Briefcase Study: Pension Options
A very common decision for current retirees to make, and one that we’ve seen a lot of recently, is that of which pension option to choose when preparing for retirement from your company, school, or municipality. You’ll see options such as Single Life Annuity, 50% Joint & Survivor Annuity, or Partial Lump Sum Option (PLOP). All of these options can …
Back to the Basics: Having A Budget Vs. Budgeting
One of the most critical – and often overlooked – aspects of planning a successful retirement is the estimating of expenses during retirement. The ability to project what your lifestyle will cost into retirement allows you to determine whether the nest egg you’ve accumulated will go the distance. When we approach this subject with aspiring retirees, we’re often met with …
2020 Winter Newsletter: Kansas City
ELEVATED INSIDER Making Time Tangible Here we are. It’s the start of another year, it’s all anew again. I think the year 2020 sounds like science fiction; when you think back to when you were younger, could you even imagine living in the year 2020? Maybe you’re like me and find yourself meeting this new year with a combination of …
Report: Secure Act of 2019
SECURE ACT OF 2019 The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or the SECURE Act, was passed by Congress in December 2019. This legislation is effective as of January 1, 2020. The law does the following: Top 3 items to know for individuals: 1. Allow taxpayers of any age to make traditional IRA contributions – Currently, anyone that …
Report: 2019 Year End Tax Planning
YEAR-END PREPARATIONS The countdown begins. Once the clock rolls us into 2020, tax season gets underway. The old calendar year, 2019, will have officially been put to rest. Deductions from your paychecks and other income sources will begin counting for the New Year. Once it’s 2020, we can celebrate and look to even better days ahead. But we dare not …
Report: 2019 Year End Tax Planning
YEAR-END PREPARATIONS The countdown begins. Once the clock rolls us into 2020, tax season gets underway. The old calendar year, 2019, will have officially been put to rest. Deductions from your paychecks and other income sources will begin counting for the New Year. Once it’s 2020, we can celebrate and look to even better days ahead. But we dare not …
Report: Quarter in Review
Quarter in Review A volatile third quarter ended with global equity markets offering mixed returns. The story remained largely the same with geopolitical and trade tensions fueling volatility, while political noise in the U.S. dominated headlines. The U.S. economy remains on solid footing, though many data points are highlighting the reality of an accelerating moderation in growth. Discrepancies in hard …
Report: Quarter in Review
Quarter in Review A volatile third quarter ended with global equity markets offering mixed returns. The story remained largely the same with geopolitical and trade tensions fueling volatility, while political noise in the U.S. dominated headlines. The U.S. economy remains on solid footing, though many data points are highlighting the reality of an accelerating moderation in growth. Discrepancies in hard …
2019 Fall Newsletter: Kansas City
ELEVATED INSIDER If I were a betting man, I’d wager that you’re wondering how we got to Fall already. “How is time passing so quickly?” No kidding. Well, here we are. It’s this time-marches-on sentiment that underpins what we do here. Time matters a lot in the work we do with you; retirees need money available to pay the bills …
Back to the Basics: Total Value
So much attention gets paid to the growth (or decline) of the stock market that I fear we can become hypnotized by it and fall prey to sloppy fundamentals from time to time. How do I know this? Because many of the people we work with admit to receiving each investment statement and simply doing the ol’ “Is it up …
