An Opportunity for Gift and Estate Planning at Low Valuations The disruption brought about by COVID-19 created certain industry “winners” and “losers.” Many of those that emerged as losers are small and medium-sized privately held businesses such as restaurants, bakeries, gyms, hair salons and spas, and the corresponding real estate holding entities that leased to such businesses, held retail and office spa ...

After the death of a spouse, a client has several options for handling the retirement accounts that belonged to the deceased. Here is a brief overview of the financial implications of different strategies for managing IRAs and Roth IRAs. This helpful chart shows the rules and requirements related to distributions for clients who inherit a Roth IRA. To read the full article in MarketWatch, click: Tips for Ma ...

Company retirement plans have changed significantly over the past few decades, with a few trends coming on strong. In light of the fact that 401(k) participants are famously hands-off, plans have increasingly added “nudge” features to get more people saving: Roughly two thirds of plans now offer automatic enrollment, for example, up from just about half in 2012. Roth accounts have also shot up in popularity ...

If stock market volatility has drained value from your traditional IRA, this might be a good time to convert the account into a Roth IRA to take advantage of tax-free asset growth. The move may be especially appealing for retirees who have delayed their Social Security benefits and are younger than 70½. To read the full article in CNBC, click: This Failing Market Offers an Opportunity to Cut Your Taxes in R ...

Due to “extremely low” demand and high costs, the Treasury Department announced that it is ending the myRA retirement savings program.  Treasury says it is notifying participants about the ending of the program and giving them information on how to move their myRA savings into Roth IRAs. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: Treasury Ends myRA Retirement Savings Program. ...

Looking Beyond the 401(k) to Save for Retirement If proposals to curb the size of individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s take effect, clients with large IRAs and 401(k)s will need to consider alternate methods of saving for retirement.  Darla Mercado, Personal Finance Writer, discusses a few options including, deferred compensation plans, health savings accounts, and after-tax contributions to 401(k)s. ...