Posts by Barb

The medical profession refers to high blood pressure as the silent killer. In investing, the silent killer is INFLATION. The minimum return on any retirement investment must be at least equal to inflation. Here’s why. Suppose your retirement goal is to withdraw $90,000 per year from your IRA. To maintain your purchasing power you must…

Too many retirees believe that they don’t have to do any planning in retirement. They spent years saving for their retirement and now they think they can coast. WRONG! There are hidden tax traps waiting for the unsuspecting. For instance, If you want $75,000 per year in retirement, is that before or after taxes? If…

Did you know that one of the greatest risks to your retirement portfolio can happen in the first years you retire? The timing of when you begin withdrawing money from your investments can dramatically impact your long-term wealth. It’s called sequence-of-return risk, and the danger is very real. When you make regular withdrawals from investments…

Many people believe Social Security will pay for their retirement, but Social Security was designed to be just a complement to a pension and investments. So don’t rely only on Social Security for your retirement because it probably won’t be enough to maintain your current lifestyle. However, planning for your Social security benefits is important.…

You might be asking yourself, “When should I retire? Should I retire early or defer it?” Deciding when to retire may not be just one decision, but a series of decisions and calculations. For example, you’ll need to estimate not only your anticipated expenses but also what sources of retirement income you’ll have and how…

The death of a spouse is one of the most devastating events of a person’s life. During this difficult time, do not make any major financial decisions right away. Allow yourself time to only deal with the emotions of your loss. Then, get 10 to 20 copies of your spouse’s death certificate to document ownership…

With a traditional IRA, you may qualify for a tax deduction when you invest your money. But later, when you take the money out in retirement, all those distributions are taxed. The Roth IRA is the opposite. It has no deduction when you put the money in, but later, all distributions are tax-free when you…

A retirement income plan is needed because life changes in retirement. Your retirement plan should account for every year in retirement, even past your life expectancy. For each year, make a list for you and your spouse that include social security income, pensions and annuity income. Also list earnings from investments and working part-time. List…

This year, the deadline to file your income tax returns is April 15, 2019. As of early February of 2019, Time Magazine1 reported that many Americans who had already filed their 2018 taxes were shocked by their lower refunds this year likely stemming from the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” law that passed in December 2017, which…

Here’s how laddering works. This strategy is based on the investment principle that the longer you commit your money, the higher your rate of return will be. For instance, A 5 year CD pays more than a 1 year CD. A ten year surrender annuity pays more than a five year.But you don’t want to…