When Retirement Planning Becomes a Family Affair
Most retirees spend decades preparing for retirement taxes, but many never spend much time thinking about what happens to those taxes after they are gone. Early in retirement, the focus is usually on generating sustainable income and keeping taxes manageable each year. But for households likely to leave assets behind, the planning process eventually starts […]
The Most Important Estate Planning Mistake Has Nothing to Do With Taxes
Most estate planning conversations begin with questions about transferring wealth efficiently. Families want to know who inherits retirement accounts, whether a trust is necessary, how to avoid probate, and whether estate taxes will become a problem. Those are all legitimate concerns, but they are rarely what causes the greatest stress when a crisis actually unfolds. The […]
Tax Considerations When Delaying Social Security
Delaying Social Security can potentially contribute to an overall tax strategy for retirement. Every case is different, but generally speaking, when you add taxes to the mix, the case for delaying Social Security becomes even stronger than usual.
Claiming Social Security at 62 or 70
When it comes to claiming Social Security, timing is everything. Should you claim as soon as you’re eligible at age 62, or should you wait until age 70 to maximize your monthly benefit? The decision depends on a variety of factors, including your financial situation, life expectancy, and retirement goals. Understanding Social Security Benefits Social […]
When Are People Claiming Social Security?
One of the hottest topics in retirement income planning over the past several years has been how to help individuals strategize on their Social Security claiming decisions.
Social Security as an “Investment”
The alternative to treating Social Security as insurance is to view it as an investment, or as a gamble on how long one lives. This can be problematic.
What is Risk?
Risk is one of those complicated concepts that you can’t really pin down to one definition, but it’s the single most important factor for investors.
Social Security: The Best Annuity Money Can Buy
A final frame for viewing the Social Security claiming decision is as an annuity purchase.
How Time Horizon and Discount Rate Affect Your Social Security Decision
One way to view the decision to delay Social Security as an “investment” is by using a present value calculation to identify which strategy can provide the most lifetime Social Security benefits and which strategy creates the lowest funding needs for your investment portfolio. This calculation requires deciding on a time horizon and a discount rate.
Why Can’t ‘Winning’ Active Managers Keep on Winning?
The numbers show that active management simply doesn’t work. There are several arguments against active fund managers, but one of the most damning is that winners don’t seem to repeat.
