Articles

Estates & Trusts

• What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?

  Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.

• How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?

  A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.

• How Can My Gift Benefit Me and the Charity?

  To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.

• How Will I Pay Estate Taxes?

  If you believe your estate will be subject to estate taxes, consider how your heirs will pay the bill.

• Can I Benefit from an A-B Trust?

  An A-B trust can be an effective way to help reduce estate taxes and preserve family assets for heirs.

• What Is the History of the Federal Estate Tax?

  Careful estate planning is still one of the most important ways to manage and protect your assets for your heirs.

Retirement

• What Is an IRA Rollover?

  If you leave a job or retire, you should consider your options regarding your employer retirement plan assets.

• What Is a Profit-Sharing Plan?

  Profit-sharing plans give employees a share in the profits of a company and can help to fund their retirements.

• What Is a 403(b) Plan?

  A 403(b) plan is a tax-deferred retirement savings plan that can only be offered by a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity.

• Why Do People Buy Annuities?

  Annuities, an insurance-based financial vehicle, can provide many benefits that retirement investors might want.

• How Much Do I Need to Save?

  Many realize it’s important to save for retirement, but knowing exactly how much to save is another issue altogether.

• Will Social Security Retire Before You Do?

  Greater demand is being placed on the Social Security system as the baby boom generation has begun to retire.

• What Is an Indexed Annuity?

  An indexed annuity may provide some upside potential and downside protection.

• What Is a Traditional IRA?

  If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.

• What Is a 401(k) Plan?

  401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.

• What Is a Roth IRA?

  Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren’t included in gross income.

Tax Planning

• What Is the Capital Gain Tax?

  Capital gains are profits realized from the sale of assets; a tax is triggered only when an asset is sold, not held.

• How Much Money Can I Put Into My IRA or Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan?

  IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to annual contribution limits set by the federal government.

• What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?

  Required minimum distribution is the annual amount that must be withdrawn from a qualified retirement plan/account.

• What Happens If I Withdraw Money from My Tax-Deferred Investments Before Age 59½

  Tax-deferred retirement account withdrawals before age 59½ generally triggers a 10% federal income tax penalty.

• What Is Tax Deferral?

  There can be a substantial benefit to deferring taxes as long as possible.

• What Tax Deductions Are Still Available to Me?

  Changes to the tax code have left a few key deductions for itemizers, like medical, dental and some business expenses.

• Is There Such a Thing as a Tax-Free Investment?

  It's important to understand tax-exempt vehicles when establishing a comprehensive tax planning strategy.

• How Can I Upgrade My Insurance — Tax-Free?

  A 1035 exchange allows you to exchange your life insurance policy for one from another company without tax liability.

Investing

• What Are Dividends?

  It is important to understand how dividends (taxable payments to shareholders) fit with your long-term goals.

• How Are Growth and Value Stocks Different?

  The labels growth and value reflect different approaches that can be used when making investment decisions.

• What Is Diversification?

  An important element to successful investing is to manage investment risk while maintaining the potential for growth.

• What Is a Bond?

  A bond is simply evidence of a debt from a government entity or a corporation and represents a long-term IOU.

• What Is a Stock Index?

  Stock market indexes can be useful benchmarks for gauging the performance of an investment portfolio over time.

• How Do Mutual Funds and Stocks Differ?

  The difference between purchasing an individual stock versus shares in a mutual fund to potentially earn dividends.

• What Is a Mutual Fund?

  A mutual fund is a collection of stocks, bonds, and other securities with certain benefits and risks.

• What Is an Annuity?

  An annuity is a flexible financial vehicle that can help protect against the risk of living a long time because it provides an option for a lifetime income.

• What Is Asset Allocation?

  Asset allocation is a method used to help manage investment risk; it does not guarantee a profit or protect against investment loss.

• How Can I Save for My Child’s College Education?

  There are several funding methods for a child's college education including mutual funds and Section 529 plans.

• What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?

  Dollar-cost averaging involves investing a set amount of money on a regular basis, regardless of market conditions.

• 529 Lesson Plan: High Scores for 529 Plans

  529 plans are tax-advantaged savings plans that generally allow people of any income level to contribute.

Cash Management

• What Are Some Tips for Managing My Money?

  A sound cash management program uses a disciplined approach: accounting, analysis, allocation, and adjustment.

• What Cash Management Tools Are Available?

  Short-term cash management instruments can help you establish a sound cash management program.

• How Can I Better Manage My Short-Term Cash?

  There are numerous investment alternatives available to help provide liquidity.

• What Are Some Smart Ways to Refinance?

  Here are some smart ways to refinance your home.

• How Does Inflation Affect Me?

  Historically, one of the best ways to fight the effects of inflation has been to utilize growth-oriented investments.

Risk Management

• Why Purchase Life Insurance?

  If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.

• Do I Need a Business Owner Policy?

  A business owner policy is an insurance package that assembles the basic coverages required by a business owner in one bundle.

• What Is Life Insurance for Business Owners?

  Company-owned life insurance is one way to help protect a business from financial problems caused by the death of a key employee.

• What Is Disability Income Insurance for Business Owners?

  As a business owner, a disability can create an economic hardship putting both your personal finances and business at risk.

• What Is Term Life Insurance?

  Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.

• What Is Whole Life Insurance?

  Some of the pros and cons of whole life insurance.

• What Is Universal Life Insurance?

  Consider a universal life insurance policy if you want the flexibility to change your premium or death benefit.

• What Is Variable Life Insurance?

  Variable life insurance gives you the control to allocate your account value among a variety of investment options.

• How Can I Maximize My Insurance Benefits?

  Several factors could undermine the financial security provided by the proceeds of your life insurance policy.

• Am I Prepared for Long-Term Care Expenses?

  The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.

• What Does Medicare Cover?

  Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those persons age 65 and over. But what does it cover?

• How Likely Am I to Need Long-Term Care?

  If you were to suffer an illness or disability that required long-term nursing care, would you be covered?

• What Are the Basic Types of Life Insurance?

  When selecting a life insurance policy, examine all your options, as well as the positives and negatives of each type.