Many years ago, my wife and I went to lunch at a pizza joint in a strip mall. The friendly gray-haired host in sensible shoes (whom I pegged for mid-to-late 60’s), tucked two menus under her arm, grabbed a couple sets of silverware wrapped in white paper napkins, and led us to our booth. Since the noontime rush was yet to hit, our host decided to chat. She asked how our day was going, made a pleasant comment about my wife’s shirt, and told us she was a bit tired because, “after this I need to run over to my second job at Kohl’s. Just trying to keep a roof over my head. Been pretty busy since my third husband died.”
In 2006, Alan, a strapping young man who had just turned 50, collapsed and died of a massive heart attack while attending Sunday morning Mass with his wife Karen. Alan and Karen co-owned a business. Alan was a contractor and Karen handled the accounting and billing. Karen was fairly savvy financially. However, because she felt she had to get everything settled “right away” after Alan’s passing, she made several costly mistakes. It's a story you and your clients can learn from.
Even though it was 25 years ago, it seems like yesterday that my wife and I had our son evaluated by a pediatric specialist who told us our son would never live independently. When our child was diagnosed with a special need, our initial focus was on learning about the disability (autism), finding therapists and researching educational rights. Preparing for our child’s financial future (and even your own) was not an initial priority. The reality is that when there is a disabled child, the family financial plan has to span two generations rather than one. The following plan needs to take into account the potential for government benefits and, with any comprehensive plan, has to address how to minimize taxes.
We are all going to die someday. That is pretty much guaranteed. What is not guaranteed is who is going to inherit our “stuff?” We can use a will, a trust, and beneficiary forms. This story is about a man who did not use his beneficiary form.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag, coming to you live from our 2-Day IRA Workshop in Philadelphia, contains questions from consumers screaming (sometimes literally) for help! In several cases, the issues involve the magic age of 59 1/2 and cover a variety of topics, including life insurance issues, 72(t) payments with a divorce and the Roth IRA 5-year rules.
What if you could avoid 100% of the income tax on your IRA? Or at least reduce the tax to as close to $0 as possible? While a totally tax-free IRA may seem like something that only exists in your dreams, there are some circumstances in which it may be possible. Here's how to make your IRA dreams come true.
Life insurance and Roth IRAs have a lot in common. They are both often used as wealth transfer tools to help facilitate an efficient transfer of assets from one generation to the next, and they are both able to provide a tax-free legacy, just to name a few. Despite their many similarities, however, Roth IRAs and life insurance are very different and the rules that apply to one don’t always apply to the other. In fact, more often than not, that’s the case. Below, we discuss three such examples.
This past Monday, our nation celebrated Memorial Day, a day dedicated to honoring the brave men and women who have lost their lives while serving in our Armed Forces. While no financial benefit can ever console or adequately compensate the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, when a member of the Armed Forces dies, his or her loved ones are often the beneficiaries of a Service member’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI) policy. Click for more details about this policy and how it affects the families of those who served their country.
You are allowed to buy life insurance inside your employer retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or profit sharing plan. While many plans don't offer life insurance as an investment, some in fact do. Click to find out more.
On May 22nd, Congressman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) introduced H.R. 2117, The Retirement Plan Simplification and Enhancement Act of 2013, in the House of Representatives. H.R. 2117 is proposed legislation that is intended to boost retirement savings.
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