elderly family members. It's very relevant for those whose life span is getting shorter. If you have someone like that in your life, you can help them and yourself if you read this carefully. To me it’s difficult to appreciate that a majority of …
5 No-No’s While Planning for Retirement
My Comments: I prioritize the following this way: #1 - #4 - #5 - #2 and #3. Yes, some of this is self-serving as I’ve been in the retirement planning business for almost 50 years. And yes, I’ve created an online course that features 8 critical questions you must ask of yourself, and answer, if …
Four Reasons Retirees Need a (Revocable) Trust
My Comments: A family member is thankfully near the end of a 12–15-month process to successfully complete an inheritance. The person who died had some assets in a revocable trust but many were not. The effort to complete what is often a long probate process has been complicated by an IRA owned by the deceased …
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3 Social Security Predictions
My Comments: These words come from Suze Orman who is a recognized and highly published woman whose focus is financial matters for all of us. The message from both Suze Orman and myself is that we have to elect people to Congress who will act on behalf of all of us if Social Security is …
The Complex Truth About Reverse Mortgages
My Comments: When the Fed started raising interest rates in March of 2022 in an effort to combat inflation, the reverse mortgage industry took a huge hit. That’s because the cost of money for reverse mortgage companies became too high. They could no longer wait sometimes many years for the last person to leave the …
5 Best Vanguard Funds for Anyone Planning to Retire
My Comments: What follows here came from an article which appeared in my daily news feed. To give credit where credit is due, here’s a link to the article: https://tinyurl.com/4fvaa98f. I changed the post title to reflect my belief that growth funds in a portfolio tend to be more volatile. This is not necessarily helpful …
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An Interesting Analogy for Retirement Planning
I’m sure you’ve heard about annuities. Some of them can be imagined as a "Swiss Army Knife" when it comes to retirement planning, a versatile companion that serves multiple purposes, much like the trusty Swiss Army Knife I've carried for years. In this post, I'll describe a financial product tailored for your retirement journey. While …
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Should You Take Social Security at Age 62, 67, or 70?
My Comments: This post follows up on my previous message about Social Security, aiming to clarify program details. Now, let's delve into the decision-making process for when to apply for benefits. The primary uncertainty in this decision revolves around one critical factor: the unknown timing of your departure from this world. This factor determines whether …
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A Guide to Social Security for Seniors
My Comments: An email recently appeared in my inbox from a Deloris Johnson who identified herself as the Community Outreach and Senior Advocate for an organization called Caring.com. I clicked on the link she sent and found myself looking at A Guide to Social Security for Seniors. I've been a Social Security benefit recipient since …
Helping Define Your Financial Future 