We had a great question come in by request this week that we address the question of whether folks should have gold in their portfolios. Gold can be included under the umbrella of a larger asset class known as commodities. Think of commodities as items used to make or produce other items – such as gold is used to produce jewelry, circuitry and coinage, while timber is used to make lumber and paper, while coal is used to make electricity and disappoint not-so-good kids on Christmas morning (sorry, couldn’t resist). Getting back to gold, the reason an investor may want to consider it as part of their portfolio is because gold is correlated differently from the stock market. Simply put; its pricing moves differently relative to the stock market. This does not mean I’m recommending investors buy gold. Here’s why. Imagine a lump of gold sitting on your kitchen table. […]
August, 2014:
10 questions: Social Security Spousal Benefits
Note: with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Bill of 2015 into law, File & Suspend and Restricted Application have been effectively eliminated for anyone born in 1954 or later. If born before 1954 there are some options still available, but these are limited as well. Please see the article The Death of File & Suspend and Restricted Application for more details. I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a live interactive event with Yahoo! Finance, where folks were able to ask virtually any question they wished. We received and responded to over 200 questions – they’re all on Facebook on the Yahoo! Finance page (click the link to go to the page). One recurring theme played out over and over: Social Security Spousal Benefits are not understood by a vast number of folks. Naturally I find this to be disturbing. Social Security Spousal Benefits often represent a […]
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Social Security Wage Base Projected for 2015
Update 10/22/2014: The wage base has been set for 2015. See the article Social Security Wage Base Set for 2015. According to the Social Security Administration trustees, the Social Security wage base for 2015 is projected to be $119,100. This represents an increase of $2,100 from the 2014 wage base of $117,000. This is an increase of 1.79% – and won’t be finalized until October when the other increases for Social Security amounts are announced. This is a relatively small increase when compared to recent annual increases we’ve seen. The previous 3 years’ increases have averaged 3.09%. This is different from the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), which has increased an average of 2.27% in the past three years. The 2014 COLA (applicable to 2015 benefits and other figures) will be released later in the year, typically in October.
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What Keeps Your Planner Up at Night?
I thought I’d share some of the things that go through my mind, financially, even though I’m “in the business” of being a financial planner and teach classes on finance and investments. The goal is to help readers understand that although we give an objective point of view when working with you there are times with our own financial well-being that we too have worries and concerns. We’re certainly not immune.
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RMD Avoidance Scheme: Birthdate Makes All The Difference
As you may recall from this previous article, it is possible to use a rollover into an active 401(k) plan as an RMD avoidance scheme. Of course, this will only work as long as you’re employed by the employer sponsoring the 401(k) plan and you’re not a 5% or greater owner of the company. In addition, the rollover must be done in a timely fashion, prior to the year that you will reach age 70 1/2 in order to avoid RMD. An example of where timing worked against a taxpayer (at least temporarily) recently came to me via the ol’ mailbag:
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File For Part B Medicare – COBRA Isn’t Enough
For most folks, when you reach age 65 and have ceased regular work, filing for Medicare Parts A & B is an automatic thing. If you don’t file during the 3 months before or after your 65th birthday, you may have penalties to pay. This applies even if you have recently been laid off of work and are covered for health insurance under a COBRA plan. Part A carries no cost if you’re fully covered (40 quarters of coverage), but Part B requires a monthly premium. When laid off from an employer who has provided health insurance coverage to you while employed, you have the option of continuing the health coverage for a period of time, up to two years. This continuation of coverage is called COBRA, named for the law that put it into place (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). You have to file in a timely manner for […]
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Should a CFP® Be Required to Always Act as a Fiduciary?
