My Comments: With so many of us getting older, there is an increasing focus on what happens to our money when we die. If we don’t pay attention, large pieces of it may flow to the IRS and into the hands of others simply because we couldn’t be bothered to get it right the first …
Continue reading Common Mistakes When Designating a Beneficiary
My Comments: I’ve talked in earlier blog posts about the rate used to withdraw money from your retirement accounts. There is a prevailing sentiment that it should be 4% or less. I think that’s too low. On the other hand if I’m wrong, and 30 years later you discover you have run out of money, …
Continue reading For Retirement Portfolios, a Smarter Glidepath
My Comments: By now you know that I provide financial advice about Social Security and about ways to maximize your SSA benefits. That all happens when you are alive. Inevitably, someone in a married relationship is going to leave the building, as Elvis did. Then what happens? by Paul Norr / AUG 18, 2014 …
Continue reading Social Security Survivor Benefits: What Advisors (and clients) Should Know
My Comments: We’ve been living in a low interest rate environment for some years now. The general consensus has been that they can’t get any lower and that the Fed will push them up if and when the US economy starts to see any inflationary pressure. I know that clients, who for years depended on …
My Comments: Medicare has been a life saver for me and my wife. It has allowed us to seek timely and appropriate medical care when problems surfaced. An argument can be made that it serves to deprive hard working physicians with the compensation they deserve, but from a selfish perspective, that’s their problem. Our problem …
My Comments: You have read my posts before where I talk about income inequality (the HAVES vs. the HAVE NOTS) and how if left unchecked, could result in social chaos in this country. Probably not in my lifetime, but definitely affecting the lives of my grandchildren. It’s an issue that demands discussion among ourselves and …
Continue reading The Typical Household, Now Worth a Third Less
My Comments: QLAC? What the heck is a QLAC? By Jeffrey Levine / July 18, 2014 On July 1, 2014 the Treasury Department released the long-awaited final regulations for Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs). These new annuities will offer advisors a unique tool to help clients avoid outliving their money. The QLAC rules, however, are …
My Comments: On Thursday, July 30 the market dropped 300 points. The blogosphere and media were all a chatter about "was this the start of the correction?". Who knows ?!? It illustrates why those of us who profess to be financial advisors are more in the dark than you are. Here we are talking about …
Continue reading Increased Consumer Spending Driving Strong Economic Growth In USA
My Comments: I’m involved in a philosophical conflict these days between those on one side who believe there is a universal truth that says investment skill trumps traditional permanent life insurance every time. On the other side is someone who believes permanent life insurance trumps traditional investment methodologies. They argue vehemently that permanent life insurance …
My Comments: Once again, the question of a market crash raises its ugly head. And once again, no one has a clue when it will happen. And once again, as I tell my clients and prospective clients, it really doesn’t matter if you have your money where it can grow regardless of when and how …
Continue reading Stocks Will Rise And The 3 Trades You Can’t Make
Helping Define Your Financial Future 