Catherine Brock, Contributor Aug. 15, 2022 Do you need a financial advisor? The answer depends on different factors — the complexity of your finances, how comfortable you are managing investments, where you are in your wealth journey, and where you’d like to be. The advisor’s mission is to close the gap between where you are…
Should I choose a single life annuity for my pension or a joint and survivor annuity that makes payments to my spouse when I die?
By ANDREW SCHWARTZ | Reviewed by MARGARET JAMES | Fact checked by SUZANNE KVILHAUGDec. 30, 2022 It is important for everyone to reset their personal finances and their goals for the New Year. Did you make any resolutions concerning your personal finances last January? If so, how did you do? Did you attain your goals or…
With the markets down from this time last year, Roth conversion may be a perfect option to yield additional tax benefit when moving money. Using Roth Conversions to Reduce Taxes and Give Tax Free Money to Family James Brewer, Contributor Nov. 1, 2022 A Roth Conversion may reduce your lifetime tax bill. It reduced the…
A 401(k) in-plan Roth conversion (also called an “in-plan Roth rollover”) allows you to transfer the non-Roth portion of your 401(k) account into a designated Roth account within the same plan. The amount you convert is subject to federal income tax in the year of the conversion (except for any nontaxable basis you have in…
On March 16, 2022, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25% to a target range of 0.25% to 0.50%. This is the beginning of a series of increases that the FOMC expects to carry out over the next two years to combat high inflation.
With the holiday season upon us and the end of the year approaching, we pause to give thanks for our blessings and the people in our lives. It is also a time when charitable giving often comes to mind. The tax benefits associated with charitable giving could potentially enhance your ability to give and should…
Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system, which means today’s workers are paying taxes for the benefits received by today’s retirees. However, demographic trends such as lower birth rates, higher retirement rates, and longer life spans are causing long-run fiscal challenges. There are simply not enough U.S. workers to support the growing number of beneficiaries. Social…
The U.S. housing market, already strong before the pandemic, has heated up to record levels in 2021. The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which measures home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas, reported a 12-month increase of 18.6% in June 2021, the largest year-over-year gain in data going back to 1987.1 The National Association…
On August 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced an extension of the pause on federal student loan payments to January 31, 2022. The payment moratorium, currently in effect for millions of federal student loan borrowers, was set to end on September 30, 2021. The Department noted that this extension would be the last…