Every new year brings changes and for 2018 the Federal Government has made changes to Social Security and Medicare. Surprise, surprise! Some retirees get a raise. Some workers will see more come out of their checks for future benefits. And most Medicare recipients will pay more for health care. First, the good news. For the [...]
When was the last time you - or you and your financial adviser - did a top to bottom review of your entire financial situation? For most people, the answer to that question is really easy - never. It is a daunting task to think about all the things that affect your finances. And sometimes [...]
Oh, for the old days when planning for retirement was simple and you knew what to expect, especially when it came to healthcare. There was Medicare. Add a good Medicare supplement to cover other costs and you were good to go. Those days are gone! For many retirees, healthcare has become Dracula and it’s sucking [...]
ESTATE TAX ALERT- IRS GRANTS REGULATORY ESTATE TAX RELIEF POTENTIALLY WORTH MILLIONS By Rafael A. Perez, Esq, Chief Compliance Officer The IRS has provided regulatory relief in the estate tax arena for surviving spouses whose partner died after 2010. While this relief applies to a very narrow set of persons, if it does apply [...]
Medicare. The name is as recognizable as Kleenex®, KFC®, and Coca Cola®. But if asked what Medicare is, most people can only tell you it’s government health insurance for older people. If you’re going to do serious retirement planning you need to know more than that. If you don’t, you could miss sign up deadlines [...]
What happens when you die? Whether you believe in an eternal after-life, or that you come back as Aunt Polly’s cat, in the world of money you choose the answer. Depending on your choice, as an old Eagles tune says, it could be heaven or it could be hell for the people that matter to [...]
To take, or not to take—that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler to wait until 70 for the outrageous fortune of a larger Social Security check, or suffer the slings and arrows of a reduced benefit at age 62. Social Security is an important part of retirement income for many Americans and deciding when to [...]
Are my social security benefits taxable? That’s a frequent question when doing retirement planning. The simple answer is it depends on your income. But it wasn’t always that way. For almost 50 years, no one was taxed on Social Security benefits. Then, during a study of Social Security, a Senate Finance Committee Report said, “…by [...]
By Bob Williams You’ve heard it said that the government giveth and the government taketh away. It’s happening again. This time retirement dollars for couples are being taken. With the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 Congress prohibited spouses from coordinating Social Security Benefits. Now, Americans on the brink of retirement are scrambling [...]
Courtesy of Bob Williams: As discussed in preceding articles, there are many factors to consider in deciding when to begin taking social security. For couples, there are additional considerations which make the decision a little more complicated but may help maximize benefits. File and Suspend Assume that John has reached his full retirement age (FRA) of [...]
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