Life insurance can be an excellent tool for charitable giving. Not only does life insurance allow you to make a substantial gift tocharity at relatively little cost to you, but you may also benefit from tax rules that apply to gifts of life insurance. Why use life insurance for charitable giving? Life insurance allows you … Read more
A late month selloff in January saw the S&P 500 Index close marginally lower for the month. But stocks have taken off in February, with the S&P 500 up nearly 4% this month, as US economic data remains strong and fears over the worst-case scenarios for the coronavirus appear overblown. Historically, February has been a … Read more
Widows have special considerations when planning their financial future The world lost one of its greatest and most accomplished basketball players on Sunday, January 26, 2020. Early in the morning, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year old daughter, along with seven others, died when the helicopter they were in crashed amidst foggy … Read more
LPL Research on CNBC. LPL Financial Senior Market Strategist Ryan Detrick was on CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday with Becky Quick. You can watch the full interview here. S&P 500 futures point to strong open. Following a dramatic decline Monday, China’s major indexes rebounded overnight, acting as a catalyst for a global rally. The MSCI Asia Pacific rose 1.1%, with the Euro … Read more
With the decline of traditional pensions, most of us are now responsible for squirrelling away money for our own retirement. In today’s do-it-yourself retirement savings world, we rely largely on 401(k) plans and IRAs. However, there are obviously flaws with the system because about one-fourth of working Americans have no retirement savings at all–including 13% … Read more
Take This Quiz: The Social Security Retirement Earnings Test Can you work and receive Social Security retirement benefits at the same time? Yes, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) will apply an earnings test. Part or all of your monthly benefit may be withheld if you earn too much. To help avoid surprises, take this … Read more
Key Retirement and Tax Numbers for 2020 Every year, the Internal Revenue Service announces cost-of-living adjustments that affect contribution limits for retirement plans and various tax deduction, exclusion, exemption, and threshold amounts. Here are a few of the key adjustments for 2020. Employer retirement plans IRAs The combined annual limit on contributions to traditional and … Read more
Socially Responsible Investing: Aligning Your Money with Your Values Sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing (also called socially responsible investing) has been around for a long time, but growing interest has moved it into the mainstream. U.S. SRI assets reached $12 trillion in 2018, 38% more than in 2016. SRI investments now account for about … Read more
According to a recent survey, 76% of Americans reported having at least one financial regret. Over half of this group said it had to do with savings: 27% didn’t start saving for retirement soon enough, 19% didn’t contribute enough to an emergency fund, and 10% wish they had saved more for college.1 The saving conundrum … Read more
Top 10 RMD (Required Minimum Distributions) Mistakes 10. Rolling over an RMD. RMDs are not eligible to be rolled over. This happens most frequently when company plan assets are rolled over to an IRA. If the RMD is not taken first, you now have an excess contribution in the IRA that needs to be corrected. … Read more
Losing a loved one can be a difficult experience. Despite the emotional trauma involved, you may also be responsible for handling a variety of financial, legal, and administrative tasks. You may find yourself unsure of where to begin and what to do. However, do not be hasty when settling your loved one’s estate. Important decisions … Read more
The Gift Tax Exemption Explained. The IRS collects taxes on estates valued at $11.4 million or more per individual. Gift taxes exist to ensure that estates can’t evade taxes by giving money away to reduce or eliminate the estate tax bill. You can, however, use annual and lifetime gift tax exemptions to legally reduce your … Read more
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