How to Make a Wealth-Transfer Plan | Asset Management
A well-designed plan protects your wishes and helps avoid conflict among your heirs. A wealth transfer plan guides the movement of your assets from your estate to your beneficiaries. Baby boomers are already in the throes of the most significant wealth transfer in history. Over the next 25 years, they are expected to leave $68 trillion in wealth to their heirs. But you don’t need to be older to need a wealth transfer plan, nor do you need a large estate. [...]
The Importance of Long-Term Care Planning | Health Care Coverage
Long-term care coverage can fill in the gaps other health care insurance leaves behind. Long-term care insurance helps cover the cost of assistance with daily living tasks, including bathing, dressing, eating, and mobility. This type of care is not covered by Medicare, supplemental Medigap policies, or other traditional health care insurance. If you’re relatively young and healthy, you may feel you have plenty of time before you need to worry about long-term care—or you may even think you won’t need [...]
Preparing for Health Care Costs in Retirement | Retirement Planning
For many Americans, navigating the maze of health insurance options—from employer-based plans to individual policies—can be dizzying. Much of that changes at 65. That’s when individuals generally are eligible for Medicare, which covers routine health care expenses such as visits to doctors and prescription drugs. But the program doesn't cover everything. Here is a breakdown of how Medicare works—and your coverage options for filling in the gaps. Inside Medicare Medicare comprises four parts that cover different health care services and [...]
What You Need to Know About Investing During an Election
Elections can move the market, but that doesn’t mean you should change your approach. Like any big news event, U.S. presidential elections can cause ripples and even waves in the stock market. In November 2016, for example, Donald Trump’s victory sent Dow Jones Industrial Average futures plunging 900 points on election night, as investors reacted to the unexpected outcome. The next day, markets shot back up, rallying sharply. That kind of volatility may sound like a big deal, but election-related market [...]
Your IRA and Your Legacy | Retirement Saving Strategy
Individual retirement accounts can play a valuable role in the estate planning process Individual retirement accounts (IRA) are a cornerstone of many people’s retirement savings strategy, and for good reason: The ability to contribute pre-tax income—and to defer taxes until you start making withdrawals—means your savings can potentially grow more quickly than they could in a taxable account. But there’s more to IRAs than tax advantages for retirement savings. In fact, IRAs can play a valuable role in estate planning, offering [...]
Keeping Emotions at Bay During Virus Volatility
Fear, uncertainty, volatility, panic—these emotions are nothing new to the world of investing. In fact, they seem to reappear on a fairly consistent basis. The outbreak of Covid-19 has brought them back with a vengeance, but wise investors know how to stay the course, keep their emotions in check, and take advantage of new opportunities. Crises Are an Expected Part of the Economy Throughout stock market history, market bubbles and crashes have been regular occurrences, either leading or lagging other events. [...]
4 Tips for Navigating the Coronavirus Crash | Stock Market
When stock markets experience sudden downturns, investors can feel anxious and make decisions detrimental to their long-term goals. After all, when you’ve worked hard for the money, it’s painful to see your account balances drop. This is a natural reaction, even with savvy investors who’ve experienced market volatility before. These extremes are enough to test your nerves. Now is not the time to panic and change your investment strategy. This is the time to stay level-headed, maintain perspective, and focus on [...]
Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act | Saving Your Retirement
On December 20th, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act became law. As the name implies, this law intends to make it easier for Americans to save for retirement. Though this may sound simple enough, as with most laws, the reality is far more complex. The SECURE Act includes changes that affect everyone from beneficiaries of retirement accounts to those with student loans, but the SECURE Act is most likely to affect those either approaching retirement or [...]