Retirement News & Updates

Biggest Risks To Your Retirement
What can be done to reduce those risks? You’ve been saving for years and have finally retired. There are so many world events going on, both domestically and abroad, that the only constant now seems to be change. The news is full of commentaries about market declines and inflation but

What Does it Mean to You?
We’ve received questions from some of our clients asking what a hike in the Fed rate means to them. As a result, we reached out to an investment strategist to see what they said. “This year’s expected series of rate hikes, the first since 2015, marks the beginning of Fed

Don’t Shy Away
A recent study found that “33 percent of people don’t think they would qualify for life insurance.” We hope you aren’t shying away from discussing the topic of life insurance because you think the same way! Purchasing this type of insurance is a big deal, but most likely necessary to

Reminder to Take Advantage
With the due date for filing tax returns fast approaching, you may be getting ready to make your 2021 contribution to your IRA or other qualified account. While you are at it, why not make your 2022 contribution at the same time? That would allow your money to work for

Taxes
With so much going on around us in the market, it is difficult for many of our clients to take the time to hit pause and think about the impact of taxes on their retirement savings. We thought we would make it easier for you by sharing an up-to-date 2022

State Pensions and Russia
Last week many people heard about the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System losing more than $3 million when it sold off its direct investments in a Russian Bank. (read more here) However, they aren’t the only pension funds in possible trouble. Many state pension funds have Russian financial holdings. “Pensions in

The News, and What it Means to You
With news reports saying the markets are nearing “bear market territory,” people are starting to ask us what that actually means. Let’s start with definitions: “A bear market is when a market experiences prolonged price declines. It typically describes a condition in which securities prices fall 20% or more.” “Bear

Stay On Track
There are many factors to understanding whether you are on track to meet your financial goals for retirement. These not only include what you have set aside in savings and investments, but your rate of return, and inflation. If factors you can’t control such as the market or inflation have

Tax Refunds
We are well into tax season, which means more and more individuals are beginning to think about their tax refunds and what they can do with them. The solution relates to how healthy the individual’s cash flow is. If you like the feeling of getting a “windfall” in the form

How is Social Security Taxed?
With tax season approaching, some of you have asked if the social security payments you receive are taxed. The answer is yes, if your annual income is above a certain amount when you’re receiving those payments. And because that income threshold is relatively low, it’s likely that some of your

Not Enough Time
We often think of retirement in terms of years. We think about how there isn’t enough time left in our lives to do all the things we planned on doing. That same thought of ‘not enough time left’ also comes to mind when we lose some of our life savings.

Social Security Survivor Benefit
We are often asked, “When is the best time for a widow or widower to collect the social security survivor benefits, they have become entitled to?” If you or someone you know have questions about this, we may be able to help. There is a process of applying for those

Retirement Can Sneak Up on You
We’ve all read so many articles reminding us to start early with our retirement savings. But, considering all of the different financial obligations that seem to happen along the way, some of them expected and some not, sometimes retirement sneaks up on you. Before you know it, you may realize

Reevaluate Your Budget
A new year often means a fresh start! Reevaluating your financial needs, budget, and savings is also often done now. Building a budget or adjusting the one you already have is one step, as is looking honestly at any debt. Another important step is making sure that your emergency savings

The 2022 Cost of Living Adjustment
With 2022 just beginning, we thought we’d share with you some of the changes to Social Security. The Social Security Administration has issued a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (known as a “COLA”) for 2022, the largest COLA in nearly 40 years. How much of a difference this will make in your

Review Your Strategy for the New Year
Over the past few weeks we’ve made posts regarding some of the things to think about when providing for your family’s future and protecting what you’ve worked for. As we enter the New Year, there are also strategies you can think about putting in place to pass on your legacy.

Retirement Road Map
Take the first step to protect yourself. The pandemic has created a lot of unexpected events, has impacted the markets, and has caused each of us to adapt to the changes. Now is a good time to review how your needs may have changed and what you’ll need to adjust

Protecting Yourself From Risk
As we’ve talked about before, investment risk is a risk that everyone shares. Having a portfolio of products aligned with your risk tolerance and time horizon is important to protect against market risks. As you age, your time horizon and risk tolerance will most likely change. It is important to