You’d think that, after working all your life and now that you’re in a position to retire and start taking Social Security retirement benefits, that you could get a break and not have to pay income tax. But alas, Social Security retirement benefits may be taxable to you, depending upon your income level. And [...]
Advisor or Salesman?
Recently I came across an article in the New York Times blogs section by Andrew Ross Sorkin that once again underscores the scary situation that many consumers of financial services face. As I have mentioned here on several occasions, it’s important to know the source of any “advice” you might receive.
This particular article includes comments [...]
Your IRA and Your Spouse – Or Maybe Not
For anyone who has ever had a 401(k), 403(b), or a deferred compensation (457) retirement plan, (which is a high percentage of you, I assume) – there’s a major difference to an IRA that you might find interesting and/or useful. The difference is in the legal requirements for beneficiary designation.
ERISA
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act [...]
The Great Recession – What We Did Right
The “Great Recession” may have not been officially declared over just yet, but things we’re seeing in the financial world are showing that we’re regaining momentum, or at least solid ground in the markets. We’ve seen the stock market gain more than 60% since the low a year ago, which is remarkable even though we’re [...]
Social Security Earnings Tests
As you know, you can receive Social Security retirement or survivors benefits and continue working. If you happen to be less than Full Retirement Age (FRA) and you earn more than certain amounts though, your benefit will be reduced. (Note: these reductions are not really lost, your benefit will be increased at FRA to account [...]
How to Check the Status of Your Tax Refund
So – you’ve gone through the effort of calculating and filing your tax return, or maybe you went to a tax preparer (just hopefully not the one with the clown in a statue suit!) and your return has been filed. You see that you’re going to be getting a sizeable refund this year – in [...]
Real Estate Investing in Your IRA
From time to time this question comes up: why can’t I use my IRA account to purchase a retirement home? After all, for many folks, the IRA represents a pretty large account, possibly even enough to purchase a retirement home outright – so why not?
No Personal Use
This is a thorny question, because there are lots [...]
The File and Suspend Tactic for Social Security Benefits
This is another provision of the Social Security system that is filed under the “Little Known Facts” section – although it is becoming more known these days. How it works and what’s important about it is the subject of this article.
How File and Suspend Works and Why It’s Important
Any worker can establish a benefit amount [...]
7 Tips About the First-Time Homebuyer Credit
The First-Time Homebuyer Income Tax Credit has been really popular with lots of folks – and there is still time to take advantage of it. As you may be aware, the name of the credit is misleading – it’s been expanded to include folks who owned a house for a significant period of time and [...]
IRAs Do Not Pass Through Your Will
Here’s a little fact that you may not realize: when you assign a beneficiary for your IRA account, you are effectively bypassing any outside action against that account – assuming that the beneficiary assigned is appropriate.
For most assets that you own, when you pass away, your last will and testament determines who will receive the [...]
