Insights

Chances are good we’ve all felt a bit like Rachel on “Friends” when she peruses her first paycheck in bewilderment and says, “Who’s FICA? And why’s he taking all my money?”

Ryan Yamada, CFP®, Senior Wealth Planner We’ve all heard the conventional wisdom when it comes to claiming Social Security: you should wait as long as you can before claiming benefits. Wait right up to age 70, if possible. After all, that’s when you would get the greatest monthly benefit.

By Craig Lemoine, Ph.D., CFP®, Director of Consumer Investment Research “How much do I need for retirement?” It’s a question I often hear, and one that seems straightforward enough to tackle. Unfortunately, the answer isn’t quite so simple.

By Ryan Yamada, Senior Wealth Planner    When putting away for retirement, we often dream about all the things we’ll be able to do with that money – traveling, going out to eat, maybe trying new hobbies. 

Ryan Yamada, CFP®, Senior Wealth Planner  It was late one afternoon when I received the call from a retired client.  

by Jamie P. Hopkins, ESQ., CFP®, LLM, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP®  Regardless of how far off you are from retirement, there’s one main goal your planning should be working toward: saving enough so that you don’t outlive your money. 

By Jamie Hopkins, Managing Partner, Wealth Solutions  The next wave of retirement planning reform is headed for shore. 

By Jamie Hopkins In September, I covered the proposed tax plan released by Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, which would help pay for the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act through changes to corporate, personal and other taxes, as well as retirement plans.

Many of us all but ignore our retirement accounts for much of our working lives. We look at a pay stub and have a vague sense of the “minuses:” Social Security, insurance, taxes. But the IRA is one of the most powerful retirement savings tools available to us, and so it warrants our attention. 

Retirement is far off until it isn’t. This chapter of life can sneak up on just about anyone, and we do ourselves a favor to be as prepared as we can. Like anything involving the government, finances can be confusing, with different tax treatments, contribution limits, beneficiary rules and more.

By the very name, the SECURE Act – or Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – is designed to enhance retirement savings. There are several provisions in the new law to help accomplish this goal.