Folks interested in engaging a professional for financial planning help and advice should generally seek out the advice of a CFP®. A CFP® has had the education, experience, ethics and exam (the Board’s 4 E’s) that qualifies he or she to hold the mark. We often encourage clients that they should look for this designation at a minimum before engaging with a financial planner and then meet with the planner to decide if the client and planner are a good fit. Due to an excellent marketing campaign by the CFP® Board many clients understand what a CFP® is, what they do, and how they may be able to help. Many folks choose to work with a CFP® because they know that the CFP® is held to a higher standard. Some may believe that the CFP® is always a fiduciary – meaning the CFP® must always put the best interests of […]
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Windfall Elimination Provision May Impact Spousal Benefits but not Survivor Benefits
When your Social Security retirement benefit is subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), you’re likely painfully aware of the reduction to your own benefit by this provision. What you may not be aware of is that the effect goes beyond your own benefit – your spouse’s and other dependents’ benefits are also impacted by this provision. However, the impact of WEP does not continue after your death.
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Don’t Let the Premium Tax Credit Hang You Out to Dry
When you are using the Health Insurance Marketplace for your family’s health insurance, you may be receiving assistance with the premiums in the form of a premium tax credit. This credit is paid to the health insurance provider, allowing your monthly premium to be lower. These premium credits are based upon your residence, income, family size, and eligibility for health insurance via other avenues, such as through a new employer. If something has changed in your life, you may be receiving too much or too little in premium tax credits. The IRS recently issued a Health Care Tax Tip designed to help you understand if you need to make a change to the premium credit you’re receiving to avoid unpleasant surprises at tax time.
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Book Review – All In Startup
If you’ve ever had a million dollar idea and perhaps even pondered taking that idea to the next level and turning it into a business, then reading this book will help you correctly identify the right direction you need to take. Set in the bright lights and big city of Las Vegas the book takes us into the life of a struggling entrepreneur contemplating whether to remove his business from life support while finding himself moving closer and closer to the final table at the World Series of Poker. Author Diana Kander does a remarkable job of tying together the similarities to a successful poker strategy and a budding entrepreneurial startup. What I really enjoyed about the book was not only its quick to-the-point chapters, but Mrs. Kander’s amazing ability to tell the risks and pitfalls of starting a business though story – a story that follows the whirlwind plight […]
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3 Do Over Options For Social Security Benefits
You’re allowed to file for your Social Security retirement benefits when you reach age 62 (in general). Most advisors recommend that you delay filing until some later date to better maximize your lifetime benefits. But what do those advisors know anyhow? At least that is what you were thinking when you first filed. After all, you’ve paid into the system for your entire working life, you deserve to get the money back out, right? Plus, who knows when Social Security will go bankrupt, right? Gotta get the money while you can! Then a couple of years pass and you realize that you short-changed yourself (and your spouse) by taking early benefits. Turns out that you didn’t need that money at 62 – you could have delayed. And you’ve come to realize that Social Security is not likely to go away, at least not in your lifetime. (Maybe those advisors were […]
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Retrieving a Prior-Year Tax Return Copy
Sometimes you need access to a previous year tax return copy, and dadgummit you just pitched the box of tax copies from 2011, thinking you couldn’t possibly need it again! There are ways to get this information – some easier than others. First of all, if you prepared and filed your own return using one of the commercial programs, and you’ve maintained your access to the program over the years, you should be able to go back and re-print a copy of the return from that year. This is the quick and simple method. If you had a tax professional prepare and file the return for you, she should have a copy of your return – if not the fileable copy, then at least a client’s or preparer’s copy, which should be adequate for fulfilling most requirements. Many preparers retain these copies, with supporting documentation, for many years for just […]
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Should Insurance Agents Provide Financial Advice and Services?
Over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity and fortune to work with graduate students on a number of financial and ethical issues presented to them in their classes. Of the many issues presented there was one issue that we discussed (argued) over more than any other topic; it was the suitability versus fiduciary standard. Most of our readers know that our firm not only follows but embraces the fiduciary standard where we are legally bound to act in the best interests of our clients. This brings me to the title question of this piece – should insurance agents provide financial, advice and or financial services?
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.