What are the penalties for changing your SOSEPP? If you don’t know, that’s another name for a 72t distribution. IRS has some severe penalties if you change your payment plan.
November, 2016:
What to Expect After the Election
Now that the election has come and gone I wanted to send a note on what we should expect for the next four years and beyond. Really, these are no big predictions, but at times we may tend to forget our long-term goals in the hype and excitement of short term events. Expect volatility. Volatility is the norm, not the exception. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that markets will fluctuate, gyrate and generally have many ups and downs over the next four years and beyond. Think of it this way, would we expect any higher returns on our investments if markets were always calm and stable? No. Volatility is the price (risk) we pay for expected higher returns. We can diversify and maintain focus, but volatility will never go away. Expect change. As the saying goes, the only thing that is permanent is change. Do I know what […]
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Should I Pay Off Debt or Save for Retirement?
Over the last few weeks I’ve gotten quite a few questions from individuals ready to graduate college and start embarking on their first job. As is often the case, many of these individuals have varying amounts of student debt but also understand the importance of saving for retirement. Naturally, a common question is should they pay off student loans or save for retirement. Here’s my take. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there are few ways to receive guaranteed returns. One of those ways is by paying down debt. This is an example of a guaranteed rate of return that is also risk free. By paying off a loan early, the interest that would have normally gone to the lender ends up in your own pocket. The good news is that the debt is retired faster, and the individual experienced zero volatility exposure compared to investing in the market. On […]
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Delayed Retirement Credits – When are These Applied?
If you delay filing for your Social Security benefit, for each month that you delay you will earn delayed retirement credits. The increase for each month of delayed retirement credit is 2/3% (0.667%) for every month. This equates to 8% in delayed retirement credits for every year of delay. But when are these credits applied to your benefit? As with so many Social Security-related calculations, timing is everything. With delayed retirement credits, the key is exactly when you stop delaying and start collecting benefits. Starting Benefits Before Age 70 When you’re delaying benefits past your full retirement age (FRA), you can start receiving benefits at any age after FRA up to age 70. So, for example, if you decided to start your benefits upon the month of your 67th birthday, you’d have 8% in credits earned if your FRA was age 66. For the sake of this example, let’s say […]
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Foresight from Experience in Planning
We can make a difference in our own lives if we make a simple change in our outlook. If we changed from a hindsight to a foresight perspective, many things about our society could improve dramatically. This foresight can help with retirement planning, marriage, and any major event in our lives. I don’t mean that we should disregard history – of course not. On the contrary, we need to use history to provide us with foresight into the potential outcomes of our choices. The experiences we’ve encountered (and our friends/families/acquaintances have experienced) can help us to predict the outcome of various choices and decisions that we make in the future. Consider these factors: The divorce rate in the U.S. has been high for a very long time, causing a great deal of heartache and expense, not only for the couple but for family and friends as well. And one of […]
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”.