Interesting facts about Long Term Care

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One of the most common questions I get when preparing financial plans for people near retirement is about long term care insurance.  As I talk with my clients, I hear two concerns almost universally…first, what happens if I never need to use the insurance, and second, the coverage seems very expensive.  As with many financial products, long term care insurance can be a great product for the right person in the right situation.  I found a very interesting article today ...

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9
AUG
0

Financial Products, Retirement planning

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Managing your portfolio in retirement

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One of the biggest financial impacts of retirement is the mind-set change that is needed to manage your portfolio.  Prior to retirement, financial planners recommend having “ready-cash” or an emergency fund equal to 3 – 12 months of expenses.  In addition, every month you are adding money to your portfolio through 401(k) accounts, IRAs, etc.

In retirement, the dynamics of your portfolio are turned upside down.  Instead of adding to your savings every month, most people need to take money out ...

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19
MAY
0

Retirement planning

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Social Security Changes

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On Wednesday December 8, 2010, two rule changes were made to Social Security that received very little media attention.  Both of the changes impact the ability beneficiaries to take advantage of loopholes in the system.  With these changes, effective immediately with the press release, beneficiaries only have 12 months to withdraw their application for benefits and pay back the amounts they received.  This is also now limited to 1 time per person in their lifetime.  The second change only allows ...

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7
MAR
0

Retirement planning

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Reducing the impact of Illinois’ tax increase

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This week, Illinois increased the state income tax rate from 3% to 5%.  The items below are my top 5 ways you can minimize the impact of the tax increase to you and your family:

1.      Increase contributions to your retirement plan.  Increasing the contribution to your retirement account will reduce your taxable income, lowering your tax bill for both state and federal taxes.

2.      Increase the funding to your Health Savings Account.  Contributions to Health Savings Accounts are considered “Adjustments to ...

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17
JAN
0

Taxes

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