During the working years, you pay a lot of taxes for Social Security and Medicare, but you later receive a lot of benefits. Over a lifetime, do your benefits equal or exceed the taxes? Your Social Security and Medicare taxes don’t go into separate accounts in your name the way 401(k) contributions are. That makes
Retirement
Topline A majority of Wall Street’s biggest firms have recently been slashing their S&P 500 forecasts for this year, predicting lower stock market returns as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to fight surging inflation and also warning about the economic impact from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Key Facts Barclays is the latest major firm
By Nancy Collamer, Next Avenue Women of Color (WOC) are one of the fastest-growing demographics in corporate America. Yet despite their growing presence, many still struggle to flourish in the workplace. As the first Indian American woman to make partner at global services firm Deloitte, Deepa Purushothaman knows how challenging it can be for “the
Most of us have been quite obsessed with our physical health these last two years. Like me, you can probably list all the possible symptoms of Covid, the signs of long-Covid, the possible reactions to the vaccines, the rates of illness among older adults, and the reasons why some people should be extra cautious about
In 2018, Fiona Frills, then 14, was interviewed for the book From Cradle to Retirement: The Child IRA. In that interview, she told the following story (page 143 of the book): Like many her age, Fiona Frills of Saratoga, California, loves YouTube. In fact, she loves it so much she started her own YouTube channel
There are good reasons people want their estates to avoid probate, and a lot of ways to do it. Probate can tie up the estate for months or longer and incur extra expenses. While some states and localities streamlined the process, at least for less valuable estates, often probate still has delays plus extra expenses
“You don’t just have to want what you want,” a good friend of mine told me more than 20 years ago, “you have to want what your wants lead to.” Please let that sink in for a moment. It’s the simplest definition of second-order thinking I’ve heard, and it applies to wise decision making in
Higher prices returned with a vengeance in 2021. During such bouts of inflation, commodities tend to do well. Last year the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) earned 37.1%, far exceeding the S&P 500 and all other equity indices. It was the third best-performing asset class in 2021. Indeed, only Bitcoin (59.8%) and WTI Oil
Introduction to the Roadmap A recent Tax Court case gave a resounding victory to the taxpayer who had pursued what some might view as an aggressive split-dollar life insurance plan to minimize estate taxes. Estate of Marion Levine v. Commr. 158 T.C. No. 2, February 28, 2022. This follows prior cases that held pretty strongly
Millions of Americans have switched jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Beyond that, some 12,000 baby boomers have been entering retirement every day, which has led to a flood of 401(k) rollovers. Along the way, many workers will make one or more of the following seven 401(k) rollover mistakes. The result of a 401(k)-rollover mistake can be