Listen to article (2 minutes) Congress is on the verge of passing a bill that aims to help Americans save more for retirement and leave their retirement savings untouched and untaxed for longer. The b...
Tag: estate planning
This 529 plan myth is making college more expensive for families
Kevin Dodge | The Image Bank | Getty Images SEATTLE — For many families, paying for college is a financial burden, and experts say education-funding myths may be adding to the student loan debt crisis...
How to Maximize Your Wealth Over the Next Decade
Investors accustomed to blockbuster returns faced a reckoning this year, as the great bull market ended with high inflation, soaring interest rates, and fears of a recession. The uncertainty persists,...
Why Your Money May Not Go to the Heirs in Your Will
Text size If you have given power of attorney to someone, you may have to sign a separate agreement at your bank to ensure access to funds. Dreamstime When it comes to distributing assets to loved one...
Here Is the New Standard Deduction and Federal Income Tax Brackets For 2023
The IRS has announced inflation adjustments to the standard deduction and other tax provisions for the 2023 tax year. The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly for tax year 2023 will r...
Dreaming of a Big Inheritance? Don’t Count On It, Financial Advisors Say
Separating fact from fantasy is one of the most valuable services that financial planners can provide to their clients. And a common financial fantasy is that our parents will leave us a sizable inher...
Should you set up a joint account with your adult child?
Some retirees love to count their money. But even they may reach a point where they tire of paying bills and tracking their cash flow. Seniors who start to worry about cognitive impairment may want to...
I want to refinance my mortgage, but I’m about to turn 70. Is it wise to refinance at my time of life?
I hope you can help me figure this out. I am 69 years old and will turn 70 at the end of the month. I’ve been offered a cash out refinance loan and need to decide whether to take a 15- or 30-year loan...
5 Common Questions About RMDs in Retirement
Required minimum distributions have been in the news lately as Congress works to pass the Secure Act 2.0, which would raise the age at which seniors must begin making withdrawals from employer-sponsor...
We have $1.5 million we don’t intend to ever use in retirement – how do we invest it if we plan on giving it to our kids one day?
I’m 59 years old, and my wife is older (retired early). I will be retiring next year after 40 years of Naval service and government contracting. After the recent market crash in 2022, we still have a...
IRS Gives Wealthy Families More Time to Shelter Assets from Estate Tax
The federal government is giving widows and widowers more time to deal with the intricacies of the estate tax after a spouse dies. When one spouse dies, their partner often inherits all or part of the...
How to Minimize Your Heirs’ Tax Burden on Inherited IRAs and 401(k)s
The stretch-IRA strategy largely went away after the Secure Act of 2019, leaving heirs less maneuverability on taxes. Financial pros have some solutions. Illustration by Barron’s: Dreamstime(5) ...
America’s Retirement System Is Broken. This Economist Is Trying to Fix It.
Economist Alicia Munnell has been telling America it has a retirement problem for decades, and by most measures it has gotten worse. Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, which she heads, c...
Should I name my spouse or my trust as the beneficiary as my 401(k) and IRA?
Dear Harry, I’m married and want my entire estate to go to my spouse. I have a revocable trust which will continue for my spouse’s benefit upon my death. Should I name my spouse or my trust as the ben...
How To Figure Out What To Leave To Heirs
Signing Last Will & Testament getty Rick Kahler, president of Kahler Financial Group in Rapid City, S. D., is a student of ”money scripts” —the unconscious beliefs we hold about money that often d...
Your 401(k) Statement Will Soon Have Lifetime Income Estimates. What to Know.
Participants in 401(k)s should begin seeing a “lifetime income illustration” on their statements this year, getting an estimate of how much guaranteed monthly income their current account balance woul...
China’s wealthy moving money to Singapore amid common prosperity push
As Beijing pushes for “common prosperity” and political turmoil threatens Hong Kong, Singapore has become a safe harbor for some of the region’s wealthiest tycoons and their families...
RMD Age Stands to Rise to 75 as House Passes Secure Act 2.0. Here’s What to Know.
Dreamstime Text size The second major piece of retirement legislation in little more than two years advanced in the House on Tuesday, putting required minimum distributions in line to rise to age 75 o...
Opinion: I want to leave a Roth IRA to my sister with special needs — what’s the best way to do that?
Q.: I have a Roth IRA that I would like to leave to my sister. She has mental-health issues and I want to have a way to leave money to be distributed monthly without paying it all out in handling fees...
‘She had a will, but it was null and void’: My friend and her sister are fighting over their mother’s life-insurance policy and $32,000 bank account. Who’s right?
Dear Quentin, My friend’s mom passed away about a year ago. She had a will, but it was null and void because there was only one witness signature. She has two daughters. One of the girls, Mary, moved ...
Opinion: Don’t have $13 million? The lifetime estate- and gift-tax exemptions for 2023 still matter to you.
The wealthiest families in the U.S. will get a bit of inflation-adjusted relief from the IRS in 2023, with the lifetime estate-tax exemption increasing to $12.9 million for individuals, up from $12.06...