Annuities are complicated products that often cause much confusion for annuity owners, let alone their beneficiaries. There can be significant tax consequences associated with the inheritance of an annuity held in a non-qualified account that can substantially impact the total dollars received by a non-spouse beneficiary. If you are the beneficiary of an annuity, there…
DetailsI was recently interviewed by Gary Foreman of the website DollarStretcher.com about the role of dividends in a retirement portfolio.
DetailsAn investment portfolio with a mix of stocks and bonds will produce three types of investment return: interest, dividends and capital gains. Added together, they make up what is known as “total return”. Inside an IRA or other qualified account, the relative mix of investment return does not matter. A 5% return is a 5% return, regardless of whether it comes from interest, dividends or capital gains. In a taxable investment account, however, the story is much different.
DetailsFor those you who are on Medicare or who will be eligible for Medicare in 2017, the costs of Part B premiums may be substantially higher than they were in 2016. The issue, which also arose in 2015 and affected 2016 Medicare premiums has to do with what is called the Hold Harmless Rule. This…
DetailsInvestors seem to love dividend paying stocks. The appeal of these stocks rests largely on the idea that a dividend paying stock allows an investor to collect income while leaving the principal intact. Safe, easy money, right? Not quite.
DetailsThe financial press had a field day with headlines in 2015. In the fourth quarter alone, we were greeted with news stories about plummeting oil prices, a sharp slowdown in China, and the first Fed interest rate hike in more than a decade. At one point during the year, the S&P 500 was down 12%…
DetailsOn December 18th, Congress and the President once again agreed to a deal on the tax “extenders” that had expired at the end of 2014 in a piece of legislation called the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. However, unlike past tax extenders legislation which would extend these provisions for only a…
DetailsPlease keep in mind that changes to the Social Security benefits do not necessarily mean that delaying social security benefit until age 70 is no longer a good strategy. It just means that in some cases, delaying will not be as good a deal as it was before.
DetailsWhenever the market is in a bit of turmoil, it’s important to revisit some of the common behavioral mistakes that can potentially derail even the most well thought out financial plans. Below I discuss six mistakes that we should all look to avoid. Fear and panic: Perhaps the most costly and pervasive of all behavioral…
DetailsIndex fund investing is as popular as ever. In 2014, Vanguard alone recorded record mutual fund inflows totaling $216 billion. Investors are catching on to the benefits of index and other passively managed funds – benefits that include lower costs, broader diversification, lower turnover, and greater transparency. But, as Wall Street Journal columnist and author…
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