FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
Steps to Protect Your Late Spouse From Identity Theft
Losing a spouse is a deeply emotional and challenging experience, and dealing with the aftermath can be overwhelming. Amid the grieving process and the myriad administrative tasks that follow, it's crucial not to overlook the potential risk of identity theft.
Sadly, scammers target deceased individuals because there is often no one tracking their finances. In doing so, they target their surviving spouses, who are left cleaning up the mess…
The Tax-Efficient Way to Consolidate Accounts
As pre-retirees prepare for retirement and the eventual withdrawal from retirement accounts, there may be some confusion about how to optimize their withdrawal strategy. Two of the most common questions I hear are “Which account should I take from?” and “What investment should I sell first?” One of the likely reasons for this confusion is that they have accounts in various places, making it difficult to organize.
One of the first steps in getting organized is to take inventory of all your accounts and then choose a primary custodian to consolidate accounts to. However, there can be significant challenges to doing so…
5 Ways to Reduce Your Required Minimum Distributions
Managing the tax impact of your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) is a critical aspect of your retirement plan. RMDs are mandatory withdrawals from retirement accounts that kick in once you reach a certain age, typically 73 (for those born in 1951 or later).
These distributions can lead to significant tax liabilities. However, there are strategies to minimize their impact and make the most of your retirement savings…
An Update on the Bond Bear Market
The prolonged bear market that started in late 2020 marches on. Bond investors anticipated that the Fed would need to raise rates to bring inflation under control. They sold their lower-yielding bonds that were likely to be replaced with higher-yielding ones as rates ticked higher, which led to the first leg down in the bond market.
For now, bond investors are stuck in a historical downturn – about 16% off the highs from 2020…
Why Your Credit Score Probably Doesn’t Matter That Much
Many people’s first financial education is on the value of your credit score. As teenagers go off to college, parents talk to their kids about the importance of “building credit” and get them started on their first credit card.
While there is a little truth to this, your FICO score is not the foundation of your financial health that many people think it is…
Navigating the Tax Torpedo: The Rising Taxation of Social Security
Many of my clients who retire in the early to mid-60s, will find that they are solidly in the 12% bracket even if they have a considerable nest egg of $1-$5M saved in retirement accounts.
For individuals in the 12% marginal income bracket, a less-discussed aspect of taxes is the Social Security "Tax Torpedo" – a phenomenon where the portion of your Social Security benefits that becomes subject to taxation increases as other income is realized…