While the idea of retirement has changed, certain financial assumptions haven’t. We’ve all heard about the “new retirement”, the mix of work and play that many of us assume we will have in our lives one day. We do not expect “retirement” to be all leisure....
A summary of what you need to know. Don’t wait until New Year’s to join a Medicare plan. The open enrollment period ends early this year, and many Medicare beneficiaries may not realize it. In fact, 97% of seniors in a recent poll conducted by UnitedHealthcare...
WEEKLY QUOTE“Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”– Harvey Fierstein WEEKLY TIP If you pay your real estate taxes instead of your mortgage lender, you could pre-pay some 2012 taxes this year to qualify for a deduction on your 1040. WEEKLY RIDDLE Gerald Ford was our 38th President, but he...
A recap of contribution limit and phase-out adjustments. The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments to IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans for 2012, so here is what you need to know about the newly altered contribution limits and phase-outs for these plans. 401(k) & IRA yearly contribution limits....
Should you exploit the new $5 million lifetime gift exemption? In late 2010, Congress reunified the estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping tax (GST), giving them all top rates of 35% with $5 million lifetime individual exemptions.1 In addition, the estate and gift tax exemptions are now